4 Features of Zoho Subscriptions That Make It the Right Fit For Your Small Business

Did you know that Zoho was founded in 1996 yet did not become a market leader until much later? How did it achieve this feat? It did that by offering a long list of innovative features that revolutionized the way subscription management works. Here are 4 features offered by Zoho that prove to you just how excellent subscription management software it is.

1. Automated Billing:

The platform automates the billing process for recurring subscriptions, ensuring that customers are charged on time without manual intervention. It supports multiple payment gateways for seamless payment processing.

Automated billing is also implemented by Zoho Subscriptions in the following ways:

1. Creating Recurring Billing Profiles: Businesses can use Zoho Subscriptions to set up recurring billing profiles for each client that subscribes to their products or services. These profiles include the subscription’s billing frequency, start date, and termination date.
2. Automated Invoice Generation: After you set up a recurring billing profile, Zoho Subscriptions will automatically produce and deliver invoices to clients at the specified intervals (e.g., monthly, quarterly, yearly). The invoices reflect the subscription charges as well as any relevant taxes or reductions.

iii. Payment Gateway Integration: Zoho Subscriptions interacts with a variety of payment gateways, making it easy for customers to make payments. When the next billing cycle arrives, the system automatically charges the customer’s preferred payment method, such as a credit card or an online payment platform.

2. Prorated Billing:

Prorated charges are used by Zoho Subscriptions to provide fair and accurate invoicing for customers who sign up for or cancel their subscriptions throughout the billing cycle. When a consumer subscribes to a plan or modifies their subscription during a billing term, the system calculates prorated costs depending on the unused portion of the subscription period.

Zoho Subscriptions handles prorated charges in the following ways:

1. Sign-Ups in the Middle of a Billing Cycle: When a client joins up for a subscription plan in the middle of a billing cycle, Zoho Subscriptions calculates the costs for the remaining days of the current cycle. For example, if a monthly billing cycle begins on the 1st of each month and a consumer joins up on the 15th, they will only be charged for the remaining 15 days.
2. Upgrades or Downgrades in the Middle of a Billing Cycle: If a client upgrades or downgrades their subscription plan in the middle of a billing cycle, Zoho Subscriptions calculates the prorated charges for the remaining days of the current cycle based on the price difference between the old and new plans.

iii. Cancellations in the Middle of a Billing Cycle: If a client cancels their subscription in the middle of a billing cycle, Zoho Subscriptions calculates a prorated refund for the unused days of the current cycle. The consumer is only billed for the days they used the subscription services.

3. Dunning Management:

Dunning management is used by Zoho Subscriptions to handle rejected payments and maintain a seamless subscription billing process for organisations. The process of addressing rejected payment attempts and following up with clients to recover outstanding payments is known as dunning management.

Here’s how Zoho Subscriptions handles dunning:

1. Automated Payment Retry: When a customer’s payment fails for reasons such as insufficient money or an expired credit card, Zoho Subscriptions retries the payment on a specified schedule. This increases the likelihood of effective payment collection without the need for manual involvement.
2. Dunning Emails: If a payment fails after several automatic retries, Zoho Subscriptions sends clients dunning emails. These emails alert clients of the unsuccessful payment and suggest that they update their payment details or remedy the issue.
3. Customer Portal:

The Customer Portal is used by Zoho Subscriptions to provide a self-service portal for customers to manage their subscription details, billing information, and access pertinent subscription information. It is a dedicated location where customers may manage their subscription accounts, resulting in a better customer experience and less work for customer support employees, and which can also be used in the following ways by Zoho Subscriptions:

1. Account Access and Login: To access the Customer Portal, customers are given secure login credentials. They may check and manage their subscription accounts after logging in.
2. Subscription facts: Customers may check facts about their current subscriptions in the Customer Portal, such as plan details, billing frequency, and next billing date.

iii. Billing Information: Customers can use the Customer Portal to update their billing information, such as credit card information or payment methods. This helps them to assure smooth and continuous payment processing.

1. Subscription Upgrades and Downgrades: Customers can upgrade or downgrade their subscription plans directly from the Customer Portal, depending on the preferences of the business. This allows them to change their subscriptions to meet their changing demands.
2. Renewals and Cancellations: If the auto-renewal functionality is turned off, clients can manually renew their memberships using the Customer Portal. Similarly, if users want to discontinue their memberships, they can begin cancellation requests using the site.

Conclusion

Zoho Subscriptions stands out as a robust and innovative subscription management software, empowering businesses to streamline their billing processes and enhance customer experience. With a host of advanced features, Zoho Subscriptions revolutionizes how businesses handle recurring billing. And through these exceptional features, Zoho Subscriptions proves itself as an exceptional tool, allowing businesses to manage their subscriptions effectively and deliver a seamless experience to their customers.