The importance of recurring revenue for SaaS firms is widely acknowledged. An existing SaaS subscription brings a much higher return to your firm than new customers - this is why customer retention should be a major objective for your SaaS business. Read our top tips for successful Saas subscription management below.

SaaS subscription management

What is SaaS subscription management? Simply put, it describes all customer lifecycle operations. It's the process of keeping customers happy by following up on their subscriptions and listening to what services or offers they want more (or less) of. It's also about asking existing customers how satisfied they are with their current service levels and eg issuing refunds. Your company's subscription management starts as soon as a customer signs up for your company’s services and ends whenever they leave or cancel their subscription.  

What is the difference between SaaS subscription management and recurring billing practices?

There are several. Recurring billing practices is the automated process of invoicing customers on an ongoing basis. Online subscription management is an addition to your payment solution and supports it by dealing with customer-related issues. Recurring subscription management deals with existing customers, ensuring that they stay with your company for as long as possible.

Why is subscription management important?

The subscription management process ensures that your customers have a positive experience with your company and renew their subscriptions as they expire. This ranges from their initial subscription, billing, and using your subscription services to them canceling their subscription.

You may ask why the process of subscription management in SaaS businesses has to be this comprehensive - here are some reasons:

Signing up

• You can use your subscription management process to provide discounts to potential customers and convince them to join this way. You can also utilize your subscription management process to offer free trials to those that may be on the fence about joining. If they’re undecided after the free trial, you could empower your team to extend their trial.

Subscription

• There is a wide range of processes that your subscription management software can support you with - upgrades, downgrades, communicating features or upgrades...the opportunities are endless.

End of subscription

• Once a customer has decided to end the subscription to your services, subscription management software can be used to get feedback and improve your knowledge for subscription analysis.

What is the best subscription management software?

There is a range of SaaS subscription management tools that you can use in conjunction with recurring billing software to keep an eye on customer lifecycle operations.