To buy or not to buy

[jchinmd2000]

Many of you are already vested in the product., would you recommend a new provider purchase this product or look elsewhere?

Thanks,

[electric]

Look elsewhere.   100%

Anywhere else is better.  Here's a few to start, in order of what I think is best:

www.blesta.com
www.awbs.com
www.whmcs.com

[BRJP]

Many of you are already vested in the product., would you recommend a new provider purchase this product or look elsewhere?

Thats a hard question to answer!  So many of HostBill Users on this forum have had a hard time with KBKP and numerous changes to terms and conditions.  Conversely, our company has had an extremely good experience since November 2013 and remain very pleased with the product to this date.  In fact, during our 2014 supplier review we decided to stay with HostBill and develop on its capabilities.

I think you need to seek a balanced view from various members who have been recent customers and some that have been customer for many years.  There is also a budget question that should be asked as we are the first to admit that we have invested in HostBill quite heavily since 2013 - if you are looking for cheap solution (short or medium term) then I don't think HostBill is the answer. 

[jchinmd2000]

Therein is my problem.   I've been reading every review I can get my hands on, it's seems people are polarized in their opinions and I'm looking for someone to tip the scales.   Investing in a winning product is not a concern but gambling the future on an uncertain one is not something I'd be interested in.   The pricing model seems unsustainable from a long term point of view and I've asked the developer questions regarding a recurring revenue model but received not responses.  The only question I did receive a response to was query as to whether the price had changed in the last few months..., received a short answer of no.

When you say you have invested heavily in HostBill do you mean from a development/customization standpoint or developer support costs?

Thanks again for your insight.

[BRJP]

The pricing model seems unsustainable from a long term point of view and I've asked the developer questions regarding a recurring revenue model but received not responses.

It certainly does look that way - a perpetual license, free features and free updates every week.  My analysis is that a steady income of new clients, support charges and selling of modules is where the revenue comes from.  Mix that with keeping overheads extremely low then the business model is plausible; if somewhat fragile if new business drys up.  To be fair to KBKP, I don't think the pricing has changed in the last few months but it has changed considerably since May 2013. 

Investing in a winning product is not a concern but gambling the future on an uncertain one is not something I'd be interested in.

I certainly cannot offer you any comfort on the future!  As a very small business we do not have Procurement or Vendor Management departments who can manage, monitor and track foreign company health.  I have called for KBKP to stabilise their pricing for some time and they do seem to be attempting to do this.  Attempts to open communication channels for free bug support has improved - although it could improve more alongside just general contact.  My overall observation is that they are trying to stabilise and have accepted that older clients have gone and won't come back so targeting new under their current business model.

When you say you have invested heavily in HostBill do you mean from a development/customization standpoint or developer support costs?

In 2013 we were looking to revamp our in-house developed client portal.  When we looked at our competition, our offering was abysmal.  When we worked out the cost of in-house development with a huge uplift in features, HostBill was a clear winner.  We have spent considerable money on licenses, plugins, themes and support.  However, that cost is still (even today) less then our in-house estimation.  I think the combination of not living through the Terms and Condition changes of May 2013 and having a good budget has seen us with less problems/issues than many. 

HostBill, thus far, has worked and continues to work for us.  We have recently moved to the Blue Theme and migrating to new 'CompareStack' order pages.  Have  look at our site to view the 2015 refresh and get a feel of what you can buy either as a bolt on in entirety if you have enough budget.

Feel welcome to ask some more questions.

[BRJP]

Hows the deliberation coming along?

Did you come to a conclusion?

[jchinmd2000]

Sorry, I've been wrapped up building out infrastructure and working the regular job. 

I'm still interested in the product, it looks like the only one that will serve my needs... Just concerned with price and support. I can't seem to find a used license.

I see a promo code section in checkout, do they ever release codes?

[BRJP]

I have never seen a promotion code but that does not mean they don't exist!

Ill have a look at the offers and see what the most cost-effective way is for you to purchase.  I cannot promise anything but Ill have a look.

[jchinmd2000]

Thanks.  Pricing isn't as bad as I initially believed.

I thought the deal was you had to purchase base install for $999 then purchase modules that you need for additional $.

I see in includes what I need.  Any deals would of course be appreciated.. 

And then i read your comment about a lack of update this week....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stdi-1tIUhM

 

Anyone else out there using this to provision cloud services (successfully)?

[BRJP]

And then i read your comment about a lack of update this week....

That was mainly me being impatient as I had two bug fixes pending!  (Which were fixed by KBKP for free and where only requested last week so a great turnaround).

I asked KBKP about any promotions and that said they have none running at the moment. 

[d4f]

The main issue with Hostbill keeps being the same. It's blatantly obvious that there is neither
- an Audit trail
- Manual testing before release
- Method testing
- Usuability testing
- Regression testing

We keep having to send in major issues, some of which get rejected/closed without any comment or a terse "cannot reproduce".
Others are reported fixed but still do not work correctly. One hint: do not use InternetX module. EVER
On average we are currently submitting 2-4 bug reports PER DAY

Other than software quality issues (remember, we are talking about a billing system - not some advertising page ) we do like the program though.