Onboarding customers under the 'retail' and 'wholesale' model

If you sign in to your reseller account and in the same browser sign in to a different account (for example a test account you had before becoming a reseller or the account of one of your customers who has shared the username and password with you for some reason) you risk errors. For example that domains are transferred from one account to the other or that the accounts are being linked together.

Always use separate browsers if you need to log in to more than one account at a time. Alternatively, make sure that you always fully log out of one account before logging in to the next one.

Overview of this articles content:

1. How do I know what subscription (size) my customer needs?
2. How do I sign up customers under the ‘wholesale model’ and the ‘retail model’?
3. Do my customers have access to their Cookiebot configurations and account?
4. How do I make sure that when I recommend Cookiebot to my customers, they actually sign up under my reseller account?
5. Can I sign up customers via my unique reseller link and leave it up to Cookiebot to provide the support if needed?
6. As a reseller, can I create (multiple) ‘Free subscriptions’ for my customers?
7. What types of subscriptions can I create for my customers?
8. Why should a customer with one small domain (50 pages or less) choose a premium subscription instead of the free subscription?
9. What should I do when a free 14 days trial expires? How do I convert a free 14 days trial to a premium subscription?
10. How do I know if a customer was signed up under the ‘retail’ or the ‘wholesale’ model?
11. Do you offer any contract templates that we can use with our customers?
12. Can you issue a Data Processing Agreement that I can show to my customers (as per GDPR Article 28)?

1. How do I know what subscription (size) my customer needs?

Subscription size set automatically

Cookiebot subscription sizes are automatically set based on the number of subpages of each domain and each subdomain added to the backend Manager. You do not need to make an active choice. On the first full scan of the domain, our scanner will determine the number of subpages and automatically fix the according subscription size and price. If the number of pages increases, the scanner will determine this at the next scan and automatically upgrade the subscription price.

Choose between free and premium if 1 domain and max 50 pages

The only situation requiring an active choice is for customers with 1 domain only and a maximum of 50 pages. This domain will qualify for a free subscription but can instead be signed up as a premium subscription for those customers wishing to make use of the full functionality of a Cookiebot subscription (see Is-the-Free-subscription-GDPR-compliant-If-yes-what-is-the-difference-between-the-free-subscription-and-the-premium-subscription- for details).

Customers expecting to have smaller sites

For WordPress sites there is an additional clarification here: According to WordPress I have less than 50 pages on my website. Why does your scanner say that I have more than 50? /hc/en-us/articles/360003797213

Get a free quote

If you are in doubt about the size of a customer’s website, you are welcome to request a free quote – this will include the number of subpages, an attached list of the identified URLs (of up to 5,000 subpages) and the subscription price: https://www.cookiebot.com/goto/quote-input/.

Add all domains and subdomains

Also, do keep in mind that each domain and each subdomain require a subscription and that they must all be added to the backend Manager. If you have requested a compliance test from the frontpage of cookiebot.com or if a scan of the domain has already been performed, at the bottom of the actual scan report, we list any subdomains that the scanner has identified during the scan and which need a separate subscription.

2. How do I sign up customers under the ‘wholesale model’ and the ‘retail model’?

You can use a mix of the wholesale and retail models if you would like. The way you sign up each customer determines if that customer is under the wholesale or the retail model. Both are covered by the Reseller Agreement and you do not need to inform us further.

Wholesale model: Add the customer’s domain(s) to the domain group you have created for that customer and save the settings (see our introduction to working with domain groups here: Introduction-What-are-domain-groups-and-how-should-I-use-them-). Then get the scripts from the tab ‘Your scripts’ and follow the rest of the 3-step implementation guide: https://www.cookiebot.com/goto/help.

How you 'invite' and communicate with the customer is up to you (just as you need to communicate about pricing and invoicing etc.). Since the customer will not have access to the Cookiebot configuration, the customer cannot be invited using your unique reseller link or the 'invite new customer' button described below - this is only for retail model customers. 

Retail model: There are 2 ways of signing up a customer:

Please note that if you have already created a domain group on your reseller account and set up the customer's domain(s), then you should invite them in the way described here: I created domain groups directly on my reseller account and set up the customers (wholesale). I want them to be on the retail model – how can I correct this? If you have not set up a domain group for them (which you don't need to), read on:

• 1. Signing up a retail customer with your unique reseller link: On your reseller account, go to the top menu point ‘Customers’. On the top of the page, you will find your unique reseller link.

Please note that this link will take the customer to a Cookiebot sign-up page. When the customer signs up for a Cookiebot account using this link, the customer will automatically be added to your reseller account. The customer is asked to accept our Terms of Service and that the invoice will come directly from Cybot A/S (the company behind Cookiebot). The customer is also informed, that you as a reseller will have access to their account and configurations so you can provide them with any support or implementation help needed.

When the customer has signed up for a Cookiebot account, the relevant domain(s) should be added. This can either be done by the customer himself – or by you (please make sure you have the permission to do so, since in this case the customer will be invoiced by us for the domains you have added). Then follow the 3-step implementation guide https://www.cookiebot.com/goto/help/.

On the ‘Customers’ page, those customers who have used your link to sign up for a Cookiebot account with you as the reseller will be listed as ‘active’.

The unique reseller link can be used in your marketing material – for example in a blog post you write about Cookiebot, on your website or a dedicated landing page describing your services, included in your newsletter to existing customers or sent via email.

• 2. Signing up a retail customer by mail: On your reseller account, go to the top menu point ‘Customers’ and click the blue button on top that says ‘Invite new customer’:

A popup/overlay will appear where you can enter the customer’s email and company name. You can also choose the language of the email (English, Danish, German, French, Italian or Spanish). Click ‘send invitation’ to send an invitation email to that customer. 

The email will provide instructions for the customer to create a Cookiebot account, accept our Terms of Service and accept that the invoice will come directly from Cybot A/S (the company behind Cookiebot). The customer is also informed, that you as a reseller will have access to their account and configurations so you can provide them with any support or implementation help needed.

When the customer has signed up for a Cookiebot account, the relevant domain(s) should be added. This can either be done by the customer himself – or by you (please make sure you have the permission to do so, since in this case the customer will be invoiced by us for the domains you have added). Then follow the 3-step implementation guide https://www.cookiebot.com/goto/help/.

On the ‘Customers’ page, you will see a list of the customers you have invited and their current status i.e. ‘pending’ if the invitation has been sent and is awaiting the customer’s action and ‘active’ if your invitation has been accepted and they have signed up for a Cookiebot account with you as the reseller.

3. Do my customers have access to their Cookiebot configurations and account?

Customers under the ‘retail model’ have full access to their Cookiebot account and configurations (i.e. both you as a reseller and the customer have access).

Customers under the ‘wholesale model’ do not have any access to their configurations and do not have a Cookiebot account of their own (i.e. only you as a reseller have access).

Please note that it is possible to add multiple email recipients of the monthly scan reports: go to ‘Reports’, click the white button ‘Add receiver’, add the email and choose the language of the scan report from the drop-down menu. Then click the green button ‘update’. This way, both you and the customer can receive the monthly report to see if there are any changes in the cookies and online trackers in use or if there are other findings requiring action (for example data being sent to inadequate countries).

4. How do I make sure that when I recommend Cookiebot to my customers, they actually sign up under my reseller account?

If you recommend Cookiebot to your customers – or even people who are not your customers – for example in a blog post or when asked for a recommendation, please make sure that the customer then signs up to a Cookiebot account using your unique reseller link (see above). This is the only way we can track that a customer has come from your recommendation because the link ensures that the customer is automatically added to your reseller account under the retail model when he signs up via the link. You should make it clear to your readers/customers that it is only if they use your unique reseller link that they are signing up for an account under you as a reseller. If the customer navigates from say your blog post to the Cookiebot website and signs up from there, we cannot track it and the customer will not be added to your account. We cannot manually transfer the customer to your reseller account for you, so please be very careful to use the link.

Under the wholesale model this option does not exist. If you recommend Cookiebot in a blogpost or elsewhere, you will need to include your contact details and have the customer contact you directly to have you set up Cookiebot for them.

5. Can I sign up customers via my unique reseller link and leave it up to Cookiebot to provide the support if needed?

Under both the retail model and the wholesale model, you as the reseller are responsible for providing any help or support your customer needs. This is what is referred to as ‘First Line Technical Support’ in the Reseller Agreement. The retail model is not an affiliate program where you get a commission solely for referring customers. It is still a reseller program where you have the direct contact with the customer – we have just made it easier for you to sign up your customers by providing the unique reseller link.

6. As a reseller, can I create (multiple) ‘Free subscriptions’ for my customers?

Yes, you can. There can only be one domain in a ‘Free plan’ domain group but you can create as many of those domain groups as you need.

The maximum of 1 domain on the free subscription is because our free subscription was intended for smaller customers with maximum 1 domain and no need for many of the customization features that the premium plan contain. Therefore, if you create a domain group and choose ‘free plan’ you can only add 1 domain to the domain group.

Example: If one of your customers has 2 domains, one with less than 50 pages (that qualifies for the free subscription) and one with more than 50 pages, then you should create a domain group with ‘premium plan’ and both of these domains will be charged for a premium subscription based on each of their number of subpages.

Please note that restrictions/conditions apply (see Is-the-Free-subscription-GDPR-compliant-If-yes-what-is-the-difference-between-the-free-subscription-and-the-premium-subscription- for details). For more information about the types of subscriptions you can create, see below. If you ‘sell’ free subscriptions, there will be no financial gain (and no cost) for you. You can, however, choose to offer this to your customers along with any help and support they may need to provide an extra customer service or because you include it in a joint package (wholesale model only).

7. What types of subscriptions can I create for my customers?

When you create a new domain group for a customer (see our introduction to working with domain groups here: Introduction-What-are-domain-groups-and-how-should-I-use-them-), you have the following options:

1. Premium plan – this is for our regular subscriptions with full functionality. The subscription fee for each domain and each subdomain added will be calculated automatically and fixed by the number of subpages of each domain.

2. Free 14 days trial – this is a trial you can offer to your (potential) customers if they aren’t sure about purchasing Cookiebot and would like to test it first. You can also use it for yourself to test out on a domain or to be able to do a scan of a domain (for example if you want to present the scan report for a particular domain in a sales situation). Please note that each free 14 days trial domain group can contain a maximum of 10 domains and that the scans are performed on up to 50 subpages of each domain/subdomain. For a full scan of domains larger than 50 subpages, please upgrade to a premium subscription.

3. Free plan – this is for a free subscription with limited functionality. Please note that this is for customers with 1 domain only and a maximum of 50 subpages (see Is-the-Free-subscription-GDPR-compliant-If-yes-what-is-the-difference-between-the-free-subscription-and-the-premium-subscription- for details).

8. Why should a customer with one small domain (50 pages or less) choose a premium subscription instead of the free subscription?

The free subscription has limited functionality. If the customer would like access to the full functionality, he should go for a premium subscription. For more information about the difference between the free plan and the premium plan, please see Is-the-Free-subscription-GDPR-compliant-If-yes-what-is-the-difference-between-the-free-subscription-and-the-premium-subscription-

9. What should I do when a free 14 days trial expires? How do I convert a free 14 days trial to a premium subscription?

When a free 14 days trial expires, the scripts will stop working on the customer’s website and no further scans will be performed. Expired trials will be marked with a red icon and on the domain group and the expiration date will be stated.

If the customer is happy with Cookiebot and your services, you can easily convert the trial domain group to a premium subscription. You will not have to create a new domain group. A free trial can of course also be converted to a premium subscription before the trial ends – for example if the customer would like access to a full scan of his website (up to 10,000 pages) rather than the 50 page maximum scan.

To convert a free trial to a premium subscription, click the link ‘upgrade to a full subscription’ and follow the instructions.

10. How do I know if a customer was signed up under the ‘retail’ or the ‘wholesale’ model?

The easiest way is to check your customer domain groups and the information in the light blue area on the top. This will list your current wholesale discount (wholesale)/possible administration fee (retail). If you see a blue link saying ‘Invite a customer to take ownership’ then it means that this is a wholesale customer (and if you click on the link you can convert the customer to a retail customer).

For a domain group that is under the free plan (or a free 14 days), you will see a link saying ‘Invite customer’ if the domain group is a wholesale customer.

Do also check the menu point ‘Customers’. Here you will see those customers signed up under the retail model. Invitations will be listed as ‘pending’, whereas ‘active’ indicates that the customer has signed up and is now a retail model customer of yours.

11. Do you offer any contract templates that we can use with our customers?

What type of contract you have in place with your customers is entirely up to you. Maybe your services in relation to Cookiebot are already covered in your existing contract with the customer. Maybe you need/want to issue a new contract with the customer. We do not provide templates for this but you are welcome to make use of information from our Terms of Service https://www.cookiebot.com/goto/terms-of-service/ and our Privacy Policy https://www.cookiebot.com/goto/privacy-policy/ as inspiration or to include (where relevant) in the contract between you and the customer.

12. Can you issue a Data Processing Agreement that I can show to my customers (as per GDPR Article 28)?

Please see the answer and explanation available here: Can you issue a Data Processing Agreement for us?