[mseebach]

Don't let clients anywhere near their own domains and hosting.

Before you know it, you're drenched in trouble, trying to get some hack-cheap-registrar to unlock domains or whatever, while the client is desperate because his e-mail doesn't work, or figuring out why the website broke, only to find out the boss's nephew tried to install a BT tracker on the site, and by the way, no, he doesn't have a backup, didn't you take care of that?

Get a small VPS at SliceHost and host the sites yourself. Forward their e-mail to GMail accounts, or setup apps for your domain. Charge $20 a month, paid a year in advance. One billing round a year, if it takes you more than half a morning, you're doing it wrong.

The only point of contact the client has is you, the only bill he gets is from you, and you're pretty soon pocketing a few $100 a month simply by not screwing up the server.

[compay]

I've been down this road before and I agree with everything said here. Just to clarify something, I think mseebach meant that you should charge $20/month for yourself - and have the company pay for the Slicehost account. The smallest slice on SH is $20/mo so if you don't do that you won't be getting any compensation.

[mseebach]

No, I meant charge $20 for everything from the client, and host them all on the same slice. A 256 vps easily hosts 10s of low traffic sites. Local business usually means mostly static, and on the scale of dozens of visits a week.

[compay]

Ah, ok - right on.