What Should a Hetzner Reseller Client Portal Include?
Your client does not need a copy of Hetzner Console. They need a clear place to see what they bought from you, when it renews, what is due and where to find the documents their finance team needs.
A professional client portal removes the small questions that otherwise fill an inbox: “Which server is ours?”, “When is renewal?”, “Has the bank transfer arrived?”, and “Can you resend last month’s invoice?” The value is clarity, not a long list of controls.
A useful test: a client should answer five questions in under a minute — what services do I have, when do they renew, what do I owe, has payment been received and where are my documents?
A client portal is not a Hetzner account
Hetzner’s account and Cloud/Robot interfaces are supplier-side tools. They hold the reseller’s infrastructure, supplier billing and security settings. Giving clients access to that account can expose internal resources, supplier costs or actions that should remain under the reseller’s control.
A reseller portal should instead show the customer relationship: the service you agreed to provide, your price and renewal terms, the invoice you issued and the payment status you recorded. This makes the relationship more professional without pretending to be an infrastructure control panel.
The five essentials
| Portal area | What the client should see | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Active services | Service name, status and agreed billing cycle | Confirms what the client is buying from the reseller |
| Renewal date | Next renewal or billing date beside each service | Prevents surprise expiry and last-minute support requests |
| Invoices and PDFs | Invoice number, issue date, due date, amount and PDF download | Lets finance teams retrieve documents without asking support |
| Payment status | Paid, pending or unpaid, plus applicable payment instructions | Clarifies whether a card payment or bank transfer has been recorded |
| Billing contacts | Company and billing contact details | Ensures invoices and reminders reach the right person |
1. Services should be written in client language
Show the service name that appears in the agreement, not an opaque supplier resource identifier. A client may understand “Managed application VPS — Helsinki” better than a Cloud server ID. Include the active status, billing cycle and renewal date. If service details or access are sensitive, keep their visibility and change process under your operational rules.
2. Make the next renewal date impossible to miss
A renewal date is a client decision point. Put it on the dashboard and service page, then pair it with a clear invoice status. The portal should reduce uncertainty, not make a client search through email threads to learn whether the service is about to renew.
3. Invoices need history, status and PDFs
Invoice history is core self-service. Each invoice should make its reference, issue date, due date, amount and status easy to scan, with a PDF available for download. A paid invoice is proof for the client’s accounting team; an unpaid one should lead directly to the available payment instructions.
This is also a market expectation: customer billing portals commonly allow customers to view, pay and download current and prior invoices.
4. Payment status must be honest
Use clear statuses such as Paid, Pending and Unpaid. This is particularly important for bank transfers: the client should not be told payment is complete until it has been received and recorded. If payment instructions differ by method, show the correct reference and next step on the invoice rather than forcing the client to contact support.
5. Keep billing contacts current
Let the client review their company and billing-contact details, or give them a simple route to request updates. A technically active server does not help if invoices go to an employee who left six months ago. Clear contact details make reminders, statements and account conversations more reliable.
What an early reseller portal should not expose
More features are not automatically better. For an early portal, avoid handing over supplier credentials, Hetzner costs and invoices, rebuild or deletion controls, unrestricted password actions, or automatic provisioning after payment. These features can be reviewed later where a specific product and permission model justify them.
Keep the first version focused: commercial clarity for the client, infrastructure control for the reseller.
How BillOps fits
BillOps provides the client-facing billing layer: active services, renewal dates, invoices, PDF downloads, payment status and billing details in a client portal. It also gives the reseller an admin workflow for services, recurring and one-off charges, custom prices, payments and reminders. Hetzner remains your supplier and infrastructure control plane.
For reference, see Hetzner’s account overview, Stripe’s customer portal documentation and HostBill’s client portal controls.
Give clients clarity without building a full automation stack
See how BillOps can present services, renewal dates, invoices and payment status under your brand while you retain control of Hetzner infrastructure.
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