One-Click Installation

Paymenter Initialization:

Overview:

This guide will walk you through initializing Paymenter on your AWS instance in just one click. The setup process is streamlined using our custom script, designed for ease of use and efficiency. Before starting the script, ensure the minimum requirement is met.

Pro Tip: We recommend associating an AWS Elastic IP with your instance before running the setup. This prevents your IP address from changing when the instance is stopped and restarted.

Step 1: Access Your AWS Instance

1. Launch Your AWS EC2 Instance:

• Choose your desired AWS EC2 instance type. (Minimum: t3a.small / t3.small)
• Open ports 22, 80 and 443 in the security group.
• Once the instance is running, connect to it via SSH.

2. Connect to the Instance:

• Open your terminal (Mac/Linux) or use an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY for Windows).
• Run the following SSH command:

3. Run the Initialization Script:

• To initiate the installation, run the following command:

• Note: This script automates the entire installation process. It typically takes a few minutes: the application is downloaded, then Paymenter creates its database and your administrator account before the panel is served. Keep your terminal open and do not close the session until the summary appears. The script generates new credentials for this instance.

Step 2: Instance Set Up and Installation

1. Completion Confirmation:

• Once the installation is finished, you will see a summary on the screen with your addresses and your administrator sign-in.
• Write the password down. It is generated for this instance and is not stored anywhere you can read it back.

2. Sign in with the EMAIL address

• Open http://<your-public-ip>/admin in your browser.
• Enter the email address [email protected] and the password from the summary.
• Then change that email address to your own under your account. Password resets go to whatever address is on the account, and [email protected] cannot receive mail.

3. Set up outgoing mail

Do this before you go any further. Paymenter sends no email until you set up outgoing mail. Mail is switched off when Paymenter is first installed, so your clients receive no invoices, reminders or suspension notices until it is configured. In the admin panel, open System, then Settings, then the Mail tab. Untick Disable Mail, enter your SMTP server, port, username, password and the address mail is sent from, then click Save and wait for Saved successfully!. Only then use Send Test Email: it tests the settings already saved, not what is typed on the page. This image does not include a mail server: use your own email provider.

Before you take your first order

• Your company details. Paymenter is installed with the company name My Company and the System Email Address [email protected], where Paymenter sends its own alerts. Change both to your own. They are under System, then Settings, on the General tab, where you can also add your logo.
• Your payment gateway. Stripe, PayPal and Mollie are included. Enable the one you use and enter its keys before your clients try to pay.
• Your servers. To provision accounts automatically, enable the extension for your control panel (cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, Enhance, Virtualizor, VirtFusion, Convoy or Pterodactyl) and add your server.
• Then create your products and their prices, and your client area is ready to take orders.

Step 3: Add Your Own Domain and SSL

• Paymenter is served over plain HTTP until you associate a domain. To use your own domain name with a free SSL certificate, run:

• Full instructions are in Associating Your Domain.
• Do this before your clients start using it. Your billing panel takes payments and holds personal data, and it should not travel over plain HTTP.

Moving from WHMCS?

• This edition includes our WHMCS migration tool. After your first sign-in, follow Migrate from WHMCS: it moves your WHMCS data into this panel, and billing waits until you start it.
• Prefer us to do it? We offer migration as a service. Email [email protected] before you start.

Important Notes:

• Billing runs on its own.
  Invoices, reminders and suspensions are produced by Paymenter’s scheduler and background worker, which start with the rest of the stack. There is nothing to enable.
• Mail Sending Restrictions:
  AWS restricts outbound email on port 25 from EC2 instances by default. Paymenter sends through the SMTP server you configure, usually on port 587 or 465, which is not affected.
• The database is not reachable from the internet.
  MariaDB runs on a private network inside the instance with no published port. Port 3306 does not need to be open and must not be opened.
• Usage statistics.
  Like every Paymenter installation, your panel sends anonymous usage counts to the Paymenter project once a day: the number of invoices, services, products and users, the currencies in use and the names of active extensions. No client names or amounts are sent. It also checks the Paymenter project for new releases. To stop the daily statistics, add TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false to the .env file in your home directory, then run docker compose up -d in that directory.
• Do not run the installer a second time.
  Each run generates new passwords, while an existing installation keeps the ones it was created with. If you think something went wrong, email [email protected] rather than running it again.