White label cloud storage reseller for web hosts
How a web host checks a white label cloud storage reseller on brand, customer accounts, billing and support.
A web host that adds branded file sharing is choosing a white label cloud storage reseller for web hosts: a service its own customers will use under its own name. Before you sign, check four things: the brand customers see, how customer accounts are created, who sets the prices and where the payments go, and who sets up each account and answers questions. The sections below cover those four checks, then show where the limits of one plan start to matter.
White label cloud storage reseller for web hosts: four checks
Brand. Does the service appear under your name, on your domain and in the screens your customers see?
Customer accounts. Do customers sign up on their own, or does your team create each account?
Billing. Who sets the plan and the price, and who collects the payment?
Setup and support. Who sets up a new customer, and who answers when a customer has a question?
Put the four checks in one table and ask every vendor to fill in the same cells. The answers you cannot put in a cell are the ones to press on before you sign.
If you are still deciding whether to resell at all, How to start a file sharing business under your own brand covers the business side. For the general list of reseller questions, read White label SaaS reseller: a checklist before you sell.
Brand: whose name customers see
A reseller sells under its own name, so the vendor should stay in the background. Ask which parts of the service carry your name and which carry the vendor's, including the sign-in screen, the links you send and the emails your customers get.
Tarkle's Reseller plan is built for distribution under your own name. The feature page describes it as Reseller platform: "Run file sharing under your own brand, with your customers' plans, billed by you, on Reseller or Reseller Pro." Test that promise with a real sign-up before you commit, not only on the sales page.
Customer accounts: self-service or manual
Some hosts want customers to sign up on their own. Others want to create each account after a sale. Ask whether the platform supports both, and how many customer accounts the plan allows.
Tarkle's Reseller plan includes self-registration and manual provisioning. It includes 50 customer workspaces and 6 TB of pooled storage. Check those numbers against what you expect to sign in your first year, not against what you hope to sign in year three.
Billing: who sets the price
This is where many hosts lose control. Ask whether you can set your own plans and prices for your customers, how those customers are billed, and where the payments land. Ask for the answer in writing.
On Tarkle's Reseller plan you set your own plans and prices with Stripe. Your own Tarkle plan is on the Billing page of your organization, which shows your plan summary and your active subscriptions: Billing. One is the plan you pay Tarkle for. The other is the set of plans and prices you offer your own customers.
Setup and support: who answers the customer
Write down who sets up a new customer account, and who answers a support question from one. Support for you as the reseller and answers to your customers' questions are two different things, and a host needs both settled before launch.
Tarkle's Reseller plan includes live chat and email support. Reseller Pro adds priority support via Slack. Settle in writing who answers your customers' questions, and who fixes a failed setup, before the first customer signs up.
Reseller or Agency: choose by who the customer is
Run Tarkle for your own clients with Agency, or distribute it under your own name with Reseller or Reseller Pro. Agency is for agencies using Tarkle for their clients. It costs $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year). Reseller is for distribution under your own name. A host that sells file sharing to its own customers under its own name is a reseller case, not an agency case. The Reseller vs Agency plan article sets out the difference in more detail.
What the Reseller plan covers
Reseller costs $99 a month plus a $99 one-time setup fee, or $89 a month billed yearly ($1,068 a year). The setup fee applies to the monthly plans only, and yearly billing has no setup fee. It includes:
50 customer workspaces
6 TB of pooled storage
One authorized sales territory
A built-in referral program
Your own plans and prices, set with Stripe
Self-registration and manual provisioning
Live chat and email support
The full reseller prices are on the reseller pricing page.
Where a larger host needs more
Reseller covers 50 customer workspaces and one authorized sales territory. Reseller Pro costs $189 a month plus a $189 one-time setup fee, or $179 a month billed yearly ($2,148 a year). It includes 100 customer workspaces, 15 TB of pooled storage and up to 3 authorized sales territories. Extra usage is billed monthly: $79 per extra 50 workspaces and $69 per extra 10 TB of storage.
If you expect more than 50 customers, or sales in more than one territory, price Reseller Pro before you sign.
Questions to take into the vendor call
Which parts of the service show my name, and which show yours?
Can customers sign up on their own, and can I create accounts by hand?
Can I set my own plans and prices, and how are my customers billed?
Who sets up a new account, and who answers a customer's question?
What are the limits on customer accounts and sales territories, and what does going over them cost?
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle's Reseller plan lets a web host offer branded file sharing under its own name, with 50 customer workspaces, its own plans and prices set with Stripe, and self-registration or manual provisioning. Agency is for agencies serving their own clients, so check which route fits your customers. Start for free and compare the plans on pricing.