How do I check how many hosting accounts are unpaid or dormant?

Ask for an export from each system. The server list shows what is hosted, the billing list shows who should be paying, and the bank records show who did. Line them up by customer. Differences fall into groups: free favours, test accounts, accounts abandoned by customers, accounts the owner forgot to bill and bills that were never paid.

Then look at activity. A site that gets no visitors, no logins and no email for a long time is probably dormant even if the card still pays. The reverse also happens: a busy site with an expired card. Ask what the seller does about each case, how long the company waits before suspending, and whether anyone chases late payments.

Finally, ask what the seller counts when quoting a customer total. If dormant and free accounts are included, the number flatters the business. Ask for a list of the accounts that would remain after removing them. Your accountant can compare that against the revenue records. Also ask how much space and support time these accounts use, since idle accounts still cost something. Ask the seller to walk through five accounts from each group, and see if the explanations match the records.

Key takeaways

• Compare server records, billing records and bank deposits.
• Separate free, test, dormant and unpaid accounts.
• Ask what the seller counts as a customer.
• Check what idle accounts cost in space and support.