Provider

This article describes the process of creating a provider and its associated settings.

A provider is the brand under which services are sold. In BILLmanager, you can create several providers to separate the sale of services, clients, and make settlements in different currencies. For example, you can use one provider to sell SSL certificates in Euros, and another provider to sell virtual machines in rubles.

Creating a new provider

To create a new provider, enter Provider → Providers → click Add:

Basic settings
- Name — specify the name of the provider.
- Provider icon — upload an image to be used when building the list of available providers. Maximum size: 16х16 px.
- Email for notifications — specify the address from which notifications will be sent to clients. To successfully send messages, configure an external mail server and a gateway for outgoing messages.
- Support email — specify the address from which notifications will be sent: about user or payer activation, and password recovery. Leave the field blank so that all notifications are sent from the Email for sending notifications.
- Web-site URL — specify the URL of your website. Can be used in notifications sent to clients.
- Billing URL — specify a public URL to access the BILLmanager web interface. Read more in Web interface authentication. Can be used:
  - for placing the storefront. Read more in Storefronts;
  - as the address at which the client can get to the authorization page in the BILLmanager system;
  - in notifications to clients.
- Help URL — specify the URL of the page that will be opened in the client area from the Help → Get help section.
- Currency — select the currency for settlements with clients under this provider. Once the provider is created, you can change the billing currency. Personal accounts will be created for all users using the new currency. Clients who were registered in BILLmanager before the currency change will still have an account in the original currency.
  If there are active payments or expenses in the system, the currency change function will be blocked.
- Default country — according to the selected value the system will assign a default localization. This will change the default document templates if the required language is added in the billing system.
Registration and authorization methods. Read more in Methods of registration and authorization.
For each provider, you can configure how users register and authorize in the platform.
- By phone number — the option allows users to authorize through a verified phone number. When registering or logging in, the user will be prompted for a confirmation code, which the user will receive in an SMS message. If the phone number is not listed or is not verified, authentication by login and password will be required.
  - Number of code entry attempts — if the set limit is reached, a new confirmation code will be required. Read more in Phone verification gateways.
  - Number of attempts to receive the code — how many times the code will be sent to the phone number. If the specified limit is reached, the user will need to wait before trying to authorize again. Read more in Phone verification gateways.
- Google — the option allows users to authorize through Google service.
Chat settings. Installation of the Online Chat module is required. Read more in Online chat.
- Departments — select the departments to work with for online chat.
- Incoming departments — select the departments in which the chat will appear automatically;
- Approved sites — specify the list of additional domains that are allowed to host the chat code.
  - supported domain format: "example.com" and "*.example.com";
  - separator: space or new line.
- Chat code — JavaScript code that you can copy to embed the chat into a website.

Deleting a provider

You can only delete a "clean" provider that has not done any activity to set up or sell services. If you need to delete a "clean" provider and it is the only one on the system, create a new one first.

To delete a provider, enter Provider → Providers → select a provider → click Delete.

Editing a provider

Additional settings are available for the created provider. To access the settings, open Provider → Providers → select a provider → click Edit:

Support incidents:
- limit on the number of messages per hour. Read more in Spam protection;
- paid tickets, read more in Paid support.
reCAPTCHA settings — a mechanism to protect web services from Internet bots. In BILLmanager, reCAPTCHA analyzes user behavior on the registration form. If the client's actions can be classified as suspicious, they are asked to take an image recognition test. Read more in Spambot protection (reCAPTCHA);
Service auto-provisioning — configuration of connection of a free service to the client when registering with the provider. Read more in Service auto-provisioning.
- connect service to clients — enable the option to display additional settings. Clients will be automatically and free of charge connected to the selected service when they connect to the provider;
- tariff plan — select the tariff of the free service;
- period — select the period for which the service will be activated. The values in the drop—down list are generated from the periods included for the product types.
Close invoices automatically — setting conditions for closing client accounts. The system checks every day to see if there are clients who qualify for auto—closure of accounts. If there are such clients, the system creates an expense for the amount remaining on the client's personal account. The client's services will not be deleted, but renewal will become impossible as there are no funds in the balance. You can return the funds to the account upon request of the client. To do this, delete the expense that was created when the account was auto-closed. Cron task, see Cron scheduler.
- close client's invoices — enable the option to activate closing of accounts;
- idle time — specify the value for the period after which client accounts will be closed. The system considers the absence of payments and expenses for the period specified in the settings as inactivity;
- period — select the period of inactivity: day, month, year;
- expense description — specify the text to be displayed in the expense name;
- ignore active services — activate the option to close the accounts of clients with active services. Services will continue functioning until they expire. When the service expires, they will not be able to renew and will be stopped.
Setting up Google Analytics — integration of BILLmanager with Google Analytics (GA) allows the provider to collect all information about clients and ordered services in the GA client area. Read more in Integration with Google Analytics.

Localization

You can choose a different localization for each provider. It will be applied instead of global.

To select a localization for a provider, enter Provider → Providers → select a provider → click Localizations. The section displays the active global languages. If the provider does not have any localization enabled, the global localization settings will be used.

The provider's localization changes the language:

of the platform interface:
of pop-up notifications;
of mail notifications.

If the client uses an interface language that is active in the provider's localizations, notifications will come in the selected language. If the client language is not among the active provider localizations, the default provider localization is used for notifications.

For notifications that are not provider-specific, the default global localization can be used. This happens if the client is bound to multiple providers. For example, this logic will be used to select the localization of the payment credit notification.

Read more in Localization and Currencies.

Companies

A company is an organization that provides services to clients. All accounting documents are linked to the company. In BILLmanager you can create multiple companies for:

simplifying interactions with different clients. For example, if the provider works with clients from different countries and different sample documents are required;
optimization of accounting activities.

Each company can have its own contract templates and work with different providers in BILLmanager.

You can choose to have service companies for your provider:

Enter Provider → Providers → select a provider→ click Companies.
Select the company and set the values with the Enable and Disable buttons.

Taxes

BILLmanager allows the provider to charge clients a tax on the cost of service. The tax amount can be added to the cost of the tariff or included in the cost of the tariff plan.

Each provider in BILLmanager has a separate set of taxation rules. One provider's tax rates do not affect the tax rates for another provider's clients.

Note:

If the client is assigned to the group, the tax rules of that group will be applied. If the client is not assigned to a group, the policy settings from the provider's configuration form will be applied.

Complete the following steps to create tax rules:

Open the tax rules configuration form:
1. for all clients — Provider → Taxes → Settings or Provider → Providers → Taxes → Settings;
2. for a certain client's group — Clients → Client groups → Taxes → Settings.
Do not include into price — this option defines how to collect a tax from customers. With this option disabled, the tax amount will be included in the tariff price. The same total service price will be set for all users. With this option enabled, the tax amount won't be included in the tariff price. The billing system will add the tax to the total service price. The amount can differ depending on tax rules.
Show tax when a client adds funds — selecting this checkbox will display a tax on the advance payment form.
Click on Ok to save the changes.

Groups

Provider groups allow you to set provider relatedness.

If providers are in the same group:

users and customer payers are considered common at all providers of the group;
a client registered with one provider will be able to authorize in the personal profile of another provider.

If providers are in different groups:

the customer can use the same email to sign up with different providers.

A provider can only be in one group at a time.

Product types

You can configure the order in which services are displayed in the left menu under Goods/Services:

Enter Provider → Providers → select a provider → click Product types.
Select a product type and use the Up and Down buttons to move it to the required position.

Branding

In BILLmanager, you can customize the design of the platform's web interface for each provider.

With branding, you can:

configure the color scheme;
upload the company logo;
configure the authorization form;
specify the copyright.

To change the branding, enter Provider → Providers → select a provider → Branding.