When traditional software companies are transitioning to a subscription business model, there can be a lot of challenges. It can be hard to know how to prioritise what can feel like an endless to-do list.
But we’ve rounded up our top things that new and transitioning subscription-based businesses should think about to ensure a smooth setup and launch from the start.
For those of us in the software and SaaS businesses, we often create what we do to solve a problem or provide a service that people need. But it’s not enough to just say that if you build it, customers will come. Your online subscription services and subscription management should be effortless for your end users. That being said, you need to do your homework on the features and price points that will be attractive to your targeted audiences.
Before you launch your website, which likely includes information about your subscription tiers and monthly plans, you can use your background and industry knowledge to make some assumptions about what people will be looking for.
But do some research in the form of beta testing, look for published reports on the state of online subscription service industries, or even ask your current customers what they would want in a new SaaS subscription model. Then, take the time to test your assumptions and adjust your ideas.
One of the most important things that both B2B and B2C companies often forget about is establishing a great customer support system. While you can be eager to get your quality product or service out on the market, you need to consider what can go wrong, and be able to have a plan of action for managing problems, fielding questions and requests, and even answering happy customers who are eager to give positive feedback. And better yet, you should be planning for proactive support to ensure success with your new customers and a smooth and painless onboarding.
Think about this: while competition is increasing across all markets, the differentiators between companies are no longer simply about quality and price. Consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on experience.
It can make a world of difference to improve customer retention rates if you can impress them with the level of service you show them, and your ability to manage issues in a friendly and efficient way. If you do not establish a good customer support system, or at least create a process for handling incoming requests and questions, you will lose your customers to the company that does.
In the subscription model business, we are often concerned with KPIs such as customer churn and monthly recurring revenue. Poor customer support is one of the main causes of churn in SaaS businesses.
One big key to reducing churn and improving MRR can often lie in your customer service. When trial customers feel they can rely on a good experience, they’ll be more likely to become long-time customers. And when you can effectively help solve a problem for a disgruntled customer, their experience can make the difference in whether they decide to unsubscribe.
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Just as with creating a customer support system, online companies need to think about user experience design. User experience, or UX design, is now a crucial component for how people interact with your company and online presence. You may have spent a lot of time making your product, service, or SaaS subscription platform include tons of features, but it won’t do any good if it isn’t easy to use or easy to find by your customer base.
In a subscription model business, typically, customers are expecting something that is easy to use and offers advantages in productivity or efficiency. When they lose too much time by not being able to set up their online subscription services quickly and easily, you could lose them as customers forever.
A rule of thumb is to keep it simple. Not only should your billing platform be clean and intuitive to use. Your website, your contact availability, and especially your customer support system should all be designed with user experience in mind.
With a surge in subscription services and subscription-based business models, expectations can be high. Because of this, you need to consider what your draw is in your B2C or B2B sector that can show your quality and credibility, without people needing to make a big initial investment. One of the best ways to do this is through the freemium model.
The freemium subscription business model can be great for getting new customers into your system quickly, but there’s a fine line where you need to decide if 1) the model is actually right for your type of business, and 2) when you need to start charging. In the B2B world, freemium can mean certain free features, with payment or upgrade to other subscription billing plans required for “unlocking” bigger and better ones.
Or, freemium can mean a month of free usage, with charging beginning in the second month. Look into how the freemium model might be able to fit into your subscription services, because you might find it to be an effective way for customers to get hooked on your platform.
It is important to remember that your SaaS pricing model should be what best suits your business and makes sense for your brand and business. If you’re working with large corporations or enterprise packages, it might make more sense to require an upfront deal where customers need to put some skin in the game in order to ensure that they put in the effort for implementation and usage. The main point is to consider your options before you get too far in.
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When all is said and done, your business needs to run just as smoothly behind the scenes as your product or services platform works for your customers. When you don’t have your systems running smoothly together, you can run into issues where you aren’t capturing customers churning, or managing financials effectively.
Before your business gets too far off the ground, you should be establishing your internal processes for billing, enterprise resource planning, data reporting and SaaS analytics, and automation. Not having a good solution for managing these things together can create stress and chaos that can reflect back on your customers and subscription management.
Keep things simple by implementing subscription management solutions that can streamline or combine all of these systems into one place. That way, you can spend less time focusing on these details and more time on getting and keeping more customers.
Younium, for instance, provides seamless integrations with a lot of tools, so it can sync with your entire tech stack. Here are a few examples of tools it connects with.
Image via Younium
1. What are the essential steps to launch a B2B subscription business?
Launching a subscription business begins with defining a clear monetization model, understanding your ideal customer profile, and aligning your pricing strategy with business value. For B2B SaaS, it’s also essential to prepare your finance operations and billing infrastructure early — so you can scale efficiently and remain compliant. Choosing a reliable, flexible subscription management platform like Younium ensures your sales, finance, and customer success teams can align on one source of truth from day one.
2. What legal and compliance requirements should I consider?
Subscription businesses must comply with contract law, data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), and financial standards like IFRS 15 and ASC 606. You’ll also need clear Terms of Service, transparent billing logic, and audit-ready systems to support investor or board reporting. Younium helps ensure compliance from day one with automated revenue recognition, secure data handling, and audit trails baked into the platform.
3. How should finance teams prepare for subscription revenue?
Manual spreadsheets and siloed billing tools become unmanageable quickly. Younium provides a finance-grade engine for subscription revenue, with built-in support for billing logic, recognition, and compliance.
4. What pricing and packaging models work best for SaaS?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Common models include flat-rate, tiered, usage-based, and hybrid combinations. You’ll need flexibility to test, adjust, and evolve your pricing — especially if you’re planning to support PLG, SLG, or partner-led growth. Younium supports all major pricing structures, and allows you to modify contracts without breaking downstream billing or reporting.
5. What technology stack do I need to run a subscription business?
You’ll need tools for quoting, contract lifecycle management, billing, payments, revenue recognition, customer success, and analytics. Rather than stitching multiple point solutions, many SaaS teams now opt for unified platforms. Younium consolidates CPQ, subscription management, billing, and revenue recognition into one scalable system — reducing integration overhead, manual work, and risk.
6. What is Younium, and why is it important when starting a subscription business?
Younium is an all-in-one quote-to-cash and revenue operations platform built for B2B SaaS. It It replaces disconnected tools with one finance-grade system for:
Younium includes an AI Co-Pilot that surfaces actionable insights and anomalies in your revenue and billing data — helping finance and ops teams make smarter, faster decisions. For scaling SaaS companies, Younium becomes the operational backbone for subscription revenue — built to adapt as your business evolves.
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When transitioning into a SaaS business model, or establishing a new subscription based business, there are many things to think about. But if you can stay customer-focused, build a great customer support system and user experience, identify the best ways to price and feature your subscriptions, you’ll be off to a great start. Watch Younium webinar on the topic what's different with advanced subscription management to deep dive even more.
Need some guidance on how to complete an effective transition? Our Checklist can help you through the step-by-step process for establishing a subscription business model.