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[The Hub] Option to directly bill the hosting and domains reseller services to clients, straight f

4

Clients and billing.

Request:
Currently we can only bill the client from hub with custom products and services, will be good to have the option to directly bill the hosting and domains reseller services to clients, straight from the hub.

Context
We start our wpmu journey by requesting a bulk migration
and get credits as hosting buyout, moving our clients websites from another register and hosting provider to our own hub, this is good as we can easily manage every site, but this comes with a couple uncomfortable and unnecesary
steps:

1.The main payment to hosting and/or reseller products is on us as agency, and its respective subscriptions as well.
Thus as an agency, would be better if we can just directly attach such subscriptions to such client, by doing this.. the subscription will be related and strictly attached to client blling and payment method, without being us billed first and then we bill the client.

2. Following our process as introduced in prior point, we then have to bill clients with custom products and services, and this kind of subscriptions doesn’t appear as regular domain and hosting services in hub client’s.

We believe adding this functionality, will be greatly apreciate and helps to better automation and smooth process, as an agency reseller.

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:52:50
More The Hub discussions
The Hub
  • Pawel Pela
    • Ex Staff

    Hello Alexander Munoz !

    Hope you’re having a great day!

    We have some feedback on this from the Hub team.

    Unfortunately, this will not be possible, for two reasons. One is technical, which is something our Hub team shared feedback on. The second one is more business-related and it came to my mind as I was checking the discussion.

    1. Unfortunately, it’s not possible technically due to how Stripe and the Client Billing system works and is designed. It’s actually linked to the second part of the issue here.

    2. In terms of running a business, for example in my country, but I’m also sure that it’s the same everywhere else, we can’t make direct connections between our clients and some 3rd party business, skipping ourselves, right? Here in Poland, I need to purchase some service from a 3rd party, pay for it, settle all invoices with them and then I can resell that to my clients and settle with them separately. On each step this will get taxed etc. If I somehow managed to get my client to directly pay to the 3rd party platform I’m using to host their site, the tax office would have some serious questions for me – like for example, one would involve me skipping a VAT payment by skipping one step of the chain.

    That said, we’re still discussing the case and we will see if there are any options for solving this that would fit all purposes and make all more or less involved parties happy. We’ll update you here as soon as we have any additional details.

    Kind regards,
    Paweł

    • Alexander
      • New Recruit

      Hey Pawel Pela Thanks for the follow up..

      From my side, I’m trying to see it as a reseller user, as one of my purpose here is to take advantage of the management sites functions and automate some of my business tasks, as it is the client billing, then..

      I could understand both of your points, regarding your taxes thoughts I could say this would be easily done by managing it as in the client self subscription flux from client’s hub, we’ll be just saying the client pay for the same existing hosting, domain or webmail subscription (the ones already exist in our agency hub).
      In that case we’ll be taxed for our earnings as I just mentioned, it’s like client self subscription flux from client’s hub, and improving the billing and subscription management process.

      I’m maybe missing something, just saying it, but I completely ignoring the stripe’s technical limitations, or how you have this flux designed.

      Just to mention, as an idea, I know WPMU DEV is to much better in Godaddy, they have two usefull options:
      1. Delegate access to clients hub, perhaps in WPMU DEV hub, if the client was created for me, I’d have instantly delegate access to his account, and could create subscription for them, this will let to use their payment method, billing info and a more easy subscription management.
      2. In reseller plans, they just put their services ready to purchase from clients, reseller just have to set the price, product name, and get the earnings.

      I’m not comparing, just mention what comes to my mind in this matter.

      Kind regards.
      Alex.

  • Zafer Oz
    • Ex Staff

    Hi Alexander Munoz ,

    I hope you are doing well today!

    Thank you for your thoughtful reply and for sharing your perspective on this matter. We truly appreciate your insights and understand the importance of streamlining the billing and subscription management process for our agency users like yourself. Your feedback is invaluable as we strive to improve our services and address the needs of our community.

    I understand your points regarding the potential for a more direct billing system through the client’s Hub and the examples you’ve provided from other platforms. It’s clear that you’re looking for solutions that could simplify the management of client subscriptions and enhance the overall efficiency of your business operations.

    While we recognize the benefits of such a system, there are a few challenges that we currently face:

    Technical Limitations
    As previously mentioned, our current setup with Stripe and the Client Billing system presents certain technical constraints. These limitations prevent us from directly linking client payments for hosting and domain services through our platform. We are continuously exploring ways to enhance our system’s capabilities, and your feedback is a crucial part of this process.

    Regulatory and Business Considerations
    The issue of direct billing also involves complex regulatory and business considerations, including tax implications and the need to maintain clear records of transactions. Our current model ensures compliance with these requirements, but we understand it may not offer the level of convenience you’re seeking.

    Future Developments
    We are committed to finding solutions that work for all parties involved. Your suggestions, including delegated access and improved reseller plans, are intriguing and align with our goal of providing versatile and user-friendly tools for our users. While we cannot implement these changes immediately, we will certainly consider them in our ongoing discussions about future updates and enhancements to our platform.

    In the meantime, we encourage you to continue utilizing the custom products and services billing options available through our Hub.

    We value your business and are dedicated to supporting your success. Please rest assured that we take your feedback seriously and will keep you updated on any developments that could address your needs. If you have any more ideas, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

    Thank you for your understanding and for being a part of our community.

    Kind regards,
    Zafer