Sub-Reseller Management

OpenSRS lets you operate a network of domain-name resellers under your account. Sub-resellers run their own businesses through OpenSRS, the API, and Storefront, while you act as the parent reseller — setting their pricing, supporting them directly, and earning commission on their domain sales. Use this guide to create sub-resellers, manage pricing plans, transfer commission funds, and customize sub-reseller branding.

How the sub-reseller model works

Sub-reseller contracts are with Tucows, but as the parent reseller you are responsible for the actions of your sub-resellers. Sub-resellers can sell domain names only — they cannot sell email or trust services.

Through the Reseller Web Interface (RWI), you can:

• Create, modify, and suspend sub-reseller accounts

• Set which services are available to end-users

• Create and assign price plans

• Authenticate as a sub-reseller and change names on their behalf

Before you begin

• Sign in to the Reseller Web Interface (RWI) with your parent-reseller credentials.

• Make sure your user has permission to manage sub-resellers. See.

• Decide on at least one price plan you can assign to new sub-resellers (you can also create plans as you go).

• For new sub-resellers, collect contact details: name, address, phone, and email. Only address 2, fax number, and web address are optional.

Step 1: Create a sub-reseller

1. Sign in to the RWI.

2. In the sub-reseller management section, click Create sub-reseller.

3. On the Add new sub-reseller page, enter the sub-reseller's information.

4. Click Submit.

Step 2: View and edit sub-resellers

1. In the sub-reseller management section of the RWI, click View/edit sub-resellers.

2. To narrow the list, start typing any portion of a username in the search field. Click the arrows in any column to sort ascending or descending.

3. Click the username of the account you want to view or change.

4. Make your changes, then click Submit at the bottom of the form.

Actions available from the view/edit sub-reseller page

Step 3: Create or edit a price plan

A price plan defines the commission you earn on each TLD that a sub-reseller sells. You can set a default commission, override it per TLD, or set a target retail price.

1. In the sub-reseller management section of the RWI, click View/edit pricing plans.

2. To add a new plan, click Add new plan. To edit an existing plan, click its name in the list.

3. Enter a name for the plan.

4. Set the default commission value for each TLD. Changes flow through to each TLD row immediately.

5. Add a description.

6. Optionally, select Set as default to make this the default plan.

7. Optionally, enter a value in the Target price field and click Adjust. The system updates the Override commissions column for every TLD whose current price is below the target. TLDs whose cost is already higher than the target stay unchanged.

8. Optionally, edit the Override commissions column to set a different commission for specific TLDs.

9. Click Update to save the plan.

Step 4: Delete a price plan

A price plan cannot be deleted while it is assigned to any sub-reseller.

1. Click View/edit pricing plans in the sub-resellers management section.

2. Select the plan by name.

3. Click Delete, then confirm with OK.

If the plan is still assigned to sub-resellers, the deletion-of-pricing-plan page appears. Either click Return to the edit page to cancel, or choose a different plan in the Reassign to drop-down and click Re-assign and delete.

Step 5: Assign price plans to sub-resellers

When no price plan is assigned, the system applies the default plan.

Assign or change the plan for one sub-reseller

1. Click View/edit sub-resellers in the sub-resellers management section.

2. Click the sub-reseller in the Username column.

3. In the Financial settings section, choose a plan from the Pricing plan drop-down and click Submit.

Assign a plan to multiple sub-resellers

1. Click View/edit pricing plans in the sub-resellers management section.

2. Click Bulk assign plan below the list.

3. Search for the sub-resellers you want to update. Leave the fields blank to return all sub-resellers. Click Search.

4. Choose the plan from the New pricing plan drop-down.

5. Review the search results and uncheck any sub-resellers you do not want to reassign. Click Assign.

View sub-resellers assigned to a plan

1. Click View/edit pricing plans.

2. In the # of assignees column, click the number next to the plan. The view sub-resellers page lists every sub-reseller assigned to that plan.

Step 6: Transfer commission funds

OpenSRS records the commission you earn from sub-reseller sales in a separate commissions account. Transfer those funds to your main OpenSRS balance before you can use them.

1. In the sub-resellers management section of the RWI, click Transfer commission funds.

2. Enter the amount to transfer in the Amount field. The value must be a positive number.

3. Click Transfer.

4. Click Confirm transfer to complete the operation.

Step 7: Customize sub-reseller branding

You can change what your sub-resellers see in their control panel — the logo, news feed, control panel URL, transfer confirmation page, and verification pages. Every branding action starts the same way.

Open the branding section

1. In the sub-reseller management section of the RWI, click Branding.

2. Scroll to the section you want to update (described below).

Logo

1. In the Logo section, click Choose file and select the image.

2. Click Upload image now.

RSS / What's new feed

1. In the What's new RSS/Atom feed URL field, enter the feed to display news items.

2. Click Submit.

Custom control panel URL

1. Scroll to the Custom control panel URL section.

2. Choose an OpenSRS subdomain such as username.r.opensrs.com, a subdomain based on resellerco.com, or enter a fully custom URL.

3. Click Submit.

Transfer confirmation page

Registrants use this page to confirm transfers to your account.

1. Scroll to the Customize transfer confirmation page section.

2. Enter the message in the Custom text field.

Data quality and ICANN registrant verification hostname and URL

Where registrants are sent after verifying their data.

1. Scroll to the Customize data quality and ICANN registrant verification hostname and URL section.

2. In the URL field, enter the complete URL including http:// or https://.

ICANN registrant verification page

Registrants use this page to verify their contact information.

1. Scroll to the Customize ICANN registrant verification page section.

2. Add or update text in the Section - header and Section - footer fields.

Data quality (UK full address) page

1. Scroll to the Customize data quality (UK full address) page section.

2. Add or update text in the Section - header and Section - footer fields.

Claims notification hostname and URLs

When a customer accepts a claims notification for a domain order, they are sent to the accepted URL. When they reject it, they are sent to the rejected URL.

1. Scroll to the Customize claims notification hostname and URLs section.

2. Update the Accepted URL and Rejected URL fields. Include http:// or https://.

3. If you set up a CNAME record pointing to approve.domainadmin.com, enter its hostname in the Verification hostname field. The hostname must be in the form subdomain.resellerdomain.com.

4. Click Save.

Next steps

• Set up permissions for your team — see to control which of your staff can manage sub-resellers and pricing.

• Customize the sub-reseller control panel — see for newer control panel layout, dashboard, and header options.

• Monitor commissions — review your commissions account regularly and transfer earned funds to your main balance.

Questions

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.