
Group Billing Software for Stress-Free Subscription Operations
Managing multiple subscriptions manually can be very troublesome. It not only requires constant tracking of the subscribers’ billing dates, but also carries the risk of error-prone payment handling.
Group subscriptions such as family plans, enterprise plans or team plans make billing even more complicated. Assigning and managing access-level roles, and account hierarchy on top of payment handling is a nightmare without the proper system in place.
Enter group billing software—a software which specializes in dealing with group subscriptions. This software is a great resource and time saver, as it automates all the important processes involved in group billing.
In this article, let us explore the functions of group billing software comprehensively.
What is Group Billing Software?
Group billing software automates and manages the billing cycles for group subscriptions. It simplifies invoicing and payment processing by consolidating all the group’s invoices into a single one. This eliminates the hassle of handling multiple invoices that belong to the same group. The single consolidated invoice is then processed as a single transaction via the payment gateway. This can potentially minimize payment processing fees too.
Alternatively, group billing platforms also enable the generation of individual invoices under a single account. This way businesses can track the individual service usage and costs of all their sub-accounts. Exactly how the billing software manages invoices depends upon each business’s unique billing structures.
Businesses can use this software to achieve centralized billing management. They can set up admin or parent accounts, and sub-accounts. The parent accounts are responsible for overseeing the invoicing for their sub-accounts. Sub-accounts can also be enabled to pay for their own invoices, with the parent account monitoring their payment activities.
What are the Key Features of Group Billing Software?
Offering group subscription plans is great for delivering value to users that prefer to share services between them, such as families. These plans are also beneficial for enterprises that need service access in bulk, and want to create different user roles.
Group billing software lets businesses offer seamless group subscriptions. These are the main functions executed by this software:
- Invoice Management for Multiple Users
The software automates the generation of invoices, and creates bulk invoices for groups. These invoices can be consolidated into a single unified invoice, and billed to the admin/parent account. Invoice copies can be sent to individual users within the group as well.
This process makes group invoicing organized, and efficient. Individual accounts don’t have to pay separately for the service. This is ideal for family subscriptions managed by a single payable user. It is also beneficial for business clients who wish to control subscriptions of their employees via a parent account.
Additionally, businesses can also opt for billing that allows sub-accounts to pay individually. In this case, the system will generate independent invoices for each sub-account and make them billable. The parent account can still monitor these separate invoices, and their statuses.
This feature can be used by enterprises with multiple departments that have access to the same subscription service. Each department can have its own sub-account, and pay for its invoice individually.
What’s more, group billing software also enable businesses to extend discounts to their group subscription clients. For instance, they can apply volume-based discounts depending on the number of users a group has. The system executes flawless discount billing.
Advanced billing software like SubscriptionFlow allow businesses to customize their invoices as well. They can create branded invoices to match their business’s theme. They can also modify the data shown in their invoices, such as adding tax details or payment notes.
- Subscription Management for Multiple Users
With group billing software, you can assign various roles to users within a group. One of the accounts can be assigned as the parent account responsible for paying and managing billing. The rest of the accounts can be labelled as sub-accounts or child accounts.
Businesses can enable further division of accounts for organizations with more complicated department structures, such as sub-child accounts. Moreover, they can also enable role-based user access for different accounts. For instance, they can assign child accounts as department heads, allow selective feature access for specific users, etc.
Admins can monitor the payment activity of the sub-accounts. They can track the invoice status of each account.
At SubscriptionFlow, we offer clients self-service portals. Admins can utilize their portals to manage group subscriptions effectively. They can add more child accounts, delete accounts or update them. We also carry out complex billing proration for customers who cancel group subscription mid-cycle.
- Recurring Payments Management for Multiple Users
Businesses can set up automated recurring payments with group billing software. A unified invoice consolidating the expenses of child accounts can be generated to be paid by the parent account. If automatic payments are enabled, then the parent account won’t have to pay manually. The system will deduct payment at the set subscription renewal date on its own.
Moreover, usage-based recurring billing can also be set up for each individual account. In this billing structure, child accounts pay for their own service usage. The billing system tracks each account’s service usage accurately, and charges them accordingly. Child accounts also don’t have to pay manually with auto-payments enabled.
Advanced software such as SubscriptionFlow take care of revenue recovery as well. They automatically retry payments in case of failure, and ensure that businesses don’t lose their hard-earned revenue. They also auto-generate payment reminders for users, and ask them to update their payment method.
- Access Management for Team-Based Subscriptions
Team-based subscriptions are available for smaller groups of people who require shared access to an online service. Businesses can assign each team member their role, and allow them access accordingly. The subscription account holder is responsible for paying for all the team members.
Group billing software can enable tiered access for team-based subscriptions too. This means that certain users can have access to certain feature tiers based on their roles. For instance, in a designing software, the Editors can have access to the software’s editing elements only, while the Viewers can only review and export the designs.
- Tiered-Based Pricing for Groups
Group billing software facilitates businesses in setting up differently priced subscription tiers. These tiers can be priced based on the number of users they allow, or the features that they offer. Customers will go for the group subscription that resonates with their needs.
For instance, they can subscribe to a plan that allows service access for 50 users simultaneously. If their team expands, and they want to add more child accounts, they can simply upgrade their subscription plan.
The software carries out error-free tiered billing, and scales to accommodate invoicing of a growing customer volume.
- Multi-Currency Support for International Teams
This feature is designed for enterprises who have sub-companies or teams in multiple countries. Each sub-company can be assigned its own child account. These accounts will be parented under the head company.
Group billing software supports invoicing for each sub-company in its own regional currency. It also applies region-based tax calculations to the invoices, ensuring compliant billing.
For instance, a parent company is situated in the US, and its three child companies are situated in Sweden, Africa, and Australia respectively. The system will generate a separate invoice for each child company in the currency of its region, and will apply taxes to it accordingly.
The parent company will be able to view all the invoices in its default currency. It can also access the detailed tax breakdown of each invoice. Businesses have the choice to enable consolidated invoicing in this scenario as well.
What Makes SubscriptionFlow an Outstanding Group Billing Software?
SubscriptionFlow is a powerful group billing and subscription management software that simplifies your financial processes. Whether you’re dealing with family plans, or enterprises segmented across geographies, leveraging account hierarchies with SubscriptionFlow can streamline your billing cycles.
Here’s what you can do with SubscriptionFlow as your group billing solution:
- Conveniently designate subscription accounts used across a company as ‘child’ accounts
- Consolidate all of them under a ‘parent account’
- Tailor invoices to cater to each account’s needs and schedules
- Unify all the invoices to generate one comprehensive invoice sent to the parent account
- Send invoice copies to child accounts
- Modify account details when necessary
We also let you invoice child accounts according to their service usage. In this case too, the consolidated invoice is sent to the parent account. Additionally, you can enable automated recurring billing to minimize failed or missed payments.
SubscriptionFlow brings structure to your group billing operations. With our easy accounts division, you can clarify your customers’ payment responsibilities. Our platform also provides you in-depth visibility into the data usage and transaction history of each account.
Tired of having your billing operations all over the place? Sign up with SubscriptionFlow, and offer group subscriptions with confidence. We handle your billing needs expertly.