As it helpfully spells out in its catchy title, Web Host Manager Complete Solution is an all-in-one client management platform, which employs a high degree of automation. The platform gained swift popularity following its 2005 launch, by combining billing, support and domain registration into one lucrative offering, which has proved particularly appealing and convenient to hosting resellers.
WHMCS provides support and billing solutions, with the aim of easing operational pressures for online businesses. And if you feel like your business is wasting energy on admin then the platform could be a smart choice. Here’s a closer look at some of the benefits:
1. Security
If security is of paramount importance to your organisation, then WHMCS will suit, as it’s widely touted as having a major edge over all others when it comes to security.
With alerts, security support and automatic bans in place for repeated login failure attempts WHMCS has a strong track record for maintaining a secure environment for its users and names security its number one priority.
2. Automation
Why do something manually when it could be done for you? WHMCS enables users to incorporate automation throughout the entire billing process, including: invoice generation, account creation, suspension/termination, payment processing and reminders.
3. Support
Relationships between business and consumer are won and lost over the ability to provide fast, useful and dedicated support, whilst poor customer service is consistently voted the top reason that consumers choose to switch service providers.
WHMCS facilitates social media integration to harness the power of sites such as Twitter and Facebook, whilst an intuitive support ticket system allows for the tracking of client communication, enabling multiple staff to respond to the needs of the consumer. With an array of integrated support tools, maintaining relationships is straightforward.
4. Billing
Ultimately, the billing for goods and services is one of the most important aspects of any business, with transparency a key factor in customer satisfaction levels. WHMCS sends a comprehensive breakdown of goods and services rendered via an invoice, informing clients of exactly what they’ve purchased and maintaining a healthy working relationship.
Does your company trade on a global scale? WHMCS allows you to bill in as many foreign currencies as you want whilst accepting payment in no less than 75 integrated payment methods, so you shouldn’t struggle to find a method of payment that works for your organisation.
5. Personalisation
Any reputable client management platform should understand that your organisation is intrinsically unique, and while a basic template may well work for some, it’s not necessarily the right choice for you. WHMCS gives you the opportunity to take control and customise. With a wide array of templates and widgets as well as multiple language options, it’s never been easier to stand out.
6. Industry-Leading partners
WHMCS has partnered with key players specialising in the various aspects of their product portfolio. For instance WHMCS is partnered with hosting resellers, such as Enom, and security scanning services, such as Comodo, allowing the creation of discounts and offers.
It’s also allied to popular control panels, such as Plesk, DirectAdmin and cPanel. Although WHMCS supports other billing options, cPanel’s financial stake in the company makes it the preferred solution and the partnership has resulted in a cohesive pairing of control panel functionality and billing.
WHMCS has also built a large community of 3rd party developers. The benefit to users is the availability of add-ons and enhanced templates that integrate with the core WHMCS app.
What Are the Alternatives?
As with all market leaders, WHMCS have seen a number of users checking whether the grass is greener by switching to less established billing and invoicing companies – with varying degrees of success. For instance, some move to Harvest and Pancake for their simpler interface, while others feel more secure with Hostbill or Besta due to their frequent updates.
But many users come crying back to WHMCS. Most alternatives suffer from a slimmed down functionality or and lack the community of third-party developers boasted by WHMCS. Additionally, WHMCS offer a cheaper service than their rivals and provides clients with good pre-sales support by offering free trials and demos.
The Verdict
While some alternatives show promise and are worth watching, most fall short. WHMCS is automated, it’s secure, and you can customise to make sure that your business remains how you want it, down to the last detail. We believe it’s the best platform on the market, so Redstation offers an integrated provisioning platform for WHMCS to make things simple for our resellers.
To make the transition to WHMCS even simpler, be sure to download our ‘How to Get the Best from WHMCS’ guide for hosting resellers.
