The subscription industry has exploded in recent years. The coronavirus pandemic drove subscription boxes up 80% in 2020.

Consumers can get almost anything they want delivered to their doorstep. Plus, they have an opportunity to try new things that they normally wouldn’t get.

It’s a great time to start a subscription service, but you have to have the right systems in place to make it work. The most important system is subscription billing software.

That ensures you have consistent cash flow in your business. Since it’s so important, you’ll want to read on to learn how to choose a subscription billing software.

1. Several Payment Gateways

You don’t want to lose customers just because you don’t accept their preferred payment method. Your subscription billing software should work with several payment gateways, complete with fraud protection.

Not only do you want to have different payment gateways, but you want the ability to run promotions and discounts for your customers.

2. Experience With Your Industry

Does the software provider have experience with your industry?  It’s especially helpful if you’re in the growing CBD industry or another high-risk industry.

That’s because banks and payment providers are reluctant to take on the risk of working with these industries.

You can find more info here about subscription billing for CBD businesses.

3. Security

Security has to be a high priority as you evaluate payment providers. Your customers won’t care if the subscription billing software provider was hacked. They will hold your business responsible.

You need to know that your billing service uses the highest level of security. Be sure to know if they offer features like two-step authentication.

4. Integrations

Subscription billing software is supposed to make your life easier. You don’t want to spend more time doing data entry because one system doesn’t talk to the other.

The billing software should integrate with your bookkeeping software. You may need it to integrate with your CRM.

5. User Controls

Does the billing software give you the power to assign different levels of access to users? That can be a lifesaver as you grow your business.

You want to empower your customers to make changes to their accounts on their own. That saves your staff time from updating billing information.

6. Affordable Plans

You don’t want to get software based on price alone, but you do want the billing software to fit your budget.

Providers are likely to charge a flat fee, plus a percentage of each transaction. You need to do the math to find out how much that costs your business.

You then need to learn if providers lower the percentage as you grow and process more transactions.

The Best Subscription Billing Software

What is the best subscription billing software? It’s the one that best meets your needs. You can evaluate different subscription billing platforms by going through each item in this article.

That process ensures that you don’t go with the cheapest option, but the one that is best for your business and financial health.

Check out the other articles about business on this site.