A smooth billing process is crucial for any SaaS business. It directly impacts revenue, customer satisfaction, and retention. However, many companies overlook their billing systems, leading to “revenue leaks” – situations where potential income is lost due to correctable issues. A billing experience audit is a systematic review of your entire billing process, from the moment a customer signs up to how you handle failed payments. By identifying and fixing friction points, you can significantly reduce churn and increase your revenue.

This guide will walk you through the steps to conduct a comprehensive billing experience audit. You’ll learn how to diagnose common problems, implement effective solutions, and ultimately create a billing system that delights your customers and supports your business growth.

A thorough audit involves examining every touchpoint a customer has with your billing system. This can be broken down into four key areas:

1. Subscription and plan selection: This is where the customer journey begins. A confusing or cumbersome signup process can deter potential customers before they even start using your product.
2. Invoicing and communication: Clear and transparent communication is essential. Confusing invoices or a lack of notifications can lead to frustration and disputes.
3. Payment processing: This is the core of your billing system. Failed payments are a common source of revenue leakage, so it’s crucial to have a robust system for handling them.
4. Dunning and churn management: How you communicate with customers about overdue payments can make the difference between retaining a customer and losing them to churn.

Many businesses make the mistake of thinking their billing system is a “set it and forget it” component. However, this can lead to several common problems:

• Confusing pricing and plans: If customers can’t easily understand what they’re paying for, they’re more likely to churn.
• Poorly timed payment reminders: Sending reminders too early or too late can be ineffective.
• Ineffective dunning campaigns: Generic or overly aggressive dunning emails are often ignored.
• Lack of self-service options: Customers should be able to easily update their payment information or change their plan without contacting support.

To create a billing system that minimizes churn and maximizes revenue, consider these best practices:

• Offer clear and transparent pricing: Make it easy for customers to understand your pricing tiers and what’s included in each plan.
• Provide multiple payment options: Accommodate a variety of payment methods to reduce the chances of failed transactions.
• Implement a smart dunning strategy: Use a combination of automated emails, in-app notifications, and personalized outreach to recover failed payments.
• Make it easy for customers to update their information: A self-service portal where customers can manage their subscription and payment details is essential.
• Proactively communicate with customers: Send friendly reminders before a payment is due and notify them immediately if a payment fails.

Kinde simplifies the complexities of SaaS billing, allowing you to focus on building your product. Here’s how Kinde can help you implement a best-in-class billing experience:

• Flexible subscription management: Easily create and manage a variety of subscription plans, including metered and seat-based billing.
• Automated dunning and payment retries: Kinde automatically retries failed payments and sends dunning notifications to customers, helping you recover lost revenue.
• Secure payment processing: Kinde integrates with Stripe to provide secure and reliable payment processing.
• Clear invoicing and communication: Generate clear and detailed invoices that are easy for your customers to understand.

• Set up billing
• Manage subscriptions
• Billing FAQs