Explore 14 best subscription management tools and software for recurring payments

In a digital-first economy, organisations and customers are adopting recurring payment systems to bypass cumbersome renewals of scheduled payments. Gyms and wellness centres, delivery services for products, food, and drink business entities use it to simplify renewal processes and to the loyal customer by offering tiered benefits. Subscription management software will be part and parcel of this expansionist business environment, with more businesses growing in this line of business.

By the end of this post, you will gain insight into best practices and popular subscription management tools, minimising churn and unlocking the full potential of your business.

What is subscription management?

The very essence of subscription management lies in the administration of every detail that a customer may go through with a subscription management software—from the sign-up stage to renewals, upgrades, cancellations, and everything else. It manages billing processes, implements pricing changes, tracks subscriber activities, and addresses customer enquiries.

A gym with multiple membership levels or a meal delivery service with various subscription plans needs proper automation and subscription management. Without these, they struggle to adapt to customer preferences, payment schedules, and service changes.

An efficient subscription management tool is critical, especially in industries where customer experience and satisfaction are more important. Inadequate experience in subscription management—from billing errors to lack of communication or inflexibility in the service framework—can quickly lead to customer churn.

Subscription management tools address these challenges by streamlining workflows, enhancing billing precision, and giving customers a periodic overview of their subscriptions.

What is the best way to manage subscriptions?

The best way to achieve effective subscription management is by leveraging automation capabilities and in-depth analytics of subscription management software. Let's take a closer look at this process:

1. Automation

Automation of activities like billing, sending notifications, and customer support enhances operational efficiency. These subscription management software include Wonderful, Recurly, and Zuora and automate important procedures such as invoice generation, processing payments, and renewals.

Wonderful is a UK-based open banking payments company with user-friendly, subscription / recurring payment functionality and attractive pricing for businesses of all sizes. Its effortless API integration adds to its growing popularity among local businesses looking to streamline their subscription management system.

Recurly is widely used by small and medium-sized businesses that aim to make subscription management as easy as possible while providing flexible billing options. The solution will allow businesses to handle subscription payments in different currencies, monitor failed transactions, and provide easy ways for customers to upgrade or pause their subscriptions.

On the other hand, Zuora is designed for enterprise-level companies that can handle complex subscription management tools, multiple tiers of pricing, and customers across countries. The robust reporting capabilities of their subscription management software allow insights into the behaviour of the customers, enabling data-driven decisions.

2. Customer centricity

Build loyalty in the best way possible by focusing on customer delight. Irrespective of whether it is a gym or a meal kit delivery service, every business expects to maintain a smooth and flexible subscription management software. Chargebee allows businesses to offer customisable plans. Subscription management tools like Chargebee allow customers to update their payment level easily. In most wellness centres, seasonal preferences are common.

Chargebee subscription management software also stands out for its excellent customer service. It automatically reminds customers to renew their subscriptions, follows up on failed payments, and even offers different subscription management plans based on how customers have been using the service. This keeps customers interested without overburdening staff.

3. Data-driven business insights

Subscription management software provides detailed customer analytics. Businesses may estimate churn, understand their subscriber base, and adapt subscription offerings with these insights. Paddle is a SaaS platform that helps businesses make price and service decisions by tracking KPIs including Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), churn rates, and customer lifetime value (CLV).

Data on member cancellation rates might help gyms and health centres offer discounts or other advantages before losing them. Also, product delivery services can use client data from their subscription management software to tailor their products to preferences and purchase habits.

What is the best subscription management tool?

The best subscription management tool really depends on the best practices of your industry. So, there isn't a single solution that works for every sector. With this in mind, we have focused on three industries that rely heavily on subscription management.

Gyms and wellness centres

Mindbody is a helpful subscription management tool designed for the fitness and wellness industry. This subscription management software is useful for managing membership, recurring payments, and classes, which can be a great solution for gyms, yoga studios, and other wellness centres dependent on subscription payments. The mobile app of Mindbody makes it easy for its users to control their memberships, schedule appointments, and make payments, thus delivering a good experience to customers.

Food and drink businesses

Shopify provides a variety of subscription management tools, like Recharge, that cater to enterprises in the food and drink industry. This subscription management software handles repeat orders, notifies consumers automatically, and provides them with alternative methods to pay.

Product delivery services

Subscription boxes are on the rise in the United Kingdom and are expected to cross £1.8 billion by 2025. Subbly is ideal for subscription boxes or delivery services as it oversees the full subscription lifetime, including client acquisition, billing, and delivery logistics. Subbly's simple interface enables businesses to facilitate subscription management, while its automatic billing system guarantees that consumers are charged correctly and on time. This makes it an ideal subscription management tool for meal kit services and other delivery-oriented enterprises.

What is the best subscription management software for SaaS?

Before we dive straight into some of the top subscription management software, specifically customised for the SaaS industry, let’s understand the significance of this tool in facilitating operational convenience for these companies.

●        Automated billing and invoicing: SaaS providers handle complex recurring payments. Billing is automated using subscription management software, eliminating errors.

●        Customer lifecycle management: Subscription management tools track customer behaviour, upgrades, downgrades, renewals, and cancellations to improve client retention methods.

●        Flexible pricing: SaaS firms offer usage-based or tiered pricing. Businesses can easily install and manage these models with subscription management software.

●        Automated dunning management: This helps SaaS organisations cut attrition and recover revenue.

●        Analytics and insights: The platform helps businesses make data-driven pricing, growth, and retention decisions by providing granular subscription insights.

●        Global scalability: subscription management software lets SaaS companies expand globally and comply with complex regulations by supporting numerous currencies and languages.

Keeping these objectives in mind, we have selected some subscription management software that caters to industry-specific requirements of SaaS companies.

Stripe billing

Stripe Billing, a popular subscription management tool, is easy to use and integrates well with the Stripe ecosystem, including Stripe Payments and Stripe Radar for fraud detection. It provides SaaS firms with versatile and scalable recurring billing solutions like invoicing, metered billing, and tax compliance. Stripe Billing supports many currencies, making it suitable for international enterprises. Automation technologies like smart invoicing and dunning management assist in recovering rejected payments and preventing churn on the platform.

2Checkout (now Verifone)

2Checkout, a subscription management software, can be considered a credible Stripe alternative; it offers global subscription management, recurring billing, and payment processing for SaaS and digital service providers. 2Checkout simplifies international subscription management through many forms of payment and currencies. The key features of 2Checkout include automatic invoicing, tools for customer retention, and a broad analytics report of consumer behaviour and subscription performance. 2Checkout's strong API enables businesses to personalise their billing and subscription workflows; thus, it is the go-to solution for multinational companies seeking to minimise friction in payments.

Billsby

Billsby is an uncomplicated subscription management software for SaaS, product delivery, and membership organisations. Innovative subscription management tools include variable pricing models, prorated billing, and client communication tools to simplify complex billing procedures. Businesses can automate regular payments and customer management with Billsby's easy integration with leading payment gateways and CRMs. Startups and small businesses looking to scale can use customisable dunning management solutions to recover rejected payments and reduce attrition.

In addition to these, Wonderful, Fusebill, and Billforward are notable names in the SaaS industry, offering user-friendly, customisable, and affordable subscription management tools.

Which CRM is best for subscription based startups?

For subscription-based startups to improve processes and keep customers coming back, they need CRM tools. Some of the best CRM tools for subscription-based businesses are:

Zoho CRM provides comprehensive subscription management features for startups aiming for growth. This solution enables organisations to oversee customer interactions, streamline processes, and monitor subscription phases. The platform integrates with Zoho Subscriptions, allowing companies to manage billing, renewals, and subscription upgrades seamlessly in one location. This integration enables startups to optimise their customer interactions and effectively monitor each customer’s progression through different subscription phases. This makes it a great choice for startups in terms of cost and scalability.

Another good choice is Freshsales, which is the CRM solution offered by Freshworks. Apart from a simple dashboard, it also has the robust features of customer administration, AI-based insights, and built-in email tracking. For subscription businesses, Freshsales integrates with popular subscription billing software such as Chargebee, enabling companies to manage renewals, analyse churn, and monitor customer lifecycles. Freshsales also provides a user-friendly interface that enables startups to manage customer relationships and concentrate on development.

Salesforce Essentials is tailored for small and expanding enterprises, especially subscription-based startups. This streamlined iteration of Salesforce delivers essential CRM functionalities—contact management, lead tracking, and sales automation—while facilitating interaction with subscription billing platforms such as Recurly and Zuora. This enables subscription-based startups to oversee client data and subscription cycles within a single system, assisting firms in optimising sales efforts and minimising churn. The vast application ecosystem renders it a highly customisable solution as firms expand.

How to reduce churn for my subscription services?

A 4% monthly churn rate is regarded as a satisfactory benchmark for a subscription company, with an average annual churn rate of 5-7%.

While customer churn is inevitable for subscriber-centric businesses, organisations are constantly striving to come up with innovative plans to reduce the number. If you are in this business, try implementing the following strategies to control your customer attrition rate:

Build memorable customer experiences

Optimising the customer journey at every level is a tried and true method for reducing turnover. Organisations may map the client lifecycle with the help of tools like Salesforce Revenue Cloud, which pinpoints key touchpoints where interaction can be enhanced. For instance, health clubs might utilise this information to create unique exercise programs for each client, and meal delivery services can reward repeat clients with exclusive deals.

From onboarding to renewal, help consumers through a seamless journey that fosters loyalty. Customer attrition can be reduced by self-service, flexible programs, and easy cancellation procedures (albeit with rejoining incentives).

Offer flexible plans

Reducing churn requires flexibility. Different customers need different service levels throughout their subscription. Gyms and fitness studios can provide tiered membership options so customers can upgrade or downgrade as their fitness goals change.

Bold Commerce allows businesses to provide flexible subscription options. It offers tiered pricing, "build your own" subscriptions and dynamic billing. Bold Commerce is great for product delivery services and food and drink enterprises, where customers can change the delivery frequency or product mix for each cycle. A coffee subscription business may let clients simply adjust their delivery schedule or coffee blend preferences, while a wellness centre could provide different service packages to meet customer demands.

Proactive communication strategy

Communicating with subscribers before they cancel is crucial. Businesses may automate personalised messages like subscription renewal reminders and long-term client offers with HubSpot CRM. Proactive involvement makes clients feel appreciated, whether gyms remind members of due dates or meal kit businesses provide limited-time promotions.

CRM tools like HubSpot enable businesses to quickly gauge customer sentiment and respond effectively by providing incentives for retention and addressing issues before they escalate.

Emerging trends in subscription management

The subscription economy is transforming rapidly with technological advancements and a shift in consumer preferences. Some of the most significant trends shaping its future are as follows:

AI-driven personalisation

AI is making subscriptions more personalised with customer behaviour analyses that can forecast churn risk. According to McKinsey, if a business makes use of AI personalisation, it will experience increased revenue of up to 5-10%. Meal kit service companies can send out recipe ideas based on consumers' dietary habits and previous purchases.

Blockchain for transparency

Blockchain technology provides a framework that guarantees the safety and transparency of transactions. This creates a permanent record of subscription agreements, which is particularly beneficial for SaaS platforms and global enterprises, where clear billing and security are essential.

Focus on sustainability

Consumers are shifting their preferences toward green brands. As such, 78% of consumers would pay extra for environmentally friendly products (NielsenIQ). Eco-friendly subscription management services can be created through refillable packaging, carbon-neutral delivery, or portion adjustment for an eco-conscious consumer base.

Open banking integration

Open banking is also changing the game of subscription payments through real-time and secure transactions. Solutions such as Wonderful cut-out intermediaries to increase the efficiency of subscription management software and save money for businesses.

Subscription bundling

Bundling a group of services or products into one subscription management tool is gaining popularity. For instance, a wellness centre could combine fitness classes, nutrition consulting, and spa services into its subscription management software, providing more value and increasing customer retention.

These trends will allow subscription management tools to improve customer experiences, minimise churn, and achieve sustainable growth in this competitive marketplace.

Conclusion

Effective subscription management tools are essential for optimising operations, reducing attrition, and enhancing customer experience in the dynamic subscription-based sector. Food and drink businesses, product delivery services, and SaaS platforms can enhance productivity and scalability with subscription management software. A strong subscription management platform is essential to grow your business and retain customers.

FAQ

What is a subscription model?

A subscription model charges customers monthly or annually for a product or service. Fixed, tiered, per-user, and usage-based subscription models serve diverse consumer demands. Businesses may develop dependable, long-term revenue streams while offering clients flexibility and continual value with this model. Various subscription management models help SaaS, product delivery, and streaming platforms retain customers and grow.

What are the best tools for subscription management?

Recurly, Chargebee, Zuora, and Stripe Billing are great subscription management tools for automatic billing, customer administration, and variable pricing. Wonderful is another emerging subscription management tool, ideally suited for small enterprises and charitable organisations in the UK.

What are the best B2B subscription management tools?

Zoho Subscriptions, Recurly, Chargify, and Billforward are some of the best B2B subscription management tools that enable B2B companies to manage recurring billing, find the best pricing models, and make data-driven business decisions.

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