Domain renewal date = domain expire date - Feature or Bug?

[pcardoso]

Hello,

On Hostbill, we can't have the domain renewal date different from the domain expire date. If we change it, it is automatically changed after new synchronizations.
On whmcs we can  have different date so, in Hostbill, you consider it a feature or bug?
How do you live with it?

We have customers who want to pay hosting and several domains on the same date so how can I fix this? We also use to bill some domain extensions some days before the expire date due to the expire rules (.eu as an example).

I can only see 2 options here, or we have to develop a new registrar module that doesn't returns any date to the system and updates the database directly, or we have to go the "illegal way", decode some hostbill files and fix the functionality.

I will probably post some other questions we have in the next few days

[Lawrence]

I don't consider it a feature or a bug. The renewal date should be automatically set to the expiration date (and invoice generated beforehand). This is how most registrars work anyway.

It's silly to have a renewal date  different than the expiration date. (Unless you're requiring payment in advance to consider renewal)

But I suppose it has a lot more to do with preferences.

[pcardoso]

This is how registrars work, that's a fact, but on my registrars I think I don't have a renewal date and a expire date, I only have one .

The problem is we have several clients with, let's say, 1 hosting plan and 2, 3 or 4 domains, each one with different renewal date.
We have a customer with 1 hosting plan and about 40 domains and one thing he asked us was not to receive one e-mail for each domain. He just want to make one payment each year...
On our current system we can set the renewal date to the same date and the customer only gets one e-mail and one invoice. On whmcs it is possible too, but on hostbill, even having both dates on database, they are equal.

I can't understand this, we have one renewal date that changes each time the cron creates an invoice, and one expire date that should change when the domain is renewed. Why does the system changes both dates? I can understand many people would not use this feature but I can see lots of people needing it.
We already tried to develop a new module to handle registrations but when the renewal function is executed, it has to return the new date to hostbill and it uses it to change both dates too.

We just need to have the option.
How about a flag in preferences that let's us chose if we want to auto update the renewal date, or not?

[nibb]

This is how registrars work, that's a fact, but on my registrars I think I don't have a renewal date and a expire date, I only have one .

The problem is we have several clients with, let's say, 1 hosting plan and 2, 3 or 4 domains, each one with different renewal date.
We have a customer with 1 hosting plan and about 40 domains and one thing he asked us was not to receive one e-mail for each domain. He just want to make one payment each year...
On our current system we can set the renewal date to the same date and the customer only gets one e-mail and one invoice. On whmcs it is possible too, but on hostbill, even having both dates on database, they are equal.

I can't understand this, we have one renewal date that changes each time the cron creates an invoice, and one expire date that should change when the domain is renewed. Why does the system changes both dates? I can understand many people would not use this feature but I can see lots of people needing it.
We already tried to develop a new module to handle registrations but when the renewal function is executed, it has to return the new date to hostbill and it uses it to change both dates too.

We just need to have the option.
How about a flag in preferences that let's us chose if we want to auto update the renewal date, or not?

Because domains are indeed a different product than hosting. This is how they work.

I understand your problem, but your problem is not about how domains work, but how you are offering your services.

I assume you want the customer to receive 1 single invoice with hosting, domain, etc, all included. Well, usually this would be the case if the customer ordered the domain with the hosting.

But if not, you can always just include the renewal in the same invoice. This is not a problem. The expiration date has nothing to do with this. You can renew a domain when you want. In your case, I would just consider configuring your hosting package to have the domain included for free on it. Then your customers will pay both the hosting and domain in the same invoice.

Short answer: Its not a bug or a feature. Its just how domain registrations work.

[pcardoso]

I think you didn't understand me.
I know domain registrations work like this. I've been working in the hosting industry for 16 years.

What if a customer with 30 domains want to only make a payment once in a year and don't want to be bothered with 30 renewal notifications, 30 invoices, etc?
On WHMCS we can do that, we just have to set the billing date to the same day on the 30 domains. On Hostbill, even having both dates, it is not possible.
On WHMCS, the domain sync tool only syncs expire date and don't touch on invoice date. On Hostbill it allways change both dates. I just cant see the point of having both dates if the software doesn't use them.

I know the customer will pay today for a domain renewal that only expires in 11 months, but he wants to work like that. Is it so strange? We have many many customers asking for the same...
I just can't understand why such a basic functionality is not available if the software already has 2 dates for the domains...

[nibb]

I see where you are going and I actually like the sync feature in HB. My previous billing worked like that. And it was a mess.

Because when someone transfer a domain out, it will still be in your system and it will send expiration notice, some people even complained that why I was sending that to them as they moved the domain out.

Now with the sync feature you can catch this domains and delete them.

You can manually change the expiration date on the domains in Hostbill. And I assume you say its updated again when the domain is synchronized correct? Well that is how it should it work. Otherwise the feature would be useless.

But I think where you are going, for what this options if they are not respected correct? Well, they are useful for those running custom registrar modules or ones that do not support sync. Then setting this manually is a requirement.

Maybe you can suggest a feature so Hostbill adds a checkbox next to it called "Force date" or something similar, so the sync does not overwrite this. I don´t see many users using it, but I do see what you want. The thing is that you need to take into consideration that if this dates are not the same as in the sync, its actually fake data. So a customer could always do a whois check and that would not match what they see in their customer account, this is what you want. But in my case and most cases, we want to present information there that is actually correct and matches the domain registration.

The solution in your case is:
1. Change expiration date on the domain manually.
2. Disabled sync
3. Disable domain expiration notifications

Or any combination of this options.

What exactly do you do not want? Sync? You can disable it. Email expiration notifications? You can disable this as well. Change expiration, you can change this.

This cannot be done per domain but nothing stops you from creating a different product for domains and disable notifications expirations for that product, then set your customers to that group that do not want to be bothered with domain expiration notifications. You could even duplicate the registrar module and try to see if you can disable sync only for that module. Just try some or more combinations of what could work for your scenario.

Try it, maybe that works for you.

[pcardoso]

We had already decided to create a new resellerclub module that connect directly to mysql to update dates (not the correct approach but...)

Unfortunately, after reading the last posts about the 3rd party development end, I think it is time to stop and really find an alternative.
We will have to go to whmcs as it looks like the only viable solution know.

[nibb]

We had already decided to create a new resellerclub module that connect directly to mysql to update dates (not the correct approach but...)

Unfortunately, after reading the last posts about the 3rd party development end, I think it is time to stop and really find an alternative.
We will have to go to whmcs as it looks like the only viable solution know.

That does not apply to you, its for purchases after may 26.

Good luck with whmcs, if it was working for you, then I would suggest to just keep using it.

[Patrick]

That does not apply to you, its for purchases after may 26.

Good luck with whmcs, if it was working for you, then I would suggest to just keep using it.

Actually it still applies to all of us because future third party development is gone.  Can existing customers still "try" and develop themselves?  Sure, but true third party development no longer exists.  So yes, he is correct.