How to host Invoice Ninja on InterServer VPS - ServerAvatar

Invoice Ninja is a robust open-source platform designed to simplify invoicing and financial management processes for businesses. It provides essential tools for generating invoices, managing finances, and tracking expenses, ensuring ease of use for both administrators and clients. When selecting a hosting solution for Invoice Ninja, InterServer stands out as a reliable option with scalable infrastructure and simple deployment solutions. ServerAvatar makes the deployment of the Invoice Ninja application on the InterServer platform straightforward through a simplified process.

Create a VPS in InterServer

Getting started with InterServer:

InterServer's Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting leads their array of hosting solutions, providing businesses and developers a sturdy platform to drive their online endeavors with dependable flexibility. InterServer's VPS hosting leverages cutting-edge technology and infrastructure housed in state-of-the-art data centers. This ensures optimal performance and uptime, crucial for demanding applications and websites. With Interserver's VPS plans, users benefit from dedicated resources including CPU cores, RAM, and storage, providing a scalable environment capable of handling varying levels of traffic and resource requirements.

Interserver's VPS hosting stands out for its cost-effectiveness while maintaining high performance and a rich feature set. Their range of VPS plans caters to diverse needs, accommodating startups, small businesses, and large enterprises with tailored solutions. Whether you're launching a new project, migrating an existing site, or seeking to upgrade to a more robust hosting solution, Interserver's VPS hosting offers the performance, scalability, and support needed to succeed in today's digital landscape.

Let’s get started with creating the virtual private server in Interserver, for that follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Accessing Your InterServer Account

• First, log in to InterServer account. If you are new to InterServer, click on the Sign Up to register with InterServer. Refer to the below image.

Step 2: Create VPS in InterServer

• After you log in to your InterServer account, the Dashboard of InterServer will appear. You can see various sections like Domains, Web Hosting, Licenses, Storage, and Dedicated Servers. However, you have to click on the Order Now button in the VPS section to create a fresh VPS.

Step 3: Configuring the VPS in InterServer

• First you need to choose the Platform for your VPS. It should be a kernel-based virtual machine (KVM).
• Now you have to select the location of your VPS. Make sure to select a server location closest to your major traffic source demographically.
• Then you have to select the Slices. It is the number of cores on your server, which you can select according to your requirements.
• Moreover, you have to choose image i.e. an operating system running on the server. So here you have to select an OS for your server along with its versions. Generally, the Invoice Ninja application required Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer version for compatibility and support. If you are managing your servers with ServerAvatar, Select Ubuntu 20.04 x64 bit or Ubuntu 22.04 x64 bit.
• In addition to this you have to set the root password for your VPS of your own choice. After filling up all the necessary details for your VPS Click on the Continue button.

Step 4: Review your VPS details

• Here you have to verify the details of your virtual machine, select the agreed terms checkbox, and click on the Place Order button to create VPS.

Step 5: Make a payment for your VPS

• The final step is to make a payment for your VPS, so for that, you have to Add Billing Address and verify your order of VPS. There are various modes of payment available to make a payment for your VPS. Select the mode as per your convenience.

• Congratulations! You have successfully created your instance in InterServer which is now ready to connect with ServerAvatar.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup Invoice Ninja on Cloud Using ServerAvatar

Step 1: Create Database

Access the Databases tab on the ServerAvatar server panel to create a MySQL Database.

Enter the credentials and click on the Create Database button.

Step 2: Change PHP-CLI Version

Deploying InvoiceNinja on the server requires PHP-CLI Version 8.1 or above at the server level. To configure the PHP-CLI version, follow the Snapshot.

Step 3: Create a PHP Application

Access the Applications tab from the server panel to create a new PHP application.

Fill up the required information, including the Application Name, Domain Name, and Advanced Options for more PHP settings.

Proceed to next by clicking on the Next Step.

Now select method and service provider Git and GitHub, respectively (follow according to Snapshot)

Enter the required information as given below:

Repository Type: Public
Clone HTTPS URL: https://github.com/invoiceninja/invoiceninja.git
Branch: v5-stable
Deployment script:

git checkout v5-stable;
cp .env.example .env;
composer i -o --no-dev
php artisan key:generate

Move further by clicking on the Next Step.

Create a System User or choose a system user from an existing One.

Then choose PHP version 8.1 or above; the custom webroot should be Public as in the given Snapshot.

Custom Webroot: Public

Then, click on the Create Application button.

Step 4: Connect Database

Go to the File Manager tab from the sidebar of the application. And access the public_html folder

Now check the Show Hidden Files box to access the .env file to change to the original database credentials.

Change the following configuration to establish a connection with the database.

DB_DATABASE= Database_Name
DB_USERNAME= Database_Username
DB_PASSWORD=Database_Password

To access database credentials, go to the Database tab from the sidebar of the server panel and click the database that we created in the first step.

That's all, open your application URL in the web browser to access the Invoice Ninja setup page.

Tip: ServerAvatar provides a one-click solution for installing an SSL certificate on your domain. To install SSL, go to the application panel and click the SSL Certificate button to install automatic SSL in your application domain.