A Control Panel is a software tool employed to manage the content of a hosting account. Including, but is not limited to, files, e-mail messages, databases, stats and various operations carried out with them. The Control Panel offers a web-based interface to handle all these things and everything else relevant to the hosting service using different sections where you can access features through menus and/or buttons. The less complicated to use a Control Panel is, the easier it'll be for you to control your online presence in general. In the general scenario, the CP is the hosting account’s back office, while a different billing account is employed to handle payments and domain name registrations - if the company provides that particular service. Trouble tickets could be addressed through the billing account or via a separate system.