Frequently Asked Questions
FOSSWhat? Isn't this BoxBilling?
In a word, No.
The BoxBilling project still exists (you can search for it on GitHub) but FOSSBilling is a new project forked from it. Many of the team behind FOSSBilling had previously tried to revive and update BB but found that for various reasons, mostly about project ownership, etc. that it was not possible.
We wanted to move forward and create a usable and dependable open source billing solution that will be well maintained and not commercialised. The result of those desires is FOSSBilling. At this moment both solutions are quite similar with FOSSBilling containing minor updates, bug fixes, and security improvements, but in the future, they will move further and further apart as the development of FOSSBilling continues.
Can I migrate from BoxBilling?
Yes, you can.
At the moment there are no breaking changes and it should be quick and painless to migrate from BoxBilling to FOSSBilling using the instructions here: Migrate from BoxBilling to FOSSBilling
Is FOSSBilling stable?
FOSSBilling is very much a work in progress. Right now we are busy squashing a lot of bugs and at the same time working on a major rewrite of large sections of the codebase.
The last release and the latest commits should work and should be relatively stable and secure but we don't really recommend using it on production sites just yet. If you do, then please be aware that there may be breaking changes somewhere in the near future, even though we aim to make migration to future versions as easy as possible.
When will FOSSBilling have [the magical feature I want]?
We would love it if FOSSBilling could do everything that everyone will ever ask of it, but in the real world that just isn't possible. The main focus of the team at the moment is to make sure that the basics are right and that FOSSBilling is stable and secure.
Even though the specific thing that you particularly need might not be available in core, FOSSBilling is designed to be easily extendable. If you have the knowledge to build an extension yourself then we would love the contribution, if not then we recommend reaching out to the community and seeing if someone else will be willing to build or update it for you.
You can search for existing feature requests and add new ones.
Do I need to pay for FOSSBilling?
No, you do not and never will need to pay to use the core components of FOSSBilling.
The clue is right there in the name: FOSS stands for Free and Open Source Software. It means that the source code of the software is open for anyone to freely use, study and modify.
People may develop commercial modules/extensions for FOSSBilling which you will need to pay for but the basic software will always remain free in all senses of the word.
If you use and appreciate FOSSBilling and you do want to give something back then you are very welcome to sponsor the project with a financial donation or, in contribute in other ways.
How can I contribute to FOSSBilling?
Whether open-source projects live or die completely depends on community participation and involvement. This one is no exception, so we appreciate and welcome every contribution.
There are so many ways that you can be a part of the future of FOSSBilling. You can obviously contribute code, but we also need people to be a part of community discussions, write documentation, and sponsor the project.
You can find out more about how to do all of those things here: Contributing to FOSSBilling