A comprehensive guide to the Subscription Billing Platforms (plus five options)

Most subscription billing platforms let you:

• Automated bill-pay, as well as payments.
• Control and modify your subscription and trial models.
• Create a self-service portal for clients for managing their accounts (including information about seating arrangements and payment details and more).
• Provide and control one-time additions coupons, add-ons, and additional.
• Analyze metrics and report on monthly recurring revenues.

The majority of organizations who manage subscription billing will require solutions for different aspects of managing subscription billing for example:

• Payment processing.
• The prevention of chargebacks as well as the elimination of fraud.
• Paying and incorporating consumption tax.
• Legal Compliance.
• and more.

Certain subscription billing platforms don't provide these crucial elements when managing subscriptions.

In addition, you'll need to be aware that the service you're using manage your billing has firms similar to yours. As an example, certain businesses that provide billing offer are the only ones that have support available for SaaS companies, whereas other solutions offer support for companies offering physical goods or services (e.g. fitness clubs, food club memberships, online financial service).

In this this blog, we'll look at five top payment platforms for bill payments that support subscriptions. We will also outline the features of their billing process they are able to accommodate, as well as the additional options to incorporate and the kind of business they can support.

Our services let SaaS companies handle all of the information that was mentioned previously. This post will start with a thorough analysis of . The other options on the list focus on e-commerce and businesses that offer tangible goods or services.

Table of Contents

•       Recurly
•       Chargebee
•       Chargify
•       Zuora

Full Subscription Billing System for Global Software Companies

It's a full payments system that is intended to provide a service to SaaS firms as well as businesses who offer digital and/or downloadable products. By using B2B and B2C software businesses can handle:

• Trials, multiple subscription choices Add-ons for one-time use and subscriptions along with many others.
• Automatic invoices and notifications to customers.
• Payment processing (for many payment options all over the world).
• Self-service portal completely managed by clients.
• Reportage and analytics.
• And there's plus.

Additionally, takes on the dangers associated with transactions and we take control of chargebacks and fraud prevention. We also handle the collecting and paying of taxes on consumption, in addition to legally compliant.

If you choose to grow, there won't be any unexpected charges since the entire suite of options is provided at a low cost that is dependent on the amount of transactions that you make so you'll only be charged once transactions have taken place.

In the next sections of the sections to follow, we'll take a closer look at how to:

•       Create custom Subscription Models, Trials and Subscriptions without codes
•       Let Customers handle the details of their accounts via a user-friendly web-based portal
•       Help Make Checkout More Effective to Increase Conversions
•       Securing Your business from the legal liability of transactions
•       Let Gather and Remit VAT and Sales Tax for You
•       Automate the handling of payment failures and cut down on the amount of cash that is lost
•       Automatically collect key metrics and display detailed Reports

Create Custom Subscription Models, Subscriptions and trial without code

A majority of businesses require a range of models for recurring billing and trial models to meet the demands of different products and markets. Also, the models that you're using at the beginning might not be the most efficient in the long run as your business grows.

Some billing systems allow the creation of custom subscription plans. You'll require your developers team to configure these custom plans by hand (with minimal or no assistance from your service provider for billing services).

     has a wide range of possibilities integrated, so anyone is able to create customized subscription plans even if they have no prior experience with technology.    

Here are some examples of what kinds of subscriptions and trials that you could set up:

• Cost of a free trial or trial-based on use.
• Automated billing after the trial period has expired (or the customer can manually enroll for a subscription).
• You are able to set the billing frequency or the day (or let your customers select).
• Usage-based billing.
• Coupons, discounts , or discounted amounts in addition to the possibility to purchase additional items for only one time.
• Automatically store information about payment (or allow customers to decide).
• Auto-renew for a new subscription plan.
• and more.

If you're in need of additional customization, you can utilize the API and Webhooks Library to build your personalized subscription models. The developers are on hand to help you build the ideal solution, and to answer all questions that you might have to inquire about.

Customers can handle their account data via a simple, user-friendly website

The portal is self-service and customers can access:

• Subscriptions that are active , but inactive (or trials of subscriptions).
• The history of the order (and the ID number).
• Keys to licenses and download history.
• Payment details.
• Contact details.
• Plus.

On this site, clients are able to manage upgrades and downgrades as well as the bank account or credit card details, as well as many other things, without having to call the customer support.

manages the whole website in a way that it does not require. However, you'll have full control over the appearance and experience of your website. This results in a consistent customer experience without adding additional strain on your team of developers.

Make the Checkout Process more efficient for your company in order to improve conversion

If you're using a subscription-based option for billing it is necessary to have another solution for managing checks-out and payments (which can result in extra charges and software needed to handle).

     allows for subscription management and checkout as well as payment processingall from the same system.    

Through nearly 20 years, having worked with companies that develop software We have gained invaluable knowledge in optimizing checkouts to ensure increased conversions. Customers tend to be more likely to complete purchases when they:

• Accept the preferred method of paying.
• The money is accepted the first attempt.
• Check-out is done in the native language and currency.
• The design and style of the checkout procedure is similar to the overall design and style of the website.

Each of these make up the platform.

• preferred method of payment: allows you to accept the most popular method of payment around the globe.
• Rates of payment authorisation that are extremely high Each card network and the institution that issued it, have their specific acceptable limits for fraud transaction and chargebacks. Make sure you adhere to the rules so that you are in a position to keep the highest levels of authorization. Furthermore, payments are much more likely to be authorized when the gateway is an official legal entity that is located in the same location as the person using it. Works with several payment gateways across the world, and will process every transaction using the gateway with the highest approval rate in that particular area.
• Automated conversion of currencies that converts the price in the currency of the purchaser. You may choose to convert the exact amount per location or to change in real-time.
• Checkout translations available in various local languages can also assist you in translating the checkout process in the local language. You can choose the appropriate local language to the location of the buyer's residence or let them select the preferred one.
• Fully customized checkouts With HTML0, you have the option to select from three checkout options including an embedded checkoutoption, an open-ended checkout, and a storefront controlled by our team. Each time, you are in complete control of the style and look of your checkout page as well as the checkout you're making use of. Most checkouts provide a variety of possibilities for personalizing (e.g. include the logo or pick from a preset set of colors) But checkouts can be customized according to the size of the resolution of the.

Secure Your Company from the Legal Liability of Transactions

Like the seasoned SaaS companies are aware, it is essential to define clearly the terms and terms of subscription, and to have the users agree to those conditions before they can be paid. It's not an easy decision to determine what needs to be included in the contract. This process is more difficult for international transactions since the requirements of the elements a contract has to be made up of will be different for every state, nation, or even a province. If you do not include certain elements in your contract, you could face severe penalties or be disqualified from conducting business in the specific area.

Additionally, many states have additional regulations and laws for automatic periodic payments which exceed what is stipulated in the contract. For instance, in the case of India For instance. India is one of the countries where automated payments are limited in the amount of $15,000 (approximately $180 at the date of posting). If the recurring amount is higher than that, the users must sign a consent form each time. To avoid penalty, you must be able to electronically submit a mandate to the Reserve Bank of India that states how you intend to follow the guidelines.

Staying current with laws like those that are applicable to any region is crucial for all businesses.

If our customers do not have concerns over this, it's not an issue as we will ensure that the transaction is conformity with local laws and regulations. The legal department of the company is constantly up to date on all the laws governing transactions. We will make sure that the required procedures and documentation are put in place for processing the automatic payment.

It is completely compliant with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in addition to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in addition to additional regulations.

Don't forget to collect and pay for the VAT and sales tax to You

SaaS companies aren't required to be tax-payers, but the tax laws for software businesses are changing and are being enforced more rigorously.

Numerous payment systems will help to collect tax on consumption. But, it's your responsibility to making sure you collect the right amount of tax and then pay the tax after each tax season. If you fail to ensure you collect and pay the correct amount (and the right type) of tax on consumption within the specified timeframes, then you may face heavy penalties and/or be barred from conducting any business from this place.

automatically adds the proper amount (and the kind) of tax on consumption onto the customer-facing price and remits those taxes for you..

We're a fervent advocate of tax-free transactions in all situations which require specialization. We also take the lead on any audits.

Automated handling of payment that do not work and lower the chance of churn

Between the first payment as well as each subsequent one, there can be numerous difficulties that stop the payment from being accepted and cause customers to be repeatedly churned. Working with numerous businesses, we've created automated ways to address the most common problems that cause churn. We've also helped recover the bulk of the payments that fail.

Below are a few resources which can help you reduce churn and unsuccessful transaction:

• Reminders which are actively triggeredIn our observations, notifying customers of upcoming dates for payment in addition to notifying them about expired payment methods is among the most effective strategies to cut down on involuntary churn, as well as the difficulty to complete transactions. By using this software  it is possible to create automated reminders of upcoming payments.
• Multi-reminders In the event that an order doesn't function, customers typically need multiple reminders until they solve the problem (e.g. adding money to their account, change their payment method, etc.). It is possible to notify your client for up to two or three days, then seven, or 21 days following the initial failed payment ( it is possible to try the payment again at the end of every warning).
• Service that is ongoing: Another effective way to decrease non-voluntary churn is to maintain your service running while you attempt to make money. This will provide a more pleasant service to the customer as it has an opportunity to address concerns without the unpleasant feeling of having shut down service. The more pleasant the user's experience is, the more likely that they'll remain.
• Reactivation is as easy as: Once all reminders were sent, it's possible to stop the service, instead of cancelling the subscription. This will allow subscribers to resume their subscription without stressing about registering again (onboarding can be a major obstacle to restarting a service).

We've already talked about it. It is also possible to automatically try again each transaction using a different processor (without any person on the team having to lift just one finger) to correct any issues in payments due to problems with the network.

Automatically collect the most important indicators, then look at the detailed report

Analytics and reporting can assist in answering questions like:

• What products contribute to my profit margin?
• Which items have proved to be the most effective and what ones use the most energy?
• Which promotions, coupons or sales attract the highest number of customers?
• What subscription model is the most effective?
• Which markets perform best and hold the most potential?

The dashboard has two in the main dashboard, which include revenue overview dashboard, and the dashboard for the overview of subscriptions.

The income overview dashboard provides a complete review of the company's's performance. It includes:

• The location of your clients.
• Which currencies and payment methods are the most popular for customers.
• Net sales per product.
• The number of transactions in every country.
• Plus.

The dashboard of the subscription overview will allow you to keep track of your monthly recurring income (MRR) and dig deeper into what's impacting your MRR in the course of time. The dashboard gives information about:

• Add-ons, cross-sells, and upsells.
• The worth that every customer.
• The whole turnover of the customers.
• In the billing cycle, occurs, it is usually a churn.
• The importance over the course of the life of a customer.
• Plus.

It's possible to modify and save reports and distribute them to important users via the dashboard or through images, CSV or the spreadsheet export XLSX.

Four Other Subscription Management Platforms

Recurly

Recurly is a recurring-billing and management platform developed by firms which sell:

• Software that can be used for B2C as well as B2B.
• Mobile app.
• and Media. and Media.
• Retail and consumer goods.
• Professional Services.
• eLearning.

Recurly can be connected seamlessly with various payment processors, but you are responsible to manage the configuration and operation of each. Most businesses that use Recruly are also able to integrate software solutions to:

• Taxes (e.g., Avalara).
• Accounting (e.g. the QuickBooks).
• Security against fraud (e.g. Sift-customers are safeguarded automatically through Sift).

In addition, you'll have to pay for taxes and transaction costs, so you'll likely require an organization specifically designed to handle the tax compliance. (With everything, it's possible to be covered within one set and handled by our experts.)

Chargebee

Chargebee is a bill-paying subscription and revenue management system that was designed to:

• B2B SaaS.
• eCommerce.
• eLearning.
• Publishing.
• YouTube as well as OTT.

As with Recurly, Chargebee is primarily an online , subscription-based service for billing, which means that you'll probably require additional options to prevent the fraud of fraud, taxes, payment processing, and many more. Chargebee offers a variety of connection options (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, SalesForce, and QuickBooks) however, they aren't included in all one of the Chargebee plans.

Chargify MQvqTHEHDfcWrtvtwwtY

Chargify offers subscription-based billing to B2B SaaS companies.

It's likely that you'll need additional solutions to stop fraud, tax and tax-related processing and many other things. However, Chargify does offer simple accounting software that can recognize revenues (for different companies).

Chargify has also joined forces with SaaSOptics to form the company Maxio. As a result of the merger, organizations who sign up to these Chargify services will be able to monitor their financials, including automatic expense reports, in addition to revenue recognition. It will also automate writing reports.

Zuora

Zuora can be described as a revenue-based platform that is end-to-end which includes an application that manages subscriptions. Their majority of customers come from the following fields:

• Manufacturing as well as IoT.
• Software.
• High-tech.
• Entertainmentand Media, Media and Entertainment.

Zuora typically offers plans that are based on subscription (e.g. an subscription-based service with a usage-based fee that may be upgraded to a paid package) They also provide features that streamline processes for the accounting, dunning and handling the processing of payments (although certain businesses are able to connect to other payment processing platforms).

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