You’ve decided to develop a software product and offer it on a subscription model to those who could use it. Congratulations! You are now part of the almost $100 billion SaaS industry.

The SaaS industry consists of businesses that develop office suites, digital content creation, business intelligence applications, and customer relationship management software. Subscription models are common for these services.

Software-as-a-Service is a booming sector for good reason. The services are in demand and the subscription model is attractive. But to pull it off correctly, you’ll need to consider your payment network. Billing your clients is, arguably, the most important part of being a SaaS provider.

Picking the right merchant acquirer for your business is essential. If you don’t pick the right payment network, you’d likely waste many hours and a lots of money on a sub-par service for your clients. You need to pick a service that is flexible enough to keep up with your changing needs as the business grows. You also need a well-regulated service that keeps the payments secure.  

Here’s what you need to consider while looking for a payment solution:

What does the business need?

Your merchant acquirer and payment solution needs to fit with the business model you’ve developed. If your business gets a lot of one-time payments or has regular billing, your payment service needs to keep up with both. You also need to consider which part of the payment process you need help with. The payment gateway. merchant acquirer, and subscription management platform should all be, ideally, integrated.

Build your own?

Short answer - no. As a SaaS company, you may be tempted to develop your own, in-house payment solution. But creating your own, integrated solution isn’t about software design, it’s about regulations. Many SaaS companies have their own payment billing system, but this tends to involve a lot of legal hurdles, unnecessary expenses, thorough expertise and a lot of time. For most businesses, it’s simply not worth the effort.

Instead, a third-party merchant acquirer can handle much larger transactions, provide better security, save you time and likely cut costs.  Startup SaaS companies should definitely look to 3rd parties for their payment and billing needs.

Location

SaaS companies are usually location independent. But your payment network may not cover every country you serve. You need to check if the merchant acquirer you pick is able to help with transactions in certain currencies, coming from specific countries. Location and currency are important factors you must consider when looking for the perfect payment solution.

Fees

Your payment could charge fees in a number of ways. You could pay a setup fee to get the system installed, a monthly fee for certain features and a transaction fee for every payment. Check every element of the pricing to see if it suits your business.

Security

Regardless of the size of your business, you probably want the best security for every payment coming through. Online payments and regular transactions need to be thoroughly secure both for your business and client. Be sure that your merchant acquirer and payment provider can offer protection against fraud and chargebacks. Credit card failure is a nightmare for subscription-based models, Which is why our service is designed to minimize chargebacks and protect regular transactions.  

Other Features

You may want to consider a payment solution that offers virtual terminals to accept payments over the phone, dedicated account managers, 24/7 technical teams, high-ticket sales protection, and mobile support. Some features may be more useful than others, depending on the nature of your business. But investing in a well-rounded payment solution is absolutely crucial.

Conclusion

SaaS is a fast-paced industry and to keep up you need to pay attention to every aspect of your business. A resolute billing system tends to go a long way when you’re trying to attract regular subscribers for your software services. Take your time to pick the perfect payment solution.

Are you looking for a SaaS billing system?

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