ISP billing software cost depends on more than the monthly number on a pricing page: you may be paying for customers, ISP accounts, staff logins, setup work, payment transactions or a yearly commitment.
For a small operator, the right system keeps collections, customer records and partner work in one place without adding charges you did not plan for; this guide shows how to compare the options and where ISP Square fits, with current pricing to confirm before you decide.
What you need before comparing
Keep these details ready before you open three or four software pricing pages:
- The number of active customers today, and a realistic estimate for the next 12 months.
- The ISP partner accounts you need to connect. One account is a different requirement from managing several ISPs.
- The number of people who need a login, including your counter staff and collection staff.
- Whether you need only your own customers or also partners and sub-partners with separate wallets.
- Your monthly online recharge volume and the payment methods customers use.
- Any existing customer list, KYC documents, plan data and device records that must be moved.
Do not compare a basic invoice tool with a reseller operations panel just because both use the word “billing”. A local broadband reseller may need online recharge, ISP balance handling, KYC storage, partner commission, stock movement and an audit trail. A tool that misses these jobs can look cheap and still create daily manual work.
The practical guide to ISP billing software for resellers explains this difference in more detail.
Step 1: Identify the pricing model
Why: You need to know what the vendor counts before you can compare two monthly amounts.
Do this: Ask whether the price is flat, per active customer, per ISP account, per seat or custom, and write down every included limit.
Success looks like: You can calculate the monthly bill for your current customer count and explain how it changes when your shop grows.
First, find out what the vendor counts. The same monthly fee can be good value for one operator and poor value for another if the billing base is different.
Flat monthly plan
You pay one recurring amount for a defined bundle of features and limits. The limits may cover customers, ISP accounts, staff logins, partners or storage. This is easy to budget, but check what happens when you cross a limit.
Ask:
- Is the plan billed to the operator or per customer?
- Are inactive, expired or deleted customers counted?
- Are partners and sub-partners included in the same limit?
- What happens when I need one more ISP account or staff login?
Per-active-customer pricing
Some systems charge according to active subscribers. This can work when your customer count changes often, but you need a clear definition of “active”. Ask whether an expired connection, a paused connection or a customer who paid late is included for that billing period.
Use this formula to compare it with a flat plan:
Monthly software cost = active customers × rate per customerFor example, a hypothetical rate of ₹5 for 300 active customers gives ₹1,500 for the software line. At 800 customers, the same rate gives ₹4,000. The important point is not the example rate; it is that your cost moves with the count.
Per-ISP or per-account pricing
This model suits a vendor that connects each upstream ISP separately. A small shop with one partner account may pay less than an operator who resells OneBroadband, GTPL and another supported account. Confirm whether “one ISP” means one login, one service area or one connected partner account.
For a multi-ISP reseller, a single panel can also reduce the cost of staff time. Keep all customer connections, plans, expiries, payments and history in one list instead of asking staff to search several portals. That time saving is part of the buying decision, even when it is not shown as a line item.
Per-user or per-seat pricing
Some products charge for each staff login. Others include a fixed number and charge for more. Look for role-based access: a collection worker should not automatically see every setting, wallet or customer record. Also ask whether partner and sub-partner logins are counted as staff seats or handled separately.
Custom quotation pricing
A demo form is not a price. It may be the correct route for a large network, but ask for a written scope before sharing operational data or agreeing to a call. The quote should state the customer band, ISP connections, logins, onboarding, support, taxes, renewal terms and data export.
Step 2: Add the hidden costs
Why: Setup, payment and usage charges can change the first-year total more than the headline subscription.
Do this: Ask for written answers on onboarding, migration, gateway charges, taxes, support, data export, messaging and plan-change credits.
Success looks like: You have one total-cost row for each vendor, including charges that are not shown on the front pricing card.
The subscription is only one part of your total. Make a second list for charges that appear during setup or daily collection.
| Cost area | Question to ask the vendor | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Is there a one-time onboarding or migration fee? | Old customer and plan data may need cleaning before import. |
| Limits | What is the next customer, ISP, partner or staff limit? | A low starting fee can change after growth. |
| Payments | Is a gateway fee, settlement fee or convenience fee separate? | Online recharge volume can make a small percentage meaningful. |
| Tax | Is GST shown separately on the software invoice? | Compare the final payable amount, not only the displayed base amount. |
| Support | Which support channels and hours are included? | A cheaper plan may require paid onboarding or support. |
| Data | Can you export customers, payments, KYC and device records? | Your records should remain usable if your business changes tools. |
| Messaging | Are optional SMS or other message credits charged separately? | Check usage-based add-ons before enabling reminders. |
| Changes | What does an upgrade or downgrade do to unused days? | Credit rules affect the first month after a plan change. |
Payment-gateway charges deserve special attention. Ask whether the customer pays them, whether they are deducted before settlement, and whether failed or reversed payments create a separate charge. Do not assume that an “online recharge” feature means every payment cost is included in the software plan.
GST also needs a careful check. The official GSTN Welcome Kit says registered businesses should provide GST-compliant invoices and keep relevant business records. Your software invoice and your customer billing process are separate questions, so confirm the treatment with your CA and ISP for your situation.
Step 3: Compare monthly and yearly billing
Why: A lower effective monthly amount may require more cash upfront or carry different cancellation rules.
Do this: Calculate setup fee + 12 months of subscription + usage charges + taxes for both billing cycles, then ask about upgrades and renewal changes.
Success looks like: You know the first-year cash requirement and the effective monthly cost, not just the advertised rate.
Monthly billing keeps cash flow flexible. Yearly billing may reduce the effective monthly amount, but it uses cash upfront and can change how refunds, cancellation and upgrades work.
Calculate both options using the same scope:
First-year cost = setup fee + recurring subscription + usage charges + taxes
Effective monthly cost = first-year cost ÷ 12Then ask four practical questions:
- Is the yearly amount refundable if the software does not suit your workflow?
- If you upgrade halfway through the term, do you receive credit for unused days?
- Is the renewal amount fixed, or can it change at the next renewal?
- Can you switch back to monthly billing without losing customer history?
For a shop with uneven collections, the lowest effective monthly number is not always the safest choice. Put the subscription beside your expected monthly gross margin and leave enough cash for ISP wallet top-ups, field work and device replacement.
ISP Square supports monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly app billing, with a GST invoice. Its plan-change rule credits unused days. Read the current terms on the pricing page, because the amount and plan availability shown there are the source to check before payment.
Step 4: Check refunds and trials
Why: A trial should test your real recharge and collection work before you commit money or move records.
Do this: Test a customer, expiry, recharge, wallet entry, staff permission and data export; record the trial, refund and renewal terms.
Success looks like: You can complete the daily tasks your shop needs and know what happens if you stop after the first payment.
A trial is useful only when it lets you test the work you actually do. During the trial, try importing or adding a few customers, connecting the ISP account, checking an expiry, creating an online recharge, viewing the wallet ledger and giving a staff member limited access.
Before paying, write down:
- the trial length and what limits apply;
- whether the trial converts to a paid plan automatically;
- whether your test data is retained after the trial;
- whether onboarding is included;
- the refund window for the first payment;
- the rule for renewals after a new billing period starts.
ISP Square states that a full refund is available within 7 days of the first payment, while renewals are not refunded once started. Treat that as a term to verify on the refund policy before subscribing. There is also a 15-day trial option; check the live signup flow for its current terms.
Do not use a trial only to look at the dashboard. A billing panel earns its keep in the small steps: finding an old payment, identifying which partner holds a customer, checking the next expiry and reconciling a recharge that did not complete.
Step 5: Match the plan to your operator workflow
Why: The cheapest plan is not useful if it omits the ISP, partner or staff controls your business needs.
Do this: Match your current operation to the plan structure, then confirm the current limits and amount on the pricing page.
Success looks like: The chosen plan covers your present workflow without paying for features or capacity you cannot use.
Price should follow the work you need to control. A simple comparison looks like this:
| Your situation | Features to price together | ISP Square plan structure to review |
|---|---|---|
| One shop reselling one ISP | One ISP account, customer recharge page, KYC, stock and a small staff team | Starter |
| Several ISP accounts or a partner network | One customer list, own retail prices, partner wallets and commission by level | Growth |
| A larger local network | More ISP accounts, customers, partners and staff permissions | Pro |
ISP Square connects ISP partner accounts, including OneBroadband and GTPL, and keeps the operator’s customer list, plan, expiry, payment and history together. Customers can use a web recharge page without installing an app. That makes the relevant comparison for a reseller different from software designed for an ISP that owns the network and runs its own RADIUS or NAS.
Its partner structure follows three levels: operator, partner and sub-partner. Each can have a login, wallet and customers. You can set a retail price for a plan at each level, keep the ISP cost hidden from partners and post the commission to the correct wallet when a recharge is made. If you do not need those controls, do not pay for a plan only because it has a long feature list. If you do need them, include manual commission calculation and collection follow-up in your cost comparison.
The plan page is the right place to see the current amount. The site has had different amounts shown across its public pricing and signup pages, so this article deliberately does not print a number. Confirm the amount, billing cycle, limits and invoice details at checkout.
Step 6: Make a one-page cost comparison
Why: A common checklist prevents different vendors from defining “included” in different ways.
Do this: Fill the table with written answers and add the full first-year total beside each option.
Success looks like: You can justify the choice using total cost, daily work removed and business fit—not only the lowest displayed number.
Create one row for each vendor and use the same questions. This stops a low headline fee from winning before you know what it includes.
| Check | Vendor A | Vendor B | ISP Square |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base billing model | |||
| Customers included | |||
| ISP accounts included | |||
| Partner and sub-partner logins | |||
| Staff permissions and action log | |||
| Online recharge and settlement terms | |||
| KYC and stock records | |||
| Setup or migration fee | |||
| Gateway or message charges | |||
| GST invoice | |||
| Trial and first-payment refund | |||
| Data export and cancellation terms |
For ISP Square, also check how the operator workflow fits together: KYC is uploaded to your ISP Square account rather than to the upstream ISP, stock can move from store to partner to installed customer or written off, and staff actions are logged. ISP passwords are encrypted and are not shown again; wallet records are append-only, and a timed-out recharge is not blindly retried. Those controls can reduce the manual checking you would otherwise need to price separately.
The final question is simple: will the software help you collect and reconcile more reliably than your current register, spreadsheet or separate ISP portals? If yes, compare the full first-year cost against the hours and errors it removes. If not, a lower price is still the wrong purchase.
FAQ
What is the usual ISP billing software cost in India?
There is no single useful number. Vendors may charge a flat monthly fee, an active-customer rate, a per-ISP fee, a per-seat fee or a custom amount. Compare the full first-year cost after setup, taxes, payment charges and plan limits rather than using a market-wide average.
Is ISP billing software charged per customer?
Sometimes. Some products count active customers, while others sell a fixed plan with a customer limit. Ask how inactive connections, expired plans, partners and sub-partners are counted before comparing rates.
What should a small LCO check before buying software?
Check online recharge, customer history, KYC storage, ISP account connections, staff permissions, wallet and commission handling, stock tracking and data export. Also confirm setup charges, GST on the invoice, gateway costs, trial terms and refunds.
Does cheaper billing software reduce my total cost?
Not always. A lower subscription can still cost more if you need separate ISP portals, manual commission calculations, paid migration, extra logins or transaction add-ons. Write down the daily work the software must remove, then compare that complete workflow.
Where can I see the current ISP Square pricing?
See the ISP Square pricing section for the current plans and limits. You can also review the trial signup flow before choosing a billing cycle.
