Portal Home > Knowledgebase > Articles Database > Manual Orders and Account Setup
Manual Orders and Account Setup
| Posted by [Arexis] Emil, 05-26-2005, 01:46 AM |
| Hi, I was wondering what you guys would recommend to have setup as the ordering system? Would it be better to manually process and confirm each order and then inform the user... or just buy a billing script like ClientExec and let it do everything instantly.
What's your opinion on this?
Thanks.
|
| Posted by MarkW78, 05-26-2005, 02:10 AM |
| My first three years in this business I did this all by hand. The last three years I've had an automated system in H-Sphere. There are good and bad points to both.
Manual Setup:
+ You get to know your customers better right off the bat because you can "investigate" each order to verify its authenticity.
+ Better chance of catching fraud before charges go through
- Fail to get impulse buyers
Automation:
+ Impulse buyers fork over the money on the spot
+ Full automation means you don't need to remember your billing dates
- Fraud can slip through instantly if you don't have safeguards in place
+ Setup takes place even when no one is in the office, reducing staffing requirements and giving you more free time!
Some control panel systems now include automated signup as part of the package. For instance, H-Sphere allows for instant setup even for resellers. In H-Sphere, you can also set parameters such as the billing address must be in the same country as the signup IP (to prevent fraud) - and H-Sphere will automatically "moderate" situations like this so you have to manually approve it - giving you a chance to prevent the fraud.
Given the choice, I'd automate. But that is how I weigh the differences.
Hope that helps. And good luck!
|
| Posted by RobM, 05-26-2005, 03:37 AM |
| Well if your doing web hosting, it's better to have an order system online and ready as thats the professional way.
But here's the catch... Set your system up so that no orders get installed on the server without you checking over the order and confirming them.
Many host will say you will lose business, but if you lost 1 customer out of 50 it's 100% worth it.
But if you like automated orders to install because you are not around to check them, be prepared for many more charge backs and Spam coming from your server / account. Its always better to call the telephone number given to you on file.
|
| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-26-2005, 03:49 AM |
| I run ModernBill and that captures/processes the order, then adds client into database. I then manually create (and authenticate the order etc) the account, from that information, and send out the welcome email.
|
| Posted by harryhood, 05-26-2005, 02:34 PM |
| I see that you mentioned ClientExec, I use it and think it's a really nice billing & support system application. It's doesn't have all the options of a modernbill, but it's a lot easier to configure and getting up and running with.
|
| Posted by dtstadler, 05-21-2006, 07:32 PM |
| It can get tough manually confirming every order especially when you grow to recieving a couple hundred or thousand a month. Try to find an automated solution that can be configured to your company's specs. It can end up saving you a bunch of time.
|
| Posted by StackHost, 05-21-2006, 07:43 PM |
| If you are just starting out - don't be afraid to manually review every order that comes through.
If you have thousands of customers - don't be afraid to manually review every order that comes through.
Basically, it is important for you and the integrity of your services to ensure the authenticity of each order.
In addition, malicious users may use your automatic system to purchase - spam - and leave, before you even know what hits you. This could ultimately land you on spam blacklists, which may limit your ability to communicate with some of your customers.
Good luck with your company.
|
| Posted by jmweb, 05-21-2006, 07:51 PM |
| Which is a bigger threat to me then loosing 1 customer in 50 because we manually verify.
|
| Posted by dtstadler, 05-22-2006, 02:30 PM |
| By using fraud software to help automatically process legitamate orders you can ensure that you don't waste your time manually processing orders that are not fraudulent. This allows many individuals to spend more time running their company instead of weeding through a bunch of good orders. Always keep in mind, it's always better to be too safe than sorry you have a bunch of chargebacks.
|
| Posted by Skyview, 05-22-2006, 02:55 PM |
| Regarding fraud software, you can check out FraudCall from Varilogix: http://www.varilogix.com/
David
|
Add to Favourites 
Print this Article
Also Read
PathPing (Views: 568)