SaaS Billing Software: 7 Tools across 3 Categories and the Best Ways to Select -

SaaS billing software automates some or all elements of the process of recurring billing including payment processing, dunning, fulfillment, and many more.

In this article we'll compare 7 SaaS billing solutions which we categorize into three categories:

1. Subscription administration: This kind of software allows you to automate free trial as well as recurring payment scheduling as well as the dunning process. It's still necessary to have a separate software for processing payments tax, chargebacks, and much more.
2. Processing of payments: These solutions gather information about the payment and allow for a transaction between two parties. With many payment processors they require additional software to manage complicated recurring payments, charges, taxes as well as dunning.
3. Merchants of Record (MoR): Having your billing system also act as a MoR is to take care of the entire SaaS billing process for you, including the collection and paying local and international taxes (such such as VAT and local sales tax), staying compliant to local regulations and laws as well as chargebacks and more. Without a MoR, your business will need to keep track of and ensure that you are in compliance with local laws and taxes in any region or country in which your customers are.

 Table of Contents

•   Your MoR All-in-One SaaS Billing
•   3 Subscription Management Software
•     Chargebee
•     Chargify
•     Recurly
•   3 Payment Processors
• Verifone (formerly 2Checkout)
•     Stripe
•     Braintree

You can get your MoR from All-in-One SaaS Payment

Here's an overview of what is required acting as your MoR:

The customers who visit your website to select their software subscription plan. After that, as they proceed to checkout, handles the checkout and closes the purchase. It works just like most other common SaaS payment processors, with one important feature: acts as the merchant in your account.

 The advantage of this is twofold:

1. takes away the burden of paying local consumption taxes and keeps you up-to-date with local transaction laws and managing subscriptions, payments processing and much more. If something goes wrong regarding taxes, local compliance charges, authorization rates, chargebacks and so on. takes over to solve the issue for you.
2. All of your SaaS billing solution can be managed from one place -- your Dashboard. Plus, you're only charged one flat rate for all services (more about this in the future).

In the next section, we'll look at closer at what we recommend to you for each step of the bill procedure. Specifically:

•   Checkout
•   Payment Processing
•   Receipt and Transfer of Consumption Tax
•   Subscriptions and Recurring Billing Management
•   Retention Management
•   Analytics and Reporting

Checkout: Full Checkout Customization for Higher Conversions

Some businesses lose customers due to the excessive confusion in their checkout procedure. As an example it's a problem if the checkout display doesn't visually match the branding of the of the site, the prospective buyer is less likely to believe that the payment process is safe. Also, the customer might choose not to purchase since you do not accept the payment method you offer (a issue that is especially prevalent with international customers).

Many payment processors will supply you with checkout templates and allow for a few easy modifications like adding your logo. These templates do not offer the flexibility to customize you need to truly maximize your checkout and achieve higher efficiency and conversion.

  however, on contrary, offers branding tools, CSS-overrides as well as a JavaScript library of common ecommerce tools, so that you can have total control of each part of your checkout.

Here are a few other tools that will aid you with your checkout:

• The most popular payment method: While Visa or PayPal might be popular across the U.S., other forms of payment are popular in different countries. If you do not offer the payment method of choice that buyers are used to then you'll lose fewer of them into customers. It can also be long and consumes resources to add different payment options. It allows you to add tons of payment options that are popular around the world in a matter of minutes (more about this later in the section).

• Text translations: If your checkout isn't in the same language as other pages on your website it could result in losing some customers. With , you can let customers choose the language they prefer at checkout or let them select the correct one based on where they are.
• Local currency conversions Certain customers may not purchase the product because they do not know (or must figure out on their own) what the software is going to cost in their local currency. solves this by automatically converting cost to local currency upon checkout. Alternatively, you can make a personalized price in every currency.
• Options for flexible integration: Part of choosing the most appropriate checkout method is deciding whether you want to embed it on your website or redirect customers to an additional website. It offers three options that include: 1)) embed the checkout directly on your site,) add a pop-up on your webpage, and 3) redirect customers to a separate page entirely branded for your business. The two first options require a few lines of HTML as well as Javascript and the third option is managed by . We'll host your whole online storefront, including checkout with your branding.

• Personalized support: If you need assistance Our team of software engineers will help you in the design and development of the perfect check-out system for your business (regardless the size or small your company is).

NOTE: We also provide an online checkout template that's been optimized to convert, but many companies find that it's simple to set up a custom solution with .

Pay Processing: Improve Authorization Rates With Localized Payment Gateways

In many cases, people attempt to purchase but the payment method gets declined or is too slow to finish, and they fail to make the purchase.

assists in improving authorization rates so that you can earn more revenue by a variety of methods:

• Payment gateway rerouting: If a payment fails on the first attempt, automatically retries the payment by using a second gateway- all without any member of the support team needing intervene. It is often able to fix payment problems due to connectivity or system issues.
• managing preferred payment processors: As we mentioned earlier, supporting innovative payment options can be an enormous drain on resources. Every card network and issuing bank have different tolerance levels for charges and fraud, as well as different rules for how transactions are conducted. If you're not complying with these requirements then the network of your card may stop authorizing transactions. The responsibility is ours to maintaining compliance with different payment service providers, and we handle fraud, chargebacks, and more for you.
• Localizing payments processing: Card networks are more likely to accept transactions made by a local processing company. For example, if the buyer is from Italy and the processor must be a legal entity in Italy for higher authorization rates. works with payment processors around the globe to ensure all transactions are made locally.

Collection and Remitting of Consumption Tax Increase Globally without Hefty Fines

A few SaaS billing tools can assist in collecting tax, however, in the end, you'll be accountable in settling and paying exact amounts in the correct time. It's a major responsibility for every business.

 Because serves as your MoR, we take care of all the elements of collecting and paying consumption tax for you.

automatically calculates the right quantity and type of tax and adds it to the price for customers at checkout (we can also assist with tax-free transactions as well as other unique situations). After each tax period, we file taxes with the appropriate authorities. Additionally, we will lead on audits.

Subscription and Recurring Billing Management Design custom trials and subscriptions while Making sure you are in compliance with local jurisdictions

There are many subscription management software available with flexible plans for creating trials and recurring subscription plans. If you choose the best trial and recurring billing model will help you attract more customers and boost revenue.

But, your subscription plans can only succeed when they comply with local regulations and laws. For example, numerous states, provinces and countries don't allow automatic payment for transactions exceeding an amount.

The majority of subscription management software will inform you whenever they learn about changes to rules and laws, but you're ultimately responsible. If you don't adhere to these ever-changing laws and regulations, you could face heavy fines or be prevented from conducting business in that area.

 relieves you of this responsibility by taking complete obligation to adhere to local transaction laws and regulations.

Our team of legal experts stay up to date on every legal aspect and make sure all the necessary processes are in place to paying customers. Start selling your products across over 200 regions in just a few hours because we've already established the processes required in each region.

Also, offers a variety of pre-configured trial and subscription options so it is possible to create customized solutions using no writing code. Or, you can use the API and webhooks to design sophisticated subscription logic and integrate it into.

 Here are some examples of of trial and billing logic you can design using

• Trials for free or with a fee
• Tests without or with no payment details
• Trials which automatically renew until a paid plan automatically.
• Subscription intervals of any length
• Mid-cycle, mid-cycle.
• One-time purchase added to a recurring installment
• Discounts, upsells, cross-sells and much more

Retention Management: Minimize the risk of involuntary churn by implementing proactive dunning.

Because involuntary churn is among of the main ways businesses that use subscriptions lose customers. the majority of SaaS billing software offers the basics of retention management, like retrying payments that have failed as well as email notification sent to clients following a failed payment. But, these options will only help when an attempt to pay has failed.

allows you to turn on alerts that prompt the customer to update data on the payment before the transaction occurs. In our experience the proactive reminders could drastically reduce the amount of transactions that don't work in the first place.

If a payment fails the payment fails, you are able to schedule reminders to your customers for two, seven, 14 21 days following an unsuccessful payment. In the 21-day period you can ensure that your customers' service will not be interrupted. Through periodic reminders and also maintaining your services, your customers will be more likely to refresh their personal information, which can reduce involuntary churn.

offers a self-service portal through which customers can change their information and change or cancel the subscription they have. With customers able to control their accounts on their own, you'll have less hassle in your customers' experience, which means higher profits. The self-serve portal can be customized to match your brand identity but it's run by our team so your team doesn't have to think about it.

Analytics and Reporting: Simplify Business Making

's analytics and reporting feature allows you to understand how each product contributes to your bottom line, what coupons or promotions are working, which subscription models yield the most profit, and more.

 The dashboard for revenue offers a full view of your cash flow which includes:

• Where your customers are located
• What currencies and payment methods clients prefer?
• Net sales of the product
• Transactions totals by country
• Plus

 The dashboard of your subscription will allow you to explore your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and also includes SaaS indicators, for example:

• Cross-sells, upsells, as well as other add-ons
• Value of each customer's long-term relationship
• Total customer churn
• When in the billing cycle the churn is most likely
• And more

By using's reporting features, you can create and save customized reports, which will allow you to access the necessary information whenever you require it. Our team can help users use these reports to get the answers you're looking for to grow and optimize your SaaS company. Additionally, you are able to share any report with key people via the dashboard. Or, you can export the report in the form of a PNG, CSV or XLSX spreadsheet.

Plan for the Future With Flat-Rate Pricing

For the majority of SaaS billing programs, you'll need to add additional software or switch to the least expensive plan to access the functionalities you need.

The other side of the coin is that it is a complete payment solution which means you don't require other billing software. Furthermore, all offerings are provided at one cost (without any fees for migration).

Our team works in partnership with you to determine an affordable price based on the volume of transactions that you conduct  You'll only be charged for transactions that take place.

3. Subscription Management Platforms

Chargebee: Built for Complex Subscription Logic

Chargebee is an extremely popular option for billing subscriptions as well as revenue management. Chargebee is compatible with a range of payment methods and payment gateways. However, you'll be responsible for setting up and partnering with each one.

The features of Chargebee's include:

• Automated and self-serve subscription models
• Invoicing and billing can be automated.
• Flexible pricing plans
• Quote management tool
• Smart dunning
• PCI-compliant checkout

The Chargify Subscription Management System for B2B SaaS

Chargify is a subscription-based billing program designed specifically for SaaS B2B. As of the date of this publication, Chargify is in the process of joining forces with SaaSOptics in order to create a new software company, Maxio. Through this partnership the customers of Chargify will gain access to payment gateways, however, you'll still need a separate solution for taxes and compliance with the law.

Other noteworthy Chargify characteristics are:

• Dozens of pricing and trial models
• Custom sign up experiences
• Automated dunning
• Analytics suite for self-service
• Recognizing revenue

Recurly: Supports Multiple Payment Gateways

Recurly is a subscription-based and billing system that can help you optimize your growth strategy. Recurly advertises the ability to easily integrate with various merchant and payment processors but you'll have to manage and be responsible for these services on top of your Recurly plan.

Recurly's services consist of:

• Customizable subscription models
• Automated, recurring invoices
• Revenue recovery tools
• Intelligent retention
• Analytics on subscriptions

3 Payment Processors

Verifone Pay Platform for Enterprises

Verifone (formerly 2Checkout) offers a MoR model and Payment processing model. Though startups might benefit from the services of Verifone, Verifone has been designed more toward large enterprises.

Its primary features are:

• Reporting and analytics
• Global Tax and Financial Services, as well as financial
• Compliance and risk management
• B2B quote builder
• Channel partner management

Stripe, a well-known and trusted payment processor

Stripe is a processor for payments for online and in-person transactions. While Stripe offers a few subscription management features and features, they usually recommend that you integrate with Chargebee to provide more comprehensive recurring billing features and this means that you'll be managing and manage two payment platforms.

The other features of Stripe comprise:

• Checkout
• Fraud and risk management
• Online payment
• In-person payments
• Subscription management
• Physical and virtual cards are issued
• Business spend management for subscriptions

Braintree: PayPal's Answer for SaaS

Braintree by PayPal is a processor for payments that accepts Venmo (in the US), Apple Pay and Google Pay. They also offer some SaaS subscription management features.

Other notable offerings by Braintree are:

• Merchant accounts
• Checkout flow is optimized
• Flexible risk mitigation options
• Analytical insights on the lifecycle of subscriptions
• Integrations with third party integrations to help you manage recurring bills, accounting, and more