In the world of business, it’s always great to have an edge over the competition. The entirety of business sectors is leaning towards the pillar of payment processors – otherwise known as payment gateways. After all, every business’s primary reason has always been the effectiveness of the payment collection process. That means if you’re still holding on to traditional methods, your business will suffer in the long run.
Need a Subscription Billing Software?
Small business owners are always at the crossroads between choosing to go for subscription billing software or doing it the traditional way. However, while you can save some money on manual payment processes, your business operations will become unstable and inconsistent. What you need is recurring billing software that will help automate the entire process and make your billing method more consistent among your customers.
By using top-notch recurring billing software, you can propel your business to new heights without compromise. At the same time, it can also provide extra features that will enable you the following:
- Increased customer engagement.
- Better revenue predictability
- Easier calculation of customer lifetime value
- More efficient inventory management.
These are just some of the advantages of having a reliable recurring billing software helping you manage and control your payment processing. There are tons of other benefits that clearly emphasizes the importance of having recurring billing software. Every small business owner should venture towards this option due to these advantages:
Saves Time and Money
So, you might be thinking, “How is that so when it clearly implies that I need to invest both money and time?” Yes, you will spend both time and money, but they’re nothing compared to spending both of these resources on doing billing processes manually. In short, the money and time that you invest in recurring billing software will be worth it in the long run.
With a subscription billing software in place, you can automate and streamline your entire recurring billing process. The recurring billing platform you choose will help you keep track of customer subscriptions, payment information, and payment schedules. All of these details are then used by the software to send invoices to clients and send emails and notifications. Recurring billing software can even reach out to delayed payments or retry failed payment attempted without you having to do it manually.
Reduce the Instances of Late Payments
If you’re wondering why you keep getting late payments, it’s because you’re using the traditional method that doesn’t offer any form of consequence for late payments. However, with recurring billing software, that won’t be the case.
When you have an automated system that takes care of payments automatically, the instances of late payments will drastically reduce. This feature is especially important as your customer base grows. The recurring billing platform that you use will make it easier to flag customers that haven’t paid and are way past their due. The software will automatically send them a notice about the account that they need to settle.
Once you determine the payments that haven’t gone through, you can pinpoint these customers that you need to keep an eye on moving forward.
Better Customer Relationship
Having recurring billing software doesn’t only benefit you – it also benefits your customer base. Every subscription billing platform features a built-in tracking capability that helps users identify and understand customer behavior. In return, you can then develop a strategy that will yield the following results:
- Increase customer engagement
- Improve customer satisfaction rate
- Increase customer retention rate
Having access to exclusive customer data means you can segment your customer base according to each individual’s preferences. At the same time, you can also identify the best ways to engage in each group.
Engaged customers will be the ones to tell you what’s working and what isn’t, their likes and dislikes about your service and all other details that you need to know.
Improves Security
Every subscription-based business needs a safe and secure payment system to give their customers peace of mind. Securing and safeguarding customer payment data are vital for both your business and your customers. Fortunately, with recurring billing software in place, you will also have improved security and PCI compliance.
Establishing a solid billing solution, implementing safety and security measures, and getting a PCI compliance certificate on your own will require a lot of time and money. But with a third-party recurring billing system in place, you already have all these features built-in. That means incorporating one will make things easier and safer for you and your business.
Multiple Online Payment Gateways
One feature that every customer love to see in any SaaS company has multiple payment options. A reliable recurring billing software can offer you that. With different payment gateways, your business will have the flexibility of payment, which is vital for any business. In addition, you also have the option to select the best and most economical payment support systems for your business.
With multiple payment gateways, your customers can try other options that you have in case one doesn’t fall through. For instance, if your customers credit card got declined, they can try other options like electronic bank transfers, online electronic payments like PayPal, checks, and other options that you can offer.
Billing Flexibility & Implementation of Trials and Promotions
Some customers want to try out a service before they fully commit to it. With a recurring billing software in place, you’ll have the option to implement trials and even promotions to your SaaS business.
As you are already aware, subscription-based businesses rely heavily on offering flexible billing cycles, as well as combinations that enable them to optimize their ability to bill their customers. This includes the following:
- Offing different subscription options
- Trial periods and freemiums
- Promotions
- Discounts
That’s why it’s vital to have and use a platform that supports the fast and easy setup of all these features. A subscription billing software will have all these features rolled into a single platform that you can conveniently set up and start using right away.
Get Real-Time Progress Reports
The ultimate benefit of having a recurring billing system is having access to key metrics and reporting tools out of the box. When you integrate a recurring billing platform into your billing strategy, you will get instant real-time access to key metrics such as the following:
- How many people to sign up
- Daily and monthly revenue estimates
- Outstanding amounts
- Monthly profit value
- Key tips to improve your overall operations
- and much more
Having a clear insight into how your business is doing will help you understand whether your efforts are yielding positive results or not. At the same time, you can also identify places for improvement.
Wrapping Up
There are tons of reasons businesses and customers will love to have a reliable subscription billing model in place. But for that to happen, a subscription billing software is needed to automate the process and make everything faster and more consistent. The advantages that we’re discussed show that having recurring billing software is vital for small businesses’ success.
