Value-added cloud distributor Pax8 Inc. has added functionality to its integration with the ConnectWise Manage PSA platform that allows users to bill customers for cloud-based solutions in advance as well as in arrears.
Since last November, when the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based company introduced an upgraded edition of that integration, Pax8 customers who also use ConnectWise Manage, from Tampa, Fla.-based ConnectWise, have been able to place orders, update seat counts, and more from directly within the same console they use to operate their managed services business.
Until today, however, billing for cloud subscriptions, which is generally based on usage, could only take place after the fact. The new capabilities available now enable MSPs to bill forward as well, which is typically how they charge for managed services and other recurring revenue sources.
“The service gives MSPs choice when it comes to billing for consumption-based products—in arrears or forward in a SaaS-like format,” said Ryan Walsh, chief channel officer at Pax8, in a press statement. “In doing this, we are lowering the barrier to entry for MSPs, simplifying the buying process, and delivering more profitability.”
An on-demand service available free to all Pax8 customers, forward invoicing is the latest enhancement to a tool that’s designed to help ConnectWise partners increase productivity by consolidating often complex fees for multiple cloud solutions onto a single bill. The integration reduces the amount of switching between interfaces that technicians must do when managing cloud subscriptions as well.
Pax8 added cloud security solutions from both Mountain View, Calif.-based Symantec Corp. and cross-town business partner Webroot Inc., of Broomfield, Colo., to its product catalog in February.
Integrations of the kind Pax8 expanded today are a core part of ConnectWise’s strategy to construct a flexible, comprehensive, and customizable managed services platform via Lego-like integration with systems from a wide range of third-party vendors.
