16 best subscription billing software: Automate recurring billing and payments

Imagine running a business with 500+ members who need to renew their subscriptions every month, with another 500 or more on a quarterly subscription plan. The process of managing such a large volume of repeat invoicing is not only cumbersome for the organisation but also a perennial hassle for its members.

The capacity to automate recurring payments that several subscription payment gateways have incorporated is truly invaluable, whether in gyms and wellness centres, product delivery services, or food and drink businesses.

This blog will consider subscription billing and offer recommendations for the most effective subscription billing software tailored to meet specific industry needs.

What is subscription billing?

Subscription billing is the method by which companies automatically charge customers regularly for products or services. In contrast to one-time payments, subscription billing enables businesses to create steady revenue streams and maintain customer relationships for an extended duration.

In sectors such as gyms and wellness centres, subscription billing can facilitate tiered subscription levels, offering various pricing options based on the services utilised. Subscription billing for product delivery services enables businesses to secure a steady customer base through continuous deliveries, ensuring both customer flexibility and consistent revenue streams. This model is popular in the food and drink sector, where meal subscriptions, wine clubs, or coffee delivery services depend significantly on recurring billing for convenience and customer loyalty.

Digital processes have accelerated this model, enabling businesses to automate billing processes, minimise churn, and enhance customer experiences.

How to get started with subscription billing?

To reap the benefits of subscription billing, companies must implement a plan that aligns with their business models. Here’s a strategic approach, encompassing operational requirements and customer experience factors, that might help you best use your recurring payment platform:

●        Clearly define your subscription model: It is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of your business model before choosing any subscription billing software or pricing structure. Do you provide monthly subscriptions, annual packages, or a combination of both? Gyms may offer annual subscriptions at discounted rates, in addition to monthly or seasonal passes, to accommodate various customer preferences.

●        Select a pricing strategy: Subscription billing offers multiple pricing structures, such as flat rates, tiered pricing, usage-based models, and freemium strategies. Food and drink subscription services may implement tiered pricing, allowing customers to pay a premium for higher-quality items or expedited delivery options. You must have clarity on the price range that your target customers are willing to pay.

●        Assess billing cycles: Determine the appropriate frequency for billing—monthly, annually, or tailored intervals based on the specific product or service provided. In wellness centres, while monthly subscriptions are common, offering annual subscriptions with discounts can promote sustained commitment.

●        Select your subscription billing software: Choosing the right software can make or break your subscription business. Find platforms that offer relevant billing cycles, accommodate various currencies (if required), and allow integration with your current systems, such as CRMs or marketing tools. GoCardless provides a simple, scalable subscription billing software that accommodates diverse billing cycles, making it an outstanding option for businesses of any size.

●        Seamless integration with payment gateways: It is essential that your subscription billing software accommodates various online payment gateways to enhance user convenience. Payment methods such as credit cards, direct debit, and digital wallets are important, but alternative payment methods such as open banking are becoming more and more mainstream (and will likely save you a fortune on processing costs). Services such as Paddle provide flexibility by offering various payment methods for businesses expanding internationally.

●        Implement automated notifications: Effective communication with customers is essential in subscription billing. Sending reminders for upcoming payments or notifications for failed transactions helps minimise churn. Numerous platforms, including Chargebee and Recurly, provide automated notifications and dunning management to facilitate seamless customer experiences.

●        Monitor metrics and optimise: Following the implementation of your subscription billing system, it is essential to regularly track important metrics, including customer acquisition, retention, churn, and lifetime value. Comprehending these figures will enable you to adjust pricing strategies or enhance customer engagement initiatives to foster growth.

What is the best online subscription billing system?

Every business has unique requirements based on its industrial best practices, business volume, and specific objectives. For instance, a gym and wellness centre may want to integrate with fitness or sleep monitoring software, while a product delivery service may seek to have robust inventory management support. Based on varying offerings, we have shortlisted the following subscription billing systems:

Wonderful: For businesses seeking a UK-based subscription billing software that delivers exceptional flexibility, Wonderful offers a remarkable subscription billing software. The platform features an intuitive interface designed to serve a range of industries, such as fitness centres, wellness facilities, and food delivery services. Wonderful’s system accommodates a range of payment methods, facilitates smooth integration with CRM systems, and provides customisable pricing options tailored to the needs of both small businesses and larger enterprises. The platform is ideal for organisations seeking a strong, dependable, and scalable subscription billing software.

Chargebee: This platform stands out for its flexibility and scalability, making it an excellent choice for small-to-medium-sized businesses. It allows you to manage billing cycles, pricing models, and customer communication seamlessly.

Recurly: Recurly is designed for businesses with high-volume subscriptions. It excels at managing complex billing cycles, automating dunning processes, and providing in-depth analytics.

Paddle: Specifically designed for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, Paddle simplifies the billing process for digital products, handling everything from payment processing to tax compliance.

These and other reputed subscription billing systems offer multiple pricing models, like:

Flat-rate model: This is the most basic type of subscription billing, wherein users remit a predetermined amount at regular intervals (e.g., monthly or annually). It is most effective for services with a uniform provision, such as streaming platforms or fitness subscriptions. Netflix employs a flat-rate strategy, wherein consumers remit a fixed cost for access to its content catalogue.

Tiered plan: The tiered subscription model enables organisations to provide various pricing tiers, each accompanied by distinct features or usage restrictions. This strategy is advantageous for organisations such as HubSpot, allowing clients to choose from Basic, Professional or enterprise tiers based on their requirements. Tiered models offer adaptability, enabling consumers to select the plan that most effectively meets their needs.

Usage-based model: Also known as pay-as-you-go, this model levies costs on clients according to their consumption levels. It is prevalent in sectors such as cloud services or utilities where expenses vary with consumption. Platforms such as AWS and Google Cloud impose charges on consumers according to their resource consumption, rendering this paradigm ideal for scalable subscription billing software.

Hybrid model: This subscription billing software integrates flat-rate and usage-based models, enabling firms to establish a foundational subscription price while imposing additional charges for consumption. This phenomenon is frequently observed in the telecommunications and software sectors, where clients may remit a fixed fee for access but face supplementary charges contingent upon their data consumption or additional functionalities.

What is the best software for subscription billing?

With the subscription billing management market in the UK expected to cross $1,000 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 15.6%, the industry is flooded with several subscription billing software companies offering unique features.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, here’s a list of some of the top players in the market:

Wave

Wave is a platform well-suited to freelancers and small businesses. It is capable of managing invoicing, recurring billing, and receipt digitisation. It allows for both automatic and manual invoicing, and it is possible to send invoices to clients that include a secure payment link. This is an excellent, cost-effective subscription billing software for entrepreneurs.

Zoho subscriptions

Perfect for businesses seeking to automate recurring billing, Zoho Subscriptions provides customisable billing frequencies, supports multiple currencies, and facilitates the administration of subscription billing plans and add-ons. A subscription billing software that is feature-rich and suitable for enterprises of all sizes.

Square subscriptions

Square's subscription model is highly customisable, allowing businesses to establish free trials, process payments on a flexible schedule, and produce checkout links. It is a comprehensive utility that seamlessly integrates with Square's point-of-sale system, rendering it the optimal choice for businesses that necessitate POS support.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is cloud-based accounting software aimed at small businesses and freelancers. Its subscription billing options include automated invoicing, recurring billing, and multi-currency compatibility. FreshBooks simplifies client subscription management and payment tracking with real-time updates, as well as seamless connectivity with payment gateways for quick transactions.​

Invoicera

Invoicera is a comprehensive online billing platform that facilitates recurring invoicing and subscription management. This subscription billing software serves both small businesses and large enterprises, providing features such as automated billing, multi-language support, and client management tools. Invoicera integrates with more than 30 payment gateways, enabling businesses to optimise their subscription billing processes.

Salesforce Revenue Cloud

Salesforce Revenue Cloud offers a flexible subscription billing software tailored for organisations handling intricate recurring revenue frameworks. This subscription billing solution offers usage-based pricing, and one-time purchases, integrating effortlessly with Salesforce's extensive CRM ecosystem. This offers an in-depth perspective on customer subscriptions, facilitating upselling, cross-selling, and overseeing the complete lifecycle from one centralised platform.

Sage Intacct

Sage Intacct is well-suited for organisations that need strong financial management in conjunction with subscription billing. This subscription billing software streamlines intricate billing processes, accommodating various revenue models, including recurring, usage-based, and hybrid billing. Sage Intacct excels in financial reporting, guaranteeing adherence to industry standards and offering clear insights into revenue performance.

Oracle NetSuite

A sophisticated billing system in Oracle NetSuite allows recurring invoicing and usage-based pricing. Organisations with diverse income sources can streamline billing and comply with accounting standards with this subscription billing software. NetSuite seamlessly integrates billing, financials, CRM, and e-commerce to manage customer interactions and finances.

Maxio

Maxio, formerly SaaS Optics, helps growing SaaS companies with subscription billing and financial operations. To boost growth, it automates billing, accelerates revenue recognition, and provides detailed financial information. Maxio helps companies track client lifetime value and attrition rates with its powerful analytics and reporting.

What is a good subscription billing software that has an API?

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) facilitate smooth integration across various systems, empowering businesses to tailor their subscription billing processes effectively. If you seek reliable subscription billing software that offers API capabilities, take a look at these options:

Wonderful: Integrating the Wonderful Payments API into your online checkout process opens up incredible opportunities to save on payment processing service fees, enhance your cash flow, and create a checkout experience that is simple, fast, and secure for your customers.

Stripe billing: It is a widely used alternative that enables businesses to experiment with pricing models, including free trials and add-ons, and supports a variety of payment methods (ACH, cards). It is ideal for organisations that require API flexibility to optimise their subscription administration.

Zuora: Organisations with complex subscription plans choose Zuora's API due to its flexibility. Enterprises may manage subscription plans, automate billing, and expand worldwide with the platform. The API's comprehensive integration options let organisations streamline and optimise subscription billing across revenue sources.

Zenskar: Zenskar is a SaaS billing platform with flexible subscription management tools. The system supports tiered, flat-rate, and pay-as-you-go billing for growing businesses. Zenskar's API interfaces and no-code platform simplify implementation and scaling, letting businesses customise pricing and automate billing.

How much will I have to pay for subscription billing?

Transaction volumes and customisation requirements are key factors that determine the pricing framework for subscription billing software. Most subscription-based businesses prefer to offer multiple packages to cater to specific client needs, tiered pricing being one of the popular choices. Based on business volume, three common subscription billing models are:

●  Basic plans: Subscription billing software for start-ups and small enterprises costs $50 to $300 per month and includes automatic billing, reporting, and minimal customer support.

●  Mid-tier plans: $300–$1,000 per month for organisations with larger customer bases or more sophisticated demands. These plans usually include API access, customised billing periods, and extensive analytics.

●  Enterprise plans: Large companies with considerable customisation and global support may spend $1,000 per month. These programs offer premium customer service, advanced integrations, and capabilities for managing massive subscribers across markets.

Impact of subscription billing on customer retention

One significant advantage of subscription billing is its effect on keeping customers engaged. Companies can improve retention by implementing strategies such as providing free trials, flexible subscription options, and loyalty rewards, which motivate customers to uphold long-term commitments. SaaS companies frequently provide trial periods, allowing users to explore the product prior to making a commitment, whereas food delivery services might offer discounts for multi-month plans.​

Furthermore, the implementation of dunning management—automated notifications for unsuccessful payments—plays a crucial role in minimising churn by prompting customers to refresh their payment details prior to any service interruptions. Platforms such as Recurly and Chargebee provide integrated dunning management tools that are essential for maintaining customer engagement and reducing revenue loss.​

 This proactive approach to subscription billing creates a seamless experience for customers while fostering loyalty, positioning businesses for ongoing revenue growth, and enhancing customer satisfaction.

 Emerging trends in subscription billing

With the rise of subscription billing in several sectors, companies are progressively implementing personalised billing alternatives to improve consumer engagement. Offering clients adaptable payment plans, including annual or monthly alternatives, enables businesses to customise experiences according to individual preferences. For instance, fitness centres might enhance retention by providing annual subscriptions with discounts, whereas product delivery businesses could gain from offering weekly or biweekly billing choices for loyal clientele.

A significant trend is multi-currency support, enabling organisations to function effortlessly in international marketplaces. Subscription billing software such as Wonderful, Zuora and Stripe Billing provide comprehensive multi-currency functionalities, allowing enterprises to effectively handle cross-border transactions. This functionality is particularly advantageous for software firms and internet service providers aiming to develop globally without difficulties.

Moreover, data-driven insights are increasingly vital for monitoring and optimising subscription billing. Platforms such as Salesforce Revenue Cloud and Maxio utilise sophisticated analytics to track customer behaviour, forecast churn, and improve client retention. By monitoring measures like lifetime value and subscription growth, organisations can make data-driven decisions, customising pricing plans and marketing initiatives to optimise long-term profitability.

Conclusion

Subscription billing has transformed recurring payment management by providing flexibility, automation, and scalability. Companies can optimise income sources, provide seamless client experiences, and scale efficiently by integrating the correct tools. A trustworthy subscription billing software can streamline operations and improve client retention for a gym and wellness centre, product delivery service, or food and drink business. Businesses can choose a platform like Stripe Billing, Zuora, or Wonderful that addresses their business-specific needs.

FAQs

Best performing online subscription billing software?

Stripe Billing, Zuora, Salesforce Revenue Cloud, Maxio, and Oracle NetSuite are top subscription billing software. Scalability, flexibility, and API support make these systems ideal for many commercial purposes.

Which subscription billing system would you recommend?

Each platform brings unique features tailored to specific business needs. Stripe Billing is a versatile and user-friendly system, while Wonderful offers trustworthy and customisable subscription billing solutions for businesses in numerous sectors in the UK.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash