PayRequest Business is a WHMCS customer portal alternative for businesses whose main requirement is client billing: invoices, recurring payments and supported subscription self-service. It is not a promise to replace every hosting module. Start by identifying which system will own billing and which system will provision, suspend or renew each service.
WHMCS already has a client area and recurring billing. Its official theme documentation recommends Twenty-One; Six is a legacy theme. A useful comparison should evaluate the actual customer workflow rather than claim every WHMCS installation has an obsolete interface.
Compare the customer tasks that matter
A hosting customer needs to find an invoice, understand the service period, pay through an available method and retrieve their billing records. Between renewals, they may need to update payment details or request cancellation. Show these tasks to a customer before deciding to rebuild an entire client area.
PayRequest's customer portal supports invoice access and subscription management. Its subscription self-service documentation explains the actual controls: pause and cancellation are enabled per product, and cancellation can be immediate or a request with a notice period. Service integrations can have additional rules. Do not assume every action is available for every product.
Use this original billing handover worksheet
The following fictional example shows how to plan the switch for a €29 monthly managed-hosting service. It is a planning worksheet, not a completed customer migration or payment test.
| Record | Example | Required check |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | Example Hosting customer A | Email and company identity agree in both systems |
| Service | Managed hosting, €29 monthly | Amount, currency, tax and service period agree |
| Last WHMCS charge | 1 October 2026 | No additional old-system invoice for November |
| First PayRequest renewal | 1 November 2026 | One invoice or one authorized automatic collection |
| Payment authority | Existing provider reference | Confirm eligibility; obtain new authorization if needed |
| Hosting lifecycle | Existing provisioning system | Define paid, failed and canceled service events |
The important control is one billing owner per customer. Running systems in parallel does not mean charging the same customer from both systems. Keep the historical invoices available and record precisely when the responsibility changes.
Check payment mandates before moving subscriptions
PayRequest documents automatic and manual subscription billing. Automatic collection needs an eligible customer mandate. Manual billing generates the recurring invoice for the customer to pay. An invoice record and a payment authorization are different things.
Do not copy a provider token and assume that it grants a new platform permission to collect. Confirm the provider account, payment method, ownership and supported integration. A migration may require new customer authorization. Check the first renewal before expanding the pilot.
Account for hosting automation
If WHMCS provisions cPanel or Plesk, manages registrar modules or suspends overdue hosting, document how these jobs will continue. A separate portal is useful only when service events still reach the responsible system. API and webhooks require an implemented, checked workflow; they do not establish automatic compatibility with every WHMCS module.
Use our WHMCS alternative comparison to explore an illustrative portal demo. Then complete the WHMCS migration checklist or request a setup assessment through the migration page.
Choose the appropriate plan
PayRequest Business costs €20/month and includes the customer portal and recurring billing. Standard platform fees are 0% while the paid plan is active. Provider processing fees apply separately; commission payments retain their separate fee. Setup and plan selection alone do not activate paid features.
Begin with the portal demo and one customer group rather than a blanket migration promise. Confirm the data, mandate and service lifecycle before the next renewal.
Editorial note: AI assisted with this update. Product documentation and official WHMCS sources were reviewed on 7 October 2026. The worksheet is an original fictional example; no customer savings, support reduction or completed migration is claimed.
