Transfers are too much bother, I don't have a PayPal, but I do have someone who insists on paying for the space I let him have on my 360. He can't physically give me money, being a few hundred miles away y'know.. Doesn't help anything.

So what if we could (correct if the option is already there) have users assinged to be able to credit the account using their own details? So far it only looks like that anyone else I let have billing access can only use *my* card to credit and see all my contact details to boot.

The idea would be to make a normal Linode account and give them a profile to set their own billing/contact details and then login through the Linode manager and select a Linode they have permission to and credit it. Hey, for added security you could even have the account owner approve of the payment before it's put through.

I don't know... Would it work?

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Running a Linode 360

Why not just get a paypal account?

Or just give them your bank account number so they can transfer the funds to you.

Well given that you've already said transfers are a PITA for you, and I can fully understand you not wanting to use SuckPal, why not just set him up with his own Linode? You manage it if he needs that, and he pays.

I have quite a few people have space on the 'node. It's this one specifically that can't pay, but insists that he must. That said, it's unlikely that I'm the only "sufferer" of this "problem", so I think it would be a welcome addition, then again it might not.

But imagine using the API to set up a billing system? Say one has a Linode for his hosting company, and a billing system on his company website for customers to login and pay or whatever, this system is linked with the Linode API to create a user account here, set up that account's details and then send payments first through the system before landing safely in the 'nodes credit.

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Running a Linode 360

What fraction of $20 a month are we talking about here? It doesn't seem like it's worth Caker's time to even think about implementing something so complicated for so little return.

I don't know how much he wants to pay. But I know he's interested in contributing to upgrading the node to a 540 or a 720 (it will become necessary soon because he expects an article in the near future will find it's way on slashdot).

The people who DO pay just pay me £3 a month or so ($5?). But like I said, this could easily apply to many more people in many different situations.

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Running a Linode 360

Why not setup something like ISPConfig and billing that way?

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If it ain't broke, you didn't tweak it enough. If it is broke, use more duct tape.
http://independentchaos.com

Just have him send you a check or money order for an entire year worth of payment.

Setting up any sort of payment system like this for $5/month for either side to have to pay fees (money order or paypal, etc) is just dumb. Sorry for being blunt, but being a small business owner myself who has to pay credit card transaction fees it can hurt.

I know a small one man host operation who requires everyone pay for the year up front, $100/yr and it's done.

If you replace "Linode" with "Paypal" then you don't have to imagine anything - are you sure you don't want Paypal?

There's nothing stopping you from using PayPal's API and Linode's API to automate things as you please. Billing is a sticky issue, Linode should *NEVER* have to get involved in the billing of the customers of customers, *EVER*. That's hassle and liability I doubt they can afford.

Yeah, even hosts that specialize in the shared hosting reseller market by offering CPanel/Plesk, etc, seem to leave dealing with end-users money to someone else.

This might be a silly suggestion but if this is more of "friend reimbursing a friend" type of thing rather than a real business arrangement then you might want to do what I do. For a few $5 per month arrangements I get them to buy me an Amazon gift certificate online once a year or whatever. That works well for everyone.