a huge number of people on this list seem to be absolutely determined to reinvent the wheel for things like billing systems. there is nothing about a WISP that makes a billing system particularly different than what any major ISP needs.
what's wrong with whmcs and its myriad of different available payment processors? you pay something like $20/month total. it's amazing that companies with anywhere from 100 to 3000 subscribers think they need to create from scratch a new billing system that meets needs which have not been previously resolved in billing software used by ISPs with 20,000 , 50,000 or 400,000 customers. Just because you do wireless last mile PtMP with radios and not ADSL2+/VDSL2 or DOCSIS2/DOCSIS3 cable does not mean that your billing and provisioning system should be any different. this is exactly like people who want to stick to THE DUDE and mikrotik based proprietary monitoring software that only runs on windows. You seriously think large ISPs with 50,000 customers are using that stuff? Look at OpenNMS and similar software that is under active development for use by major backbone operators. You want something special? Develop a plugin for opennms, don't marry yourself to a vendor specific monitoring software like the dude. It is always the singlehomed small customer ISP that thinks its needs are so wildly different than the major operators. The small guys who wouldn't know an IX peering fabric from a potato want to reinvent the wheel. *We're special* so we need this weird email software that somehow meets our special needs, we're too good to run postfix and dovecot like a normal ISP. stop and consider for a moment that if you need to reinvent the wheel to meet the needs of your special messed up business process, you have: a) created an unsustainable unscaleable business that will never be able to grow beyond your small local market. b) created something that no sane large ISP would want to acquire due to the ridiculous number of man hours required to yank out your special-sauce custom system and replace it with industry standard monitoring, billing and infrastructure systems. On Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 9:01 AM, SmarterBroadband < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Brett > > > > Take a look at K-Billing.com > > > > It costs $99 one time. No more to pay. Runs on a PC. Works with many > merchants. We have used it for our WISP billing system for close to 10 > years. > > > > Should do what you want. Easy and works. Just billing, nothing else. > > > > We are close to 2,000 customers now and moving to PowerCode. > > > > Adam > > > > *From:* Af [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Brett A Mansfield > *Sent:* Wednesday, December 09, 2015 2:03 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Need new billing solution asap!!! > > > > It makes perfect sense to not pay a minimum monthly fee for software that > so sold. If you're managing it all of the time then yes, that makes sense > to pay monthly. My issue isn't with paying for a product or with a monthly > cost. My issue is with charging a per sub AND a minimum monthly cost. My > per sub doesn't ever come close to the minimum monthly cost for pretty much > anyone. > > > > I did say it's break even, I didn't say it's a business. It's break even > IF I'm the only one to use it. It will be profitable if anyone uses it, > though the profit will be low. I'm not doing this to start a business. I'm > doing this so that people with fewer than 100 customers have an easy to > deploy, and easy and cheap to use option. That is it. I never said that > those of you with larger solutions are doing anything wrong or that you > have poor products. I don't agree with that model, but if I had 300+ > customers I could completely see a use case for those products like > powercode, wispmon, platypus, etc. But for me and most WISPs with fewer > than 100 customers, those solutions make zero sense. > > > Thank you, > > Brett A Mansfield > > > On Dec 9, 2015, at 2:49 PM, Josh Luthman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Because if you're making software that you sell and manage a one time fee > doesn't work. > > You're wanting to make a product that breaks even. That simply makes no > business case. > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 > Direct: 937-552-2343 > 1100 Wayne St > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > On Dec 9, 2015 4:44 PM, "Brett A Mansfield" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > The research I did was very extensive. Wispmon in particular has their > pricing right on their website (which I love by the way. I wish everyone > would). > > > > You say that billing is the most important part of my business. I > respectfully disagree. It is actually one of the least important. The > product I'm selling is by far the most important, and the customer service > is next. Billing only happens after the first two are met. > > > > You mentioned several other things: > > > > *"I'm curious to what other systems you have in place that handle things > like mapping, monitoring, FCC reporting, sales tracking, prospect > qualification, inventory management, ip management, work orders, trouble > tickets, scheduling, provisioning, automated suspension and payments, > reporting, and more in addition to billing?"* > > > > With the small size of my company this is all very easily managed with > simple (and free) spreadsheets. So this argument is irrelevant to me. When > I get to a size where it is no longer easily managed, then and only then > will I start to pay for a service that can provide that (it will not be > until then that my business can afford to pay for it). > > > > You then offer advice to pay for this stuff from the beginning. Not > everyone is going to model their business in the way you think or society > thinks it should be. My business model is very, very different from the > norm. It's people that deviate from the "accepted standard", the ones that > think outside the box, that tend to do really well. My idea of success and > my idea of what and how a business should operate are not the same as > yours. > > > > Billing is something that should not be this difficult and expensive. Why > should I pay 5% of my revenue to someone that does nearly nothing??? If I > take what wispmon charges, add that to what it cost me to run a payment, > and then take out my operating costs, the likelihood of there being much > left is very low. The credit card companies already steal almost 3% before > I even pay the gateway company. Why are there so many different people > involved to make is to I can collect $45 from my customer? > > > > I really like what stripe, swipe, and PayPal have done by basically taking > one of the people out of that. The only problem is that they aren't set up > well for monthly recurring payments. That is what I intend to close the gap > on. > > > > Anyone who charges by the sub or has a monthly minimum so high that it > isn't worth it does not have a business model I agree with. > > > > I had seriously considered wispmon, but quickly ruled them out as soon as > I realized that you charge more for BYO Merchant account. I already have a > merchant account and have no interest in paying $200 to sign up for a new > one I have no experience with, or pay en extra $0.30 per sub per month > because I want to use someone I already use and trust. > > > > Another problem with Wispmon is that the main website looks like it was > built by using someone's free template that was simply modified old using > basic HTML code. If that is the impression I get from the main website, > what kind of product could they possibly be giving me? Will it look good? > Will it be based on old code too? Will it be easy to use? Too many > questions right off the bat. I'm not at all saying that this is how it is, > just saying that perception is reality. My first impression wasn't good, so > that sets the tone for the rest. > > > > You then went on to give me unsolicited advice as if to tell me how to be > running my business. My question was not why I should or shouldn't do > something, it was simply what options are out there. I've asked this > question several times and have done very extensive research on several > products. I didn't go that deep into wispmon because of my very first > impressions. And now after the email you sent out I will never consider it > again in the future. > > > Thank you, > > Brett A Mansfield > > > On Dec 9, 2015, at 2:05 PM, Cameron Crum <[email protected]> wrote: > > I'm curious what your review consisted of? To my knowledge, you never > contacted us to ask any questions even after an offlist invitation. It > seems if you are going to the trouble of creating something new, you would > at least perform an exhaustive analysis meaning you are talking to someone > to ask questions. I understand you think that perhaps the most important > piece of your business should be free or close to it, but is that really > where you want to skimp? Having owned a wisp for 8 years starting in 2003 > and sold to JAB in 2010, and actually been where you think you are now, > when there really were few platforms available, I would have jumped at the > chance to pay under $1 (or maybe slightly more) per sub to have all the > capability that most of the current systems currently have. I'm curious to > what other systems you have in place that handle things like mapping, > monitoring, FCC reporting, sales tracking, prospect qualification, > inventory management, ip management, work orders, trouble tickets, > scheduling, provisioning, automated suspension and payments, reporting, and > more in addition to billing? If you are using separate systems for all of > these things, then it is probably costing you more than what you would pay > for a single platform which does all of these things. I know you say you > are small and if you are doing all of these things manually or with > multiple platforms, there will be a day when that won't scale and you will > either be killing yourself trying to keep up, or spending far more than you > think to make it all work. My advice would be to do a bit more real > research before you dig into rolling your own. Talk to people who have been > in your shoes and were adverse to spending money on a good system. I tell > people who are evaluating different systems, that even if they don't choose > us, choose one of the ones out there. If you are just getting started, it > is the best decision you will make. It is much easier to get in at the > beginning than to convert later. The hardest part of being a self-starting > entrepreneur is knowing when to let go of certain things and either pay > someone to do them, or pay to get them out of the way so you can get down > to growing your business. This I know for sure, as it is the hardest part > for me. > > > > Cameron > > > > On Wed, Dec 9, 2015 at 11:48 AM, Brett A Mansfield < > [email protected]> wrote: > > To be clear, this will not be a standard in any way. It's just to fill a > need where I see one. Something for the little guys like myself. This will > not be a solution for those big customers since it will be limited to > billing/CRM. > > > > I'm not doing this for profit. I'm doing this on the side and the numbers > should make it break even. > > > > Eric, I really like that comic strip, it is exactly what I was thinking > when I thought of doing this. Haha. > > > > There is NOTHING on the market like it though. Something that works, that > is nearly free, that is for the very small guys where every single penny > counts. > > > > If nobody in the world uses this system but me, then I'll still feel it > was worth my time. My partners are volunteering their time and so am I, so > our cost will be very low to develop this. > > Thank you, > > Brett A Mansfield > > > On Dec 9, 2015, at 10:30 AM, Josh Luthman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Good luck. It certainly has been tried before... > > > > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 > Direct: 937-552-2343 > 1100 Wayne St > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > > > On Wed, Dec 9, 2015 at 12:27 PM, Brett A Mansfield < > [email protected]> wrote: > > So, after a lot of review of every billing solution I can find out there, > I've come to the conclusion that there is no good billing system. > Everything out there either requires you use their merchant, has a minimum > monthly cost, or isn't really designed for the ISP. Even the stuff that has > come out most recently isn't a good fit. > > > > For those of you who are smaller and don't want to pay a monthly minimum, > or want to use your choice of merchant, or don't want to pay a per user > charge, something new will be coming soon! > > > > I've spoken to a few proven software engineers in the financial side of > things and we are partnering up to develop a new ISP billing software. It > will be turnkey, very easy to use, and can be deployed either by you on > your servers, or can be hosted on ours. It will only handle > billing/invoicing and CRM/ticketing. Best of all, it's practically free! > > > > More details to come. I'll keep you posted when we have more info. > > Thank you, > > Brett A Mansfield > > > On Dec 7, 2015, at 5:58 PM, Mike Hammett <[email protected]> wrote: > > Welcome to 2014? > > > > ----- > Mike Hammett > Intelligent Computing Solutions > http://www.ics-il.com > > <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL> > <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb> > <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions> > <https://twitter.com/ICSIL> > > Midwest Internet Exchange > http://www.midwest-ix.com > > <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix> > <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange> > <https://twitter.com/mdwestix> > ------------------------------ > > *From: *"Adam Moffett" <[email protected]> > *To: *[email protected] > *Sent: *Monday, December 7, 2015 1:32:33 PM > *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] Need new billing solution asap!!! > > Ubiquiti has a CRM? > > On 12/7/2015 2:27 PM, Brett A Mansfield wrote: > > It's funny you mentioned waveapps. That is what I started out with. It was > a disaster. And the fact they don't allow multiple email addresses for > recurring invoices was a major deal breaker for me. > > > > I've since moved to UBNTs airCRM. It is an excellent setup on paper, but > is seriously lacking currently and is very erratic. I need something solid, > secure, and that I don't have to worry about all the time. > > Thank you, > > Brett A Mansfield > > > On Dec 7, 2015, at 12:08 PM, Joshaven Mailing Lists <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Plat has excellent support > > > > In my opinion, the problems with plat are: > > 1) The user interface is a pain in the butt and generally discouraging. > > 2) The software depends on a Windows platform and even worse direct > database connections from the client. > > > > 1) In most places when you want to alter something like customer data you > have to click on the field to edit from a table and then go to the top to > make the change in something that is like an address bar… of course you can > get used to this but Plat is full of non-user friendly quirks like this. > It reminds me of what it feels like to go back and use Windows 95 or > Windows 3.1 when I am used to modern operating systems. The system feels > almost like directly editing a database except that the software does > enforce logical edits so it is not nearly as dangerous as direct database > minupulation. > > > > 2) If you want to run a good highly available platform then you will be > spending a lot on software licensing with Microsoft. What is the going > rate for a MSSQL cluster now of days? Of course you can throw this on old > rusty crusty in a closet and run the free version of MSSQL but we are > carriers not hacks right? Also you are depending on ODBC database > connections between your clients and the server. Opening direct database > connections to my billing server gives me the creeps even if it is only > open to a network under my administration. I’m a fan of local host db > access only except for database peers. I would really like to see ISP > billing software be web based using standard https protocols and having no > client side dependencies like odbc configurations and client executables. > Try using Plat on a tablet… I don’t want my billing platform holding back > my ability to creatively design my installation process… > > > > > > I feel like I am ragging on Plat… maybe I am a bit but I want to > underscore their support. They are truly exceptional to work with and you > can rely on their platform. Just don’t expect to enjoy using it. If you > like function over form then you may be a perfect match for Plat… I just > wish they would do some magic to address the above two complaints. > > > > My recommendation to them is to become database & OS agnostic (at least > MySQL or MSSQL and run on Apache) and to make the client interface be 100% > standards compliment browser based. I suspect if they don’t do this they > will find themselves with a EOL product in the next few years. > > > > Right now there are really good options emerging like WaveApps. Wave > offers free billing including credit card processing at fair rates. They > don’t fit perfectly with an ISP (yet) but they are promising an API which > means that a good solutions provider can crank out an integrations solution > with Wave for front end billing. I am also super excited to see what Sonar > has to offer. I hope their offer is solid and we have a glorious solution… > > > > > At any rate I am waiting with bated breath to see where this lands over > the next few months. > > > > Sincerely, > > Joshaven Potter > MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, UACA > Google Hangouts: [email protected] > Cell & SMS: 1-517-607-9370 > > [email protected] > > > > > > > > On Dec 7, 2015, at 9:47 AM, Chuck Hogg <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I can setup Platypus for billing only in less than an hour, including > setting up plans/rates/services/importing customers. > > > Regards, > Chuck > > > > On Sat, Dec 5, 2015 at 3:42 PM, Josh Luthman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > That get's to be a little in depth and probably a loaded question...but I > know when we moved to Powercode the old team that wasn't very good had it > done in one afternoon. This was from Quickbooks. > > > > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 > Direct: 937-552-2343 > 1100 Wayne St > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > > > On Sat, Dec 5, 2015 at 3:37 PM, Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: > > Are you including database conversion? Items, customers, current > balances, recurring billing, credit cards, etc. > > > > Then there’s setting up the online customer payment portal. Especially if > customers already had online accounts. And you need to hook it into your > merchant account, put your logo on it, test it, etc. > > > > > > *From:* Josh Luthman <[email protected]> > > *Sent:* Saturday, December 05, 2015 2:24 PM > > *To:* [email protected] > > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Need new billing solution asap!!! > > > > I'm simply saying 2 days is a long time to setup a billing system. For > someone that wants it running "immediately" 2 days is a LONG time. > > > > > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 > Direct: 937-552-2343 > 1100 Wayne St > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > > > On Sat, Dec 5, 2015 at 3:22 PM, Philip Rankin <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hey, I'm not in this for an argument. I am just offering to help a guy > out if I can. I'll bow out of this conversation. > > On Dec 5, 2015 1:37 PM, "Josh Luthman" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Two days??? Powercode takes like an hour. > > > > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 > Direct: 937-552-2343 > 1100 Wayne St > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > > > On Sat, Dec 5, 2015 at 2:34 PM, Philip Rankin <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Guys, I am still a major believer in Tucows Platypus. Brett, I could have > you up and running with Plat in under 2 days as long as you can answer > speed and pricing questions as I ask them. And all I would need is remote > access to a Windows 7 computer. Let me know if you are interested. Most > of the training can be done remotely in less than a day, too. > > > > On Sat, Dec 5, 2015 at 12:55 AM, Simon Westlake <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I think it is still pretty early on. > > > > On 12/4/2015 6:22 PM, Chuck Hogg wrote: > > So I guess it does that...lol. I wasn't really expecting it to be like > that. > > > > It's not very baked ? or am I missing something? > > > > Regards, > Chuck > > > > On Fri, Dec 4, 2015 at 7:07 PM, Chuck Hogg <[email protected]> wrote: > > I meant for the admin side? > > > > Regards, > Chuck > > > > On Fri, Dec 4, 2015 at 4:27 PM, Faisal Imtiaz <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Just guessing.... > > > > Drop down on top right, select signup/create account ! > > > > :) > > > > Faisal Imtiaz > Snappy Internet & Telecom > 7266 SW 48 Street > Miami, FL 33155 > Tel: 305 663 5518 x 232 > > Help-desk: (305)663-5518 Option 2 or Email: [email protected] > > > ------------------------------ > > *From: *"Chuck Hogg" <[email protected]> > *To: *[email protected] > *Sent: *Friday, December 4, 2015 4:25:07 PM > *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] Need new billing solution asap!!! > > Anyone know how to login to his demo? > > > > Regards, > Chuck > > > > On Fri, Dec 4, 2015 at 11:28 AM, Simon Westlake <[email protected]> > wrote: > > https://github.com/spencerlambert/wisp-central-control > > On 12/4/2015 10:08 AM, Jeremy wrote: > > Isn't Spencer Lambert's web front-end free? Last time I saw him at Animal > Farm he was touting it and said he would help with setup and customization > at a flat rate of $100/hr. He is located in Utah, also. If you want > something cheap or free that may be an option. It would probably be worth > contacting him. I recommend Powercode. > > > > On Fri, Dec 4, 2015 at 8:58 AM, Craig Schmaderer <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I've been looking at https://www.whmcs.com/ > > I have a friend that uses it for his ventrillo voice business and it does > auto billing and ticketing and is cheap. I think you can get a hosted > solution if you don't want to install it. > > Craig schmaderer > Skywave Wireless, Inc. > > > > > > On Fri, Dec 4, 2015 at 7:41 AM -0800, "Brett A Mansfield" < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Here is what I've always said about quality, cheap and fast. > > > > You can only pick two. You will never have all three. > > > > For this I need fast and quality. Cheap is relative in this case. I don't > have a lot of customers so the $200/mo min that visp requires is about > $100-150 too much for me. I'm fine with a reasonable one time fee, but it > must be reasonable. > > > > I used to use waveapps to just invoice and then customers could pay using > the invoice. But if they didn't get the email or lost it, they couldn't pay > their bill. > > > > I appreciate everyone's input on this. I think I'm going with platypus and > pay someone to set it up. > > > > I like powercode, I just cannot justify the initial cost for my small size > operation. > > Thank you, > > Brett A Mansfield > > > On Dec 4, 2015, at 7:47 AM, Chris Fabien <[email protected]> wrote: > > Good, cheap, and fast? You know what they say about that. > > We are reasonably happy with Powercode. Few gripes but it has never double > or triple charged our customers. > > On Dec 4, 2015 1:35 AM, "Brett A Mansfield" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I'm looking for a good billing solution that is cheap and I can have up in > running immediately. > > I've had far too many issues with my current billing system. > > I need something turnkey and cheap. My WISP is a fairly small operation. > > I am not willing to pay per sub, especially if there is a minimum like > visp. I don't want to buy any new hardware. I looked at platypus, but it > cannot be deployed easily or quickly. I looked at powercode, but I don't > want to buy any new hardware. > > Is there anything out there that might fit my needs? Or should I just go > back to manual invoicing with quickbooks? > > Thank you, > Brett A Mansfield > > > > > > -- > > Simon Westlake > > Skype: Simon_Sonar > > Email: [email protected] > > Phone: (702) 447-1247 > > --------------------------- > > Sonar Software Inc > > The next generation of ISP billing and OSS > > https://sonar.software > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Simon Westlake > > Skype: Simon_Sonar > > Email: [email protected] > > Phone: (702) 447-1247 > > --------------------------- > > Sonar Software Inc > > The next generation of ISP billing and OSS > > https://sonar.software > > > > > > -- > > Philip J. Rankin > > Wireless Telecommunications Services > PO Box 24 > Pittsburg, KS 66762 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
