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A plan is a WHMCS product that uses the MailChannels Email API provisioning module. Every plan defines two module settings: You can create plans two ways: with the guided plan builder in the addon, or by attaching the module to a product you configure yourself.

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Prerequisites

  • A connected parent account.
  • At least one WHMCS product group. If none exists, the plan builder shows a link to create one instead of the form.

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Use the guided plan builder

The plan builder creates a complete, ready-to-sell product in one step.
1

Open the plan builder

Go to Addons > MailChannels Email API and find 2. Guided plan builder.
2

Fill in the plan

Guided plan builder form filled in with a plan name, description, monthly price, currency, send limit, and credentials
3

Create the plan

Click Create plan. The addon reports the new WHMCS product ID. If a value is rejected, the form keeps what you entered so you can correct it.
The builder creates a product with these properties:
  • Product type Other, with domain options hidden.
  • Recurring monthly billing in the selected currency. Other billing cycles are disabled.
  • Module set to MailChannels Email API with your send limit and credential mode.
  • Automatic setup as soon as the first payment is received.
  • The WHMCS welcome email disabled, because credentials are never sent by email.
After creation, edit the product in System Settings > Products/Services to add other billing cycles, currencies, or a custom welcome email. Do not put credentials in email templates.
Prices are your WHMCS store prices, not official MailChannels pricing. The plugin never reads or sets MailChannels billing.

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Attach the module to an existing product

You can also use the module with a product you configure by hand.
1

Edit the product

Go to System Settings > Products/Services and edit the product, or create a new product of type Other.
2

Set the module

On the Module Settings tab, choose MailChannels Email API as the module name. No server is required.
3

Configure the plan

Enter Sends per billing period as a positive integer and choose a Credential mode. Select Automatically setup the product as soon as the first payment is received.
WHMCS product Module Settings tab with MailChannels Email API selected, a send limit, and a credential mode
4

Save

Save the product. New orders for it now provision sub-accounts.
A product with a missing, zero, or non-numeric send limit fails to provision with the error Sends per billing period must be a positive integer. The failure is recorded in the WHMCS Module Queue and the addon’s operation history.

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How limits relate to your parent account

Sub-account limits do not reserve capacity on your parent account. The parent account’s own limit is the hard ceiling. When your parent account reaches its limit, MailChannels blocks sending from every sub-account until the next billing period, regardless of how much of their own limit each customer has left. You may sell more total capacity than your parent limit if your customers’ actual usage stays below it. The addon’s Shared parent ceiling card warns you when allocations exceed the parent limit. See Capacity and reconciliation and Sub-account sending limits.

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Change an existing plan

Editing a product’s module settings in WHMCS does not change existing services. Only new orders pick up the new values. To roll a change out to existing customers, use the addon.
1

Edit the product

Change Sends per billing period or Credential mode on the product’s Module Settings tab and save.
2

Preview the change

Go to Addons > MailChannels Email API and find 3. Preview and apply product changes. The table lists every MailChannels product with its configured limit, credentials, and the number of active or suspended services.The Status column shows whether existing services match the product. Up to date means nothing needs applying. A count such as 2 to update means that many services still have the old limit or credential mode.
Preview and apply product changes table where the Lite plan shows 2 services to update
3

Apply the change

Select the product under Apply current settings to, type APPLY in the confirmation field, and click Apply plan changes. The first product with services to update is selected for you.
For each active or suspended service on the product, the plugin runs the same package change that a WHMCS upgrade runs:
  1. Retrieves the sub-account’s current-period usage.
  2. Skips the service if the new limit is below current usage. The service keeps its old limit and is counted as requiring review.
  3. Applies the new send limit.
  4. Creates any credential type the new mode requires but the service lacks.
  5. Revokes module-managed credentials of a type the new mode no longer includes.
The addon reports how many services were updated and how many require review. Services that were skipped for a downgrade below usage can be retried after the customer’s billing period resets, or after you move them to a suitable plan.
Switching a plan from both to API only or SMTP only revokes the removed credential type for every service on the plan. Customers using that credential lose the ability to send with it immediately. Tell them before you apply the change.

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Change one customer’s plan

To move a single customer to a different plan, use the standard WHMCS upgrade or downgrade order, or edit the service and change its product under Products/Services, then run the Change Package module command. The same rules apply: a downgrade below current usage is rejected with the message The new send limit is below current-period usage; the package change was not applied.