Version 8.9 Release Notes

Release Information
Version: 8.9.0
Release Type: General Availability
Latest Update: 6th March 2024
Distribution Types: Full and Via Automatic Updater

For more information on WHMCS 8.9's important changes and exciting features, see New and Improved in WHMCS 8.9.

Version History

8.9.0	Beta	6th December 2023
8.9.0	Release Candidate	7th February 2024
8.9.0	General Availability	6th March 2024

Download

Download the latest version of WHMCS from https://download.whmcs.com/

Upgrade Process

WHMCS 8.0 and above requires PHP 7.2 or later. WHMCS 8.0 introduced support for PHP 7.4, and WHMCS 8.6 introduced support for PHP 8.1.

Make certain that you update to a WHMCS version that supports your desired PHP version or higher before updating PHP.

The Automatic Updater only displays updates if you are running a PHP version that is compatible with that WHMCS version.
For example, if you are running PHP 7.1 or earlier, you must update to PHP 7.2 or later before updating to WHMCS 8.0 or higher.

Upgrade Instructions

Automatic Updating

If you are running WHMCS 7.0 or later, you can use the built-in Automatic Updater.

Go to Utilities > Update WHMCS to begin the process.

If the update was released recently, you may need to click Check for Updates before the update will be available.

Release Notes

New PayPal® Payment Gateways

The new PayPal Payments payment gateway module allows merchants to process and store payment methods using PayPal's latest secure tokenization system, including the advanced security of merchant-level vaulting with PayPal Vault for supported merchants.

Currently, PayPal supports vaulting for merchants in:

The United States
Canada
The United Kingdom
Australia
The following EU countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, The Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

When you use PayPal Payments, clients can make one-click payments using PayPal during checkout and on invoices.

When you activate PayPal Payments, it also activates the PayPal Card Payments module. This module augments PayPal Payments, allowing you to display a separate unbranded option to accept credit and debit cards during checkout. Both modules use the PayPal Payments configured PayPal account information for a seamless experience.

You can enable the new PayPal Payments module at Configuration () > Apps & Integrations. For more information, see Start Using PayPal Payments.

If you enabled these modules while using the Beta release of WHMCS 8.9, you must reactivate them before using them with WHMCS 8.9 Release Candidate or later. If you do not do this, you may experience problems with some payment methods.

Learn More

Transactions List

We have updated the displayed transaction details at Billing > Transactions List to include additional information and currency codes for some amounts.

On-Demand Renewals

On-Demand Renewals now allow early renewals for product addons. When you enable on-demand renewals, clients can renew services in the Client Area before WHMCS generates their next invoice, with no manual action from your staff.

You can configure on-demand renewals globally in the Ordering tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings.
You can configure on-demand renewals for individual product addons in the Pricing tab at Configuration () > System Settings > Product Addons.

Learn More

On-Demand Renewal Product Settings

We have moved the product-specific On-Demand Renewals settings at Configuration () > System Settings > Products/Services from the Other tab to the Pricing tab.

Learn More

Separated Invoice Viewing and Management

Invoices in the WHMCS Admin Area now default to a view-only mode. This prevents accidental editing while viewing an invoice and gives admins more fine-grained control over staff permissions.

This change affects invoices at Billing > Invoices and in a client's profile's Invoices tab.
Admins can still add payments, resend emails, and perform certain other tasks in view-only mode if they have the related permissions for those tasks.

A new View Invoice permission at Configuration () > System Settings > Administrator Roles grants admins the ability to view, but not alter, existing invoices. Admins who already had the Manage Invoices permission will continue to be able to edit invoices by clicking Manage Invoice while viewing an invoice.

Learn More

Duo® Universal Prompt

We have updated our integration with Duo Security to use the new Prompt login process. This change replaces the previous iframe-based experience and implements a simplified interface that continues to support Duo's wide range of Two-Factor Authentication options.

Duo has announced that support for the previous iframe-based Duo Prompt will end on March 30, 2024.

Duo's support team cannot troubleshoot issues with iframe-based Duo Prompt after this date.
After you upgrade to WHMCS 8.9 or later, we strongly recommend activating Duo Universal Prompt in your Duo customer portal to ensure continued functionality. If you do not do this, your customers may experience problems.

Learn More

Show on Order Form State

Payment gateway modules now support a VisibleDefault metadata parameter that defines the default Show on Order Form setting. This parameter defaults to true for all payment gateway modules.

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Improved Invoice ID Incrementation

To improve how WHMCS handles incrementing invoice ID numbers, we have updated the following settings in the Invoices tab at Configuration () > System Settings > General Settings:

Invoice # Incrementation now has a maximum value of 999.
Invoice Starting # now has a maximum value of 499,999,999.
The maximum invoice ID number that the system can generate has increased from 2,147,483,647 to 4,294,967,295.

Improved Apps & Integrations Experience

We have optimized page performance at Configuration () > Apps & Integrations, allowing you to search for modules faster.

Stripe™ Module API Updates

We have updated the Stripe, Stripe ACH, and Stripe SEPA modules. We have updated the Stripe PHP Library and implemented other module improvements.

Additionally, Stripe ACH and Stripe SEPA now use Stripe's PaymentIntents API instead of the now-deprecated Stripe API. Patches will be available soon for installations that run WHMCS 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, or 8.8.

Learn More

Enhanced Domain Pricing Validation

The system now validates your PHP configuration's max_input_vars setting before saving changes at Configuration () > System Settings > Domain Pricing. This helps to prevent MySQL® errors and other issues that low max_input_vars values may cause.

Learn More

Blesta 5 Support in ImportAssist

The ImportAssist addon module now supports importing data from Blesta 5. This is a direct change to the ImportAssist module and is not specific to WHMCS 8.9.

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Deprecation and Removal Notices

Plaid Settings in Stripe ACH Module

We have removed support for Plaid from the Stripe ACH payment gateway module. This includes removing the Plaid Client Id, Plaid Secret, and Plaid Environment settings from the module's configuration.