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Why (and How) Successful CFOs are Reinventing their Billing Systems February 4, 2013 Steve Adams
| Date post: | 30-Apr-2015 |
| Category: |
Economy & Finance |
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Why (and How) Successful CFOs are Reinventing their Billing Systems
February 4, 2013
Steve Adams
• Subscriptions aren’t just for newspapers…– Examples of Retail Subscriptions
• Challenges of implementing subscriptions
• 5 Benefits of Automation
• How Fusebill can help – Quick Demonstration
The expanding Subscription World
It’s one of the simplest of truths For a subscription business to make
money, it must bill and collect from customers.
bill
collect
make money
Too bad it’s simpler to say than do
The devil’s in the details of requirements and architecture.
Traditional systems are slow, inaccurate and unable to scale
Challenges
• Accounting• Automation• Accuracy• Agility• Analytics
Advertise
Web Visits
Conversions
$$$$$
Build Repeat Business
One Decision – multiple orders
Order•Online•Customer Service
Get Paid
•Credit Cards•Invoices•PayPal
Ship
Linear Processing Flow
Linear ERP SystemsTransactional
Transactional back office systems fail
9
Upsell
Cross-sellRenew
Recurring Billing
Multiple Concurrent
Subscriptions
Usage Based Charges
Credit CardExpiry, Fraud, etc.
Initial SalesProcess
Traditional transactional systems don’t support recurrence
So What Happens?
• Improvisation– Track in Excel– Ticketing systems
• Pilot Projects– Quick and Dirty development projects
• Or long and twisted development projects
Security Risks
Errors & Revenue Leakage
Lack of Visibility
Barriers to Scale
Offline Accounting
Accounting
• Accurate Taxes
• Discounts, Write-offs
• Earned vs Deferred Revenues
• Cash vs Revenue
Security Services - Product Bundling Example
• Hardware– Delivered when project starts– Invoiced (30 day terms)– Revenue recognized on shipment
• Integration project (development services)– Paid in installments– Recognized over life of contract
• 12 month subscription– Paid quarterly, in advance– Recognized over contract
Complexities of Bundling & Revenue Recognition
ActiveWin Integration
Services
Cash
EffortEarnRevenueMonthly
CollectQuarterly Delay Start
EarnRevenueMonthly
Ship & EarnRevenue
Collect
Subscription
Hardware
IntegrationServices
The key benefit of automation is automation…
• Reduce people power – increase ability to scale
• Outsource security issues– Note that most shopping cart platforms don’t store
credit cards
• Process Payments – Automate collections, retries, client notifications
• Process renewals – and expiries
Accuracy
• Get paid before shipping– Properly calculate amounts (discounts, coupons, taxes)– Collect automatically
• Notify downstream systems of problems!
– Invoicing and Account statusing
• Ship the right things– Manage change– Customer self-service– Central view of customer orders
• Stop delivering …
Agility – cope with pricing changes
• Pro rating
• Upgrade Options
• Variations
• Promotions / Coupons
• Customer lifecycle:– Cancel– Renew– Options
Analytics
• So, what are we selling anyway?
• What geographies are performing well?
• What online programs bring us long term customers?
• How long do customers subscribe for?
Brief Demo – Monthly Soap Delivery
Basic offering – soap and shampooPremium Plan – Salon quality soapsOptions to purchase extra or upgrade
