How to install WHMCS on cPanel

WHMCS is billing and client management software for web hosting businesses. It handles sign-ups, invoices, payments, support tickets and domain orders. You can install it on your Ruachost cPanel account in a few minutes with Softaculous.

Before you start

You need:

• A WHMCS licence key. WHMCS won’t install without one. Licences are sold only by WHMCS. See Getting a WHMCS licence.
• A domain or subdomain for WHMCS, such as billing.example.com or example.com/billing. A subdomain keeps WHMCS separate from your main website. See Managing subdomains in cPanel.
• An SSL certificate on that domain, so clients can log in and pay securely. The free AutoSSL certificate works. See Your free SSL certificate.
• A supported PHP version with ionCube Loader. WHMCS is encoded with ionCube. Our default PHP version, 8.2, works with current WHMCS releases. Check WHMCS’s system requirements for your version, and see Changing your PHP version and settings to change it or turn on the ioncube_loader extension.

Note

WHMCS runs on any Ruachost cPanel account. To create hosting accounts for your customers automatically, you also need a Managed VPS with WHM. See Connecting WHM to WHMCS.

Install WHMCS with Softaculous

1. Log in to cPanel and open Softaculous Apps Installer under Software.
2. Type WHMCS in the search box, or find it under E-Commerce, and click Install.
3. Fill in the installation form:
   • Choose Protocol: https:// (or https://www. if you use www).
   • Choose Domain: the domain or subdomain for WHMCS.
   • In Directory: leave blank to install at the root of that domain, or enter a folder name such as billing to install at example.com/billing.
   • Company Name and Company Email: these appear on invoices and emails to your clients.
   • License Key: paste your WHMCS licence key exactly.
   • Admin Username, Admin Password and Admin Email: your WHMCS admin login. Don’t use admin as the username, and use a strong password. See Creating a strong password.
4. Under Advanced Options, you can:
   • Leave the database name and table prefix as suggested. Softaculous creates the database for you.
   • Turn on automated backups and choose how many to keep.
   • Tick Email installation details to receive the login details by email.
5. Click Install and wait for Softaculous to finish. It shows two links: your client area (for example https://billing.example.com) and your admin area (for example https://billing.example.com/admin).

After installing

1. Set up the cron job

WHMCS needs a cron job to create invoices, send reminders, suspend unpaid services and sync domains. Without it, nothing happens automatically.

1. In WHMCS, go to Configuration (wrench icon) → System Settings → Automation Settings. Copy the cron command shown at the top. It looks like:

   php -q /home/cpaneluser/billing.example.com/crons/cron.php

2. In cPanel, open Cron Jobs, choose Once Per Five Minutes, paste the command and click Add New Cron Job. See Setting up cron jobs in cPanel.

3. After about 10 minutes, check that WHMCS no longer warns that the cron hasn’t run, on the admin dashboard or under Utilities → System → Automation Status.

2. Secure your installation

• Lock the configuration file. In File Manager, set configuration.php in your WHMCS folder to permission 400. See Configuring file permissions in File Manager.
• Move sensitive folders out of the web folder. WHMCS recommends moving the attachments, downloads and templates_c folders, and the crons folder, to a place outside your website folder (for example your home folder), then updating their paths in configuration.php and System Settings → Storage Settings. WHMCS shows a warning on the admin dashboard until this is done.
• Turn on two-factor authentication for admin users under Configuration → System Settings → Security.
• Restrict admin access to your own IP addresses, if they don’t change, under Configuration → System Settings → General Settings → Security.

Softaculous removes the install folder for you. If you installed WHMCS manually, delete it yourself.

3. Set up your business

In Configuration → System Settings, work through:

• General Settings: your company details, logo, currency and invoice settings.
• Payment Gateways: turn on the ways your clients will pay, such as Paystack, Stripe, PayPal or bank transfer.
• Mail: send WHMCS email through SMTP, so invoices and receipts are delivered reliably. See Sending website email with SMTP.
• Products/Services: create the products you sell.
• Domain Registrars: to sell domains under your own brand, see Installing the Ruachost Domain Reseller Module for WHMCS.

Updating WHMCS

Keep WHMCS up to date for security fixes. Back up first, then either:

• In Softaculous, open All Installations and click the update icon next to WHMCS, or turn on Auto Upgrade for the installation.
• In WHMCS, use Utilities → Update WHMCS.

Before a major update, check that your PHP version and ionCube Loader meet the new version’s requirements.

Troubleshooting

• “Site error: the file … requires the ionCube PHP Loader”: turn on the ioncube_loader extension in Select PHP Version → Extensions. See Do you support the ionCube PHP Encoder?
• “License Invalid”: the licence key is wrong, or it’s locked to another domain, IP address or folder. Reissue the licence in your WHMCS account, then reload WHMCS. See Getting a WHMCS licence.
• Blank page or 500 error: check the PHP version is supported, then look at the error log. See Finding PHP error logs.
• Locked out of the admin area: see Resetting the administrator password in WHMCS or Removing a banned IP address in WHMCS.

Related articles

• Do you support WHMCS hosting?
• Connecting WHM to WHMCS
• Installing the Ruachost Domain Reseller Module for WHMCS