I'm trying to set up my server so that I can host website from it for other people, I was wondering what a decent control panel would be and any other software I would need to manage and have it up and running. Thanks in advance!
You should consider purchasing a server that has cpanel or plesk. I haven't found any decent open source software and at the same time i haven't been looking. If you are running a windows IIS server then microsoft has some scripts that can help managing and creating accounts more streamlined.
I recommend webhostautomation, http://www.webhostautomation.com/webhost-840 It's not expensive and its very stable and feature rich. You can automate your hosting business with the help of this control panel software. This could save you astounding money: well over $20,000. Here's you can get (for Free!) Hope it helps.