Recurring Billing Systems: 7 Signs It's Time To Change

Zuora, Inc.
Zuora, Inc.Social Media Marketing Manager at Zuora, Inc.
Recurring Billing Systems: 7 Signs It's Time To Change
You want to move to
electronic payments for smaller orders
Self-Service
Many customers want to try and buy in a self-service
manner. They have an expectation of being able to pay by
credit card.
If your average recurring payment is less than $500, you
don’t want to bother with invoicing and collecting.

Merchant of Record
There are payment services that take on the burden of being
“MOR”. When you get some cash and history with your bank
you want to take this on. Being the MOR has many
advantages

Cash Flow
Your DSO effectively goes to zero when everyone is on credit
card or ACH.
Your sales team can’t upsell & cross-sell
customers because you can’t identify them
Visibility of Customer Details in Salesforce
If your sales people use Salesforce.com, that is where you
need accurate details of what products and plans customers
are currently subscribed

Accurate Up-Sells and Add-Ons
If you don’t know when subscribtions start and end, it’s
impossible to create quotes that are pro-rated or coterminate with other subscriptions the customer already has

Renewals
If you find out that a customer was up for a renewal after the
renewal date, your chances of recapturing that revenue are
low
You want to price in a way customers
want to buy - and you can’t

Align to Value

Try and Buy

Trust and Commitment

Most customers will align your
products value with something –
users, GB of Storage, documents,
projects, etc. You should be able to
price in a way that drives uptake

You should be able to do a trial that
requires a credit card, or doesn’t
require a credit card, have a time
based trial, or have a product that is
always free

Monthly may be the low touch way
to get customers to buy, but once
they like it they should be able to
pay for the year and get discount
Your invoices lack important details
at best or worse, the amounts
are flat-out wrong
They Should be Correct
You face an uphill battle in “delighting” your customers if
your invoices aren’t right. We especially see this in usagebased models.

One Document They Read!
You know that your current customers all get an invoice, but
you were told that you couldn’t put important new
information on on the one document you know your
customers read

Transparency
Little things like showing the service period give customers
the comfort that you know what you’re doing and that
should pay.
You treat price changes like a
one time event, instead of a process
Engineering
Most companies have the product pricing baked
deeply into their code and systems. You don’t
change pricing often because you can’t

Experimentation
You would like to continually do A/B testing on
how customers want to buy and pay. You can’t

If you had MRR Contribution…
Modern metrics like MRR help you decide which
products are contributing the most revenue, and
whether customers are upgrading over time…
You delay your new subscription
launch due to your systems

Disruptive market forces

Your engineering team..

One time events..

If you’re like most companies, you
have a very small competitor that is
pricing completely differently. You
can’t technically even sell that way.

They are building your product.
Anything you need to do around
subscriptions can’t be touched until
after the product is complete…

The concept of a recurring
relationship with the customer
doesn’t exist in your systems.
Everything looks like a SKU.
You can’t pass an audit because you
can’t accurately track recurring revenue

Contracts are Different

Forensic Science

No System of Record

Your sales people are doing so
many different types of deals that
you can’t even keep track of how to
treat the revenue and deferral
schedule

You have to search in crazy places
to find the details of what you
charged who for what period of
time.

You did things differently every
different year. There is not one
place that houses all the definitive
records of the relationship with the
customer
Watch the webcast today!
WAT C H N O W
1 of 9

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Recurring Billing Systems: 7 Signs It's Time To Change

  • 2. You want to move to electronic payments for smaller orders Self-Service Many customers want to try and buy in a self-service manner. They have an expectation of being able to pay by credit card. If your average recurring payment is less than $500, you don’t want to bother with invoicing and collecting. Merchant of Record There are payment services that take on the burden of being “MOR”. When you get some cash and history with your bank you want to take this on. Being the MOR has many advantages Cash Flow Your DSO effectively goes to zero when everyone is on credit card or ACH.
  • 3. Your sales team can’t upsell & cross-sell customers because you can’t identify them Visibility of Customer Details in Salesforce If your sales people use Salesforce.com, that is where you need accurate details of what products and plans customers are currently subscribed Accurate Up-Sells and Add-Ons If you don’t know when subscribtions start and end, it’s impossible to create quotes that are pro-rated or coterminate with other subscriptions the customer already has Renewals If you find out that a customer was up for a renewal after the renewal date, your chances of recapturing that revenue are low
  • 4. You want to price in a way customers want to buy - and you can’t Align to Value Try and Buy Trust and Commitment Most customers will align your products value with something – users, GB of Storage, documents, projects, etc. You should be able to price in a way that drives uptake You should be able to do a trial that requires a credit card, or doesn’t require a credit card, have a time based trial, or have a product that is always free Monthly may be the low touch way to get customers to buy, but once they like it they should be able to pay for the year and get discount
  • 5. Your invoices lack important details at best or worse, the amounts are flat-out wrong They Should be Correct You face an uphill battle in “delighting” your customers if your invoices aren’t right. We especially see this in usagebased models. One Document They Read! You know that your current customers all get an invoice, but you were told that you couldn’t put important new information on on the one document you know your customers read Transparency Little things like showing the service period give customers the comfort that you know what you’re doing and that should pay.
  • 6. You treat price changes like a one time event, instead of a process Engineering Most companies have the product pricing baked deeply into their code and systems. You don’t change pricing often because you can’t Experimentation You would like to continually do A/B testing on how customers want to buy and pay. You can’t If you had MRR Contribution… Modern metrics like MRR help you decide which products are contributing the most revenue, and whether customers are upgrading over time…
  • 7. You delay your new subscription launch due to your systems Disruptive market forces Your engineering team.. One time events.. If you’re like most companies, you have a very small competitor that is pricing completely differently. You can’t technically even sell that way. They are building your product. Anything you need to do around subscriptions can’t be touched until after the product is complete… The concept of a recurring relationship with the customer doesn’t exist in your systems. Everything looks like a SKU.
  • 8. You can’t pass an audit because you can’t accurately track recurring revenue Contracts are Different Forensic Science No System of Record Your sales people are doing so many different types of deals that you can’t even keep track of how to treat the revenue and deferral schedule You have to search in crazy places to find the details of what you charged who for what period of time. You did things differently every different year. There is not one place that houses all the definitive records of the relationship with the customer
  • 9. Watch the webcast today! WAT C H N O W