Pricing models of SaaS companies are more complex than those of traditional businesses. As a rule, SaaS companies offer multiple pricing plans and deal with various payments, including recurring payments, variable and add-ons payments, annual and monthly payments.

Do you want to find a solution that will ease your pain of collecting payments while also increase overall customer satisfaction?

Read this article to learn more about the best payment processing services for SaaS. It will help you to choose the right billing solution and take your business to the next level.

Let’s get started!

Three basic types of payment processing services for SaaS

Before we start discussing the pros and cons of the top billing systems, let’s talk about their types. All billing systems fall into three categories: payment gateway, merchant account, and subscription management platform.

Payment gateway

A payment gateway is a processing system that allows customers to pay for the services. This system is responsible for “informing” customers’ banks about the amount of money they need to charge per transaction.

The payment gateway secures sensitive information of the client (credit card number, billing address, etc.). The system encrypts bank details and other data to prevent fraudulent activity and ensure the success of every transaction.

PayPal and Authorize.net are perfect examples of payment gateway.

Merchant account

A merchant account is a specific type of business bank account that allows SaaS companies to accept and process electronic payment card transactions. It’s a system that works in pairs with different payment gateways. Its main task is to securely transfer payments to the company’s account.

Some billing systems offer two-in-one solutions: they work as both payment gateways and merchant accounts. Stripe is a great example of such a system.

Subscription management platform

The subscription management platform is the type of billing system that reminds your server of how much your customers should be charged ($10 or $40), when (monthly/quarterly/annually), and how (via PayPal, credit card, Skrill). Using such a platform, you can add and manage multiple pricing plans, add discounts, offer free trials, and make other adjustments to drive sales.

An example of a subscription management platform for SaaS is Recurly.

7 Things to consider before choosing a payment processing service for SaaS

Different payment processing services come with various features and are available at different prices. Here are a few things to consider before picking the service for your SaaS business.

Analytics and reporting

Some billing systems provide comprehensive reports and data visualization, while others offer only basic reports. If you want to get a better understanding of the factors that drives customer churn and retention and optimize your MRR, make sure to choose a service with advanced analytics.

Mobile payments

Keep in mind that not all systems accept payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay. If mobile payments are important for your SaaS business, choose a billing system that supports different kinds of mobile experiences

Integration options

Be aware that not all payment processing services support many one-click integrations with other platforms. Make sure to choose a service that is compatible with CRM software and other platforms you are currently using.

Customer support

When it comes to payments processing services, the quality of customer support plays an important role. You need to choose a service that offers 24/7 phone support, not just a customer service chatbot.

Currencies and languages supported

Some payment gateways work only with the most popular currencies and support less than ten languages. If you want to expand your SaaS company globally, choose a service that processes payments in 100+ currencies.

Affordability

Don’t opt for the most popular systems if you can hardly afford them. Consider other payment processing services that come with similar features. There are lots of billing systems out there, and you can find the one that fits your budget.

Invoicing feature

Not all payment processing services comes with invoicing feature. So make sure to choose a service that enables invoicing (if you need it).

Top five payment processing services for SaaS

Here is a list of the top five payment processing services for SaaS that are worth your attention.

Recurly (subscription management platform)

Recurly is one of the most widely used payment processing services. SaaS companies choose Recurly because it works well for complex billing scenarios and can be easily integrated with payment gateways and merchant accounts like Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and many others. If you want to attract new subscribers using coupons, gift cards, and trials, this platform is right for you.

Another great thing about Recurly is that it uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to minimize and repair declined transactions. Recurly is an effective tool for reducing involuntary churn and improving customer satisfaction.

Pros:

Great intuitive interface
Supports complex billing scenarios, including usage-based, quantity-based, and hybrid models.
Excellent customer support – the support team is very quick to respond and always follow up with detailed answers
Provides lots of integration options

Cons:

Recurly doesn’t provide comprehensive MRR insights. If you need in-depth analytics, you will likely need to export data into GoogleSheets to create the dashboards you need.

Pricing plans and fees:

Core plan: $149/month + 0.9% of revenue (allows 5 users and one payment gateway)
If you need to integrate more than one payment gateway, or if you need to increase the number of users, contact sales and discuss conditions of Professional or Elite plan.

Stripe (payment gateway and a merchant account)

Stripe is a payment gateway and a merchant account. It’s proved to be a reliable payment service. As of today, it processes 250+ million API requests per day.

Stripe is out of the box solution for companies that use metered billing, per-seat pricing, tiered pricing, and other pricing models. With the help of Stripe, you can quickly add new plans and adjust the existing ones, offer free trials and discounts.

The system has a great user-friendly interface. You can set up a Stripe account in a few minutes and start accepting payments immediately.

Another great benefit of this billing system is that it comes with a machine learning model that prevents fraud and boosts conversions. If you value security, Stripe will be an excellent option for you. It’s certified to PCI Service Provider Level – it’s the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry today.

Pros:

Supports 135+ currencies and payment methods
Supports complex billing scenarios
Built-in invoicing feature
Certified to PCI Service Provider Level

Cons:

Stripe is supported only in 45+ countries, including the USA, Western Europe, India, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil. It means there are 150+ countries in the world where Stripe is not available for SaaS companies. If your business is located somewhere in Turkey, Qatar, Chile, or Thailand, Stripe is not an option for you.

Pricing plans and fees:

2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge

Chargebee (subscription management platform)

Chargebee is a payment processing service that perfectly serves B2B SaaS companies’ needs. It comes with an advance payments module that allows companies to fully automate the quote-to-cash workflow. The system streamlines complex sales workflows with hierarchical accounts and eases the processes of quote approvals.

This payment processing system can also boast about outstanding reporting capabilities. You can customize your dashboard and analyze MRR growth across plans.

Pros:

Solve 473 billing scenarios
Built-in dunning management feature
Multi-language support
Advanced reporting (The RevenueStory module offers 150+ ready-made reports)

Cons:

Not very helpful customer support. If you opt for the Launch or Rise pricing plan, don’t expect that the customer support team will solve your problems instantly.

Pricing plans and fees:

Launch: free of charge for the first $100.000
Rise: $249/month (10 users, advanced analytics, CRM integration, accounting integration)
Scale: $549/month (multiple payment methods, advance invoices, priority phone support)
Enterprise: custom pricing

Authorize.net (payment gateway and merchant account)

Authorize.net is a payment processing service designed by VISA. It can be used as a payment gateway only or as a payment gateway plus merchant account – the company allows you to choose a pricing plan and customize your billing system in the way it fits your SaaS business.

One of the main benefits of Authorize.net is its high security standards. Advanced Fraud Detection Suite system uses 13 fraud filters – it sets country limitations and proper minimum transaction thresholds, changes payment velocity settings, and uses other tools to prevent fraud.

If you choose Authorize.net as your billing system, you will be able to review the status of every subscription and transaction in the online portal. Authorize.net gives you full control over your finance and subscription management.

Pros:

Advanced fraud protection
Digital invoicing
160+ currencies supported
Mobile payments enabled

Cons:

You can accept international payments from anywhere in the world only if your SaaS business is based in one of the following countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, or Australia.

Pricing plans and fees:

Payment gateway only: $25, Per transaction 2.9% + 30¢
All-in-one option: $25, 10¢ per transaction, 10¢ daily batch fee

Chargify (subscription management platform)

Chargify is another great payment processing service for B2B companies. It comes with an Elastic Billing module that has a configurable billing logic.

Chargify’s is one of the best subscription management platforms in terms of marketing capabilities. The system makes it easy to set discount parameters, change coupon duration, and use limited offers to encourage B2B clients to close deals.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that Chargify API can be incorporated across a variety of programming languages and environments. If you are looking for a billing service that offers more flexibility, take a closer look at Chargify.

Pros:

A highly configurable billing logic
A great variety of integration options
Intelligent dunning
Multi-language invoice support

Cons:

Chargify provides lots of data but lacks some filters to sort the data. Some users find it challenging to extract the specific data they need.

Pricing plans and fees:

Essential: $599/month +0.9% of revenue on overages
Standard: $1499/month +0.7% of revenue on overages
Specialized: $3499/month +0.5% of revenue on overages

Wrapping up

Smooth and secure payment processing is one of those things that define the success of a SaaS company. So make sure to review all the options on this list before making the final choice.

Also, we highly encourage you to think of your long-term goals and whether you want to scale your business. You need to choose a payment processing service that will serve your company’s needs in both the short run and long run.

Author’s bio

Jessica Fender is a professional marketer and a content writer. If you ever wondered, “I wish someone would write my essay for me”, she is one of those professional academic level writers that will save you time and your degree. She enjoys the beach, martial arts, and literature.