TL;DR
- You'll find that billing workflow software is indispensable for managing SaaS billing complexities, from various payment plans to add-ons.
- With billing workflow software, you can automate billing processes, track customer spending, and integrate analytics for a more organized system.
- Benefits of billing workflow software include freeing up staff for strategic projects, achieving significant ROI, improving customer experience, and enhancing security.
- Understand the billing process steps: selecting a plan (Payment Gateway), collecting billing info (Merchant Account), and managing subscriptions (Subscription Management Platform).
- Key features to seek in billing workflow software include customizable onboarding, built-in analytics, fraud prevention, subscription management, and dunning management.
- Signs you need billing workflow software: starting a SaaS business, high customer churn, lack of industry trend awareness, and need for flexible billing models.
- Consider Togai's advanced pricing platform for rapid implementation of your pricing and billing strategies, transforming your SaaS business's efficiency.
- Togai's solution significantly reduces launch time from months to days, demonstrating the software's efficiency and effectiveness.
Gone are the days when payment collection was simple and easy in the software industry. Customers purchased the software either through a compact disc or downloaded and paid for it. Software as a Service steps in, and things are not as simple anymore.
The SaaS business model is an intricate maze, and there’s a lot to juggle, such as:
- Multiple pricing plans
- Monthly vs. annual payments
- Variable payments
- Add-ons
- Recurring payments
And the list does not end here. With so much to handle, SaaS billing workflow software is the only solution to refine your billing management process.
What is SaaS Billing Workflow Software
The SaaS billing software is an incredible cloud-based technology that helps you manage the full billing cycle in one place. So accurate are its calculations and transactions that you can easily save time, effort, resources, and money with this software. This tech solution also allows you to:
- Create and automate recurring payments
- Track customer spending
- Create an organized billing process
- Eliminate the need to manually track invoices and payments
- Get additional help from third-party systems and analytics integration
- Manage account receivables and payables
While these possibilities are just the tip of the iceberg, this software can do more than you think.
4 Reasons That Justify the Need For SaaS Billing Software
1. It allows your staff to focus on more worthwhile projects.
The SaaS billing software eliminates the need for manual invoicing, billing, and subscription plan adjustments. With subpar SaaS billing solutions, your team can only focus on mundane tasks instead of critically important projects.
2. It brings in significant ROI.
When your SaaS business expands regarding products, services, or geographic boundaries, you will require billing software that allows you to scale successfully. The software seamlessly automates invoice generation and delivery, thus enabling you to receive payments faster than before. This generates a good cash flow that comes in handy for opportunistic business investments.
3. It delivers more customer value.
You can take your customer experience to the next level with good SaaS billing software. A SaaS billing solution, for example, enables you to offer free trials and request payment information whenever you like. Some solutions also support pausing and postponing of options.
4. It mitigates the risk of fraud.
An automated SaaS billing software helps you in more ways than one when it comes to security.
- Secures financial transactions and mitigates fraudulence.
- Encrypts sensitive data and renders it inaccessible to hackers.
- Enables easier customer subscription management, subscription usage monitoring, and invoice generation.
The Three Types of SaaS Billing Systems
Generally, when customers subscribe to your SaaS product, they go through the following steps, each requiring a separate billing system.
Step 1: Choosing a plan and payment method.
This step requires a Payment Gateway that allows people to enter their credit card details and other billing information. This payment gateway informs the bank about the money necessary to settle the bill.
Step 2: Collect the billing information to determine the charges.
The billing system used in this step is a Merchant Account or a mode of payment for the customer to settle the bill. These merchant accounts are often determined by the payment gateway providers. Hence, it is their responsibility.
Step 3: Storing their subscription to enable monthly changes and to manage upgrades, downgrades, and discounts.
In this stage, the Subscription management platform is the system that allows you to charge your customer on a monthly or annual basis for their SaaS subscription.
Thus, all three steps combined with the various billing systems create a seamless automated process that takes place in the background.
Every SaaS bill has significant features highlighting what’s most important for your business. The right kind of SaaS billing software can make all the difference, regardless of your size enterprise.
5 Salient Features of a SaaS Billing Software
1. Customizable Onboarding, which allows easy adaptation of the software as per your requirements.
2. Built-In Payment Analytics for companies to understand how customers use their payment system.
3. Fraud Prevention to ensure all your financial transactions and customer data are safely protected.
4. Subscription Billing Management to help businesses manage their subscriptions and payments.
5. Dunning Management to send automated reminders about pending payments to make timely collections.
Are you still unsure whether you need SaaS billing workflow software or not? Here are the telltale signs that indicate your requirement for a good SaaS billing platform.
4 Signs That You Need to Invest in a SaaS Billing Software
1. You are commencing a SaaS subscription business.
You need billing software to automate your manual processes, make them error-free, and streamline them to help your business take off.
2. Your customer churn is high.
If your involuntary churn rate is high, a good SaaS billing software may be the best solution to bring it down.
3. You are not aware of the industry trends.
You need to be on top of your key metrics to keep an eye on customer acquisition costs.
4. You have limited flexibility in offering subscription billing models.
A SaaS billing software offers more flexibility regarding a subscription-filling model.
Now, how will you choose your SaaS billing software? You cannot randomly pick one off the shelf just because so many options exist. You must analyze how the software benefits you and helps expand your SaaS business.
3 Important Tips to Choose the Best SaaS Billing Software
1. List down your requirements.
What are your current and future needs? The answer to this question is pivotal in finding your billing software. Also, consider if the solution is adequate to meet your requirements in the long run.
2. Compare the options
With so many options available, compare one fare against the other before zeroing in on the best. Compare the features, payment options, and integration with other systems.
3. Consider ecosystem integration
While checking ecosystem integration, make sure you check if the platform is compatible with other systems such as:
- Analytics
- Loyalty programs
- Accounting
- Customer service tools
- Revenue recovery process with retries, updates, data-based dunning, and decline management capabilities designed specifically for SaaS.
SaaS Billing Software: 4 Best Practices
As SaaS billing software gains traction, it is essential to know about the four best practices for using these platforms:
- Leveraging billing data to unearth actionable insights.
- Preventing revenue leakage with adequate measures.
- Implementing effective time management.
- Prioritizing churn rate reduction.
Closing Notes
Selecting the optimal SaaS billing workplace software is a crucial decision for every business, particularly those offering subscription-based services. A thorough understanding of the system's features, industry best practices, and other key considerations can significantly assist businesses in making an informed choice to cater to their specific needs.
With a robust SaaS system, companies can streamline their billing procedures, thereby maximizing their subscription services' efficiency. Togai’s advanced pricing implementation platform can help you implement any pricing strategy 10x faster, in less than a day.
So, it's time to make a strategic move. Schedule a free demo with Togai today, and let's collaborate to bring your business to the forefront of success. Your journey to optimized pricing and billing begins here.
