How to structure your Sinch account so you can easily and securely onboard, isolate, and bill your own end-customers.
Overview
If you resell Sinch products to your own customers, you're what we call a reseller, or an ISV (Independent Software Vendor). This guide walks you through the recommended way to structure your Sinch account so that each of your end-customers is properly isolated, easy to bill, and simple to manage as you grow.
This guide assumes you already have a Sinch account. If you don't, you can sign up for free here. For additional help creating your account, read our guide or reach out to support.
Understanding Hierarchy: Accounts, Projects, and Subprojects
Sinch organizes resources in a three-level hierarchy: Account → Project → Subproject.- Account: your overarching Sinch relationship. Billing and top-level access are managed here.
- Project: a workspace under your account used to separate resources, e.g. by team or environment. Every account has at least one.
- Subproject: a workspace inside a project. It behaves like a project (own apps, own contacts), but its usage rolls up to its parent project for billing.
If you'd like the full picture of how this hierarchy works, see our article on the Sinch Account Model.
How to set up your account as a reseller
As a reseller, you should use one Subproject for each of your end-customers.
This keeps every end-customer's numbers, apps, and traffic separate from every other end-customer's, while still rolling everything up into a single account you manage and get billed on.
Setup:
- Create a dedicated parent project within your account (named, for example, “End-Customer Accounts”).
- Under that parent project, create one subproject for every individual end-customer you bring on board.
You can create your first few subprojects directly from the Build dashboard. If you plan to onboard end-customers at scale, see the section on API automation below.
Multiple projects should be used to group different customers as appropriate – for example by region/currency.
Jannic_Nielsen_0-1787124916568.png
Why this structure is recommended for resellers
- Automation. Subprojects can be created, configured, and managed via the Subproject API, so you can onboard new end-customers without manual work in the dashboard.
- Security and isolation. This structure keeps your end-customers' resources separate from one another, and keeps them out of your main Build dashboard entirely.
- Cost tracking. Because each end-customer sits in their own subproject, you can pull granular cost reports for each of your clients.
- Per-end-customer invoice detail. Sinch supports usage slicing by subproject within a single invoice for supported messaging channels, so you get one consolidated invoice that itemizes traffic by end-customer, rather than a separate invoice per client.
Setting up API automation
To create and manage subprojects programmatically, your account needs to be enabled for the Subproject API. This isn't switched on by default.
- Contact your Sinch account manager and ask them to enable Subproject API access for your account.
- Once enabled, you can create, configure, and delete subprojects entirely through the API, without needing dashboard access for each end-customer.
Giving your end-customers access
Your end-customers should not be invited into the Sinch Build dashboard. Instead, issue each end-customer's integration a scoped API key tied to their subproject. This keeps them isolated from your other clients and from your own account settings, while still giving them everything they need to integrate.
Things to know before you start
A few current platform behaviors are worth planning around before you build out your reseller structure.
Plan your billing structure before you go live
Your account, billing, and project layout should be designed upfront with your account manager. Moving a project between billing setups after you're live can disrupt invoicing and reporting, so it isn't something to plan on doing later. As a rule of thumb: one billing setup per cost centre or currency, and one project per team or environment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create projects via the API?
No. Projects are created in the Build dashboard, and should only be needed for basic account structure. Subprojects are the automation layer: you can create, manage, and delete these fully via the API.
Can I delete a project myself?
Not yet. Today you should reach out to Support so we can remove/consolidate provisioned products and cost reporting on our side.
Can I delete a subproject myself?
Yes, programmatically via the API.
Should my end-customers get access to the Sinch Build dashboard?
No. The subproject-plus-scoped-API-key model exists specifically so your end-customers never need dashboard access. This is what keeps them properly isolated from each other, and from your account.
Can I get a reliable cost breakdown per end-customer?
Yes. Cost breakdown by subproject is fully supported and is the recommended way to re-bill your own clients accurately.
Can I invoice different parts of my business in different currencies?
Yes. You can have multiple billing accounts under the same Sinch account, for example one per cost center or currency. Talk to your account manager to set this up.
My use case doesn't fit any of this. Who do I talk to?
Reach out to your Sinch account manager or Sinch Support. They can advise on more complex account structures.
