The subscription business model has gained quite fame in the decade that has just passed. So, you will see many businesses coming towards this business model though seemingly, they have nothing to do with subscriptions. The subscription business model will allow you to not only earn revenue but diversify it as well.
If you have also identified the recurring need of your customers and looking for a recurring billing system, then this article is for you.
Read the list of features given below that your recurring billing solution must have so that you can use this software to the fullest and get benefitted.
5 Essential Features of a Recurring Billing System
1. Complete Automation of Recurring Billing Process
Automation is the primary feature that you need to focus on while deciding on the recurring billing system. Subscription businesses need to bill their customers recurrently. Also, they need to get paid again and again. When a task is to be performed recurrently, the chances of mistakes are high if done manually. So, people go for automation. Recurring billing solutions also perform the tasks of billing, invoicing, and payment processing recurrently. The chances of mistakes are minimal when this specified software performs these tasks recurrently. Also, in the subscription business model, customers change subscription plans frequently. When plans are changed frequently, the changes need to be catered to in billing and invoicing.
2. Automated Invoicing
Invoicing has become a complete business process in itself. Also, it is an amazing tool for marketing. How? An invoice represents your brand. Because on an invoice, you as a retailer, insert your company logo, then billing details, and in the end, you can market the upcoming discounts and deals. Whether you opt for a recurring billing system for small business or an established enterprise, it can do invoicing for you. The user can even customize invoices.
3. Seamless Checkout
Today, customer checkout is a complete experience, especially in the digital world. There are many payment methods, and you do not know which payment method is preferred by your customers. for instance, middle-aged customers prefer payment with cards. On contrary, young customers prefer paying with modern payment methods that are quicker and safer. So, different customers can have different choices. So, the best recurring billing platforms are integrated with payment gateways. These payment gateways encrypt the information to make it secure. Also, these payment gateway integrations offer your customers to pay through varying payment methods. You can choose depending on the choice of your customer base. The payment method, local currency support, and time that is taken in the checkout of the customer count in offering the best customer checkout experience.
4. Analytics & Reporting
The most important feature of automated billing and invoicing is analytics and reporting. Today, you cannot think of running a subscription business blindly. You need to track every customer and his customer journey. When the journey is tracked, you get reports regarding your best-selling product and trends in the future. Trends will help you come up with add-ons and new features that the customer will love. These add-ons increase revenue by diversifying the revenue stream. Also, analytics and reporting features prepare you for the future as well. Also, analytics and reporting offer you useful insights into your business so that you can survive in the competitive subscription business market.
5. Payment Recoveries
It is always a taxing task for not only subscription businesses but for every business to recover payments from those customers who failed to pay on time because of any reason. However, recurring billing management software have brought ease for retailers. They offer the feature of proration to communicate with those customers who could not pay their subscription fee. Other than that, payment recovery through an automated recurring billing system is a lot easier. The system can be instructed to schedule payment recovery emails. Even the content for these emails can be auto-generated. So, the tone of the emails will remain friendly even when you are asking customers to pay your due charges. You cannot afford angry customers in the subscription business market because here, the same customer is brought to you again and again.
We hope that these five features that we have discussed in detail will help you reach out to the best recurring billing software that will help your subscription business grow. Even some subscription businesses need to switch from one subscription management software to the other. These features will also play role in switching to the right recurring billing software to keep all your business processes streamlined.
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