Historically, businesses looking to get—and stay—ahead of the competition have been dedicated to constantly evolving their business models to increase revenue, build and strengthen their customer bases, and grow their market share. Thus, agility has become especially acute in the wake of COVID-19 and the economic uncertainty that has followed. As consumer needs, values, and budgets have evolved, innovation has become less about growth and survival for many companies. However, the impact of even the most innovative business models and offerings is limited by one key question:

Has the business laid the foundation for agility with a billing system that can quickly and efficiently roll out new products, services, and pricing models based on consumer and market demand?

More and more, consumers are demanding consumption-based pricing models for the products and services they pay for, and businesses are eager to oblige with subscription-based and pay-as-you-go offerings. However, legacy billing technology is often a lethal obstacle to the process changes these businesses need to implement to roll out these new models.

In our eBook, Adopting Agile Billing Powers Business Innovation, we break down consumers' new pricing demands, legacy billing technology limitations, and agile billing solutions' power to drive innovation. We’ll give you an overview here, and we encourage you to download the eBook for even more.

Consumers’ New Pricing Demands

We blogged recently about the rise of the subscription economy, as consumers’ dual focus on convenience and value has led to increasing demand for subscriptions that allow them to use rather than own and that save them time and effort in procuring the goods and services they need.

Across every industry, from luxury vehicles to pet food and treats, businesses are offering their services under these models, which have become so popular that the global e-commerce subscription market is expected to reach $904.28 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of nearly 66 percent. Additionally, a survey from Manifesto Growth Architects found that 70 percent of businesses believe recurring revenue and subscription revenue models are the key to commercial growth.

And yet, for too many companies, the shift to these in-demand models is much easier said than done.

Limitations of Legacy Billing Technology

Despite the promising statistics above, TechCrunch recently reported, “While 70% of business leaders believe subscriptions will be key to their future, only 55% of companies believe they’re ready for the transition.” Primarily, the challenges are driven or exacerbated by businesses' reliance on legacy systems that are not designed to support modern billing needs.

While legacy ERP and accounting systems can easily handle simple billing and revenue recognition needs, they begin to buckle as volume and complexity grow. Further, the rigidity of these software systems makes it difficult to modify or add products and services without leading to SKU proliferation and a logistical circus—much less to do so efficiently enough to avoid missing out on revenue opportunities. This means product and service changes can take significant time to implement, often requiring the businesses to invest in Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to manage pricing, increasing the cost and complexity of introducing new products and pricing models.

Ultimately this means that businesses relying on legacy systems to keep them current face significant maintenance and upgrade costs (not to mention the opportunity costs) that increase management needs and decrease potential revenue. With all the extra time and resources required to make changes, it's impossible to stay ahead of customer demands.

The Power of Agile Billing

The solution for businesses wanting to build or enhance their agility and stay ahead of consumer demands? Agile monetization.

Organizations looking to overcome the limitations of their outdated billing systems would be wise to adopt a SaaS platform to tackle these challenges. For starters:

• Accommodate a wide variety of pricing and billing models
• Change quickly to support evolving processes
• Integrate seamlessly with other business systems and workflows
• Keep offerings organized in a flexible product catalog that doesn’t rely on individual SKUs

The right agile monetization system will automate pricing and billing strategies, allowing business executives to adapt pricing as needed without requiring engineers to modify back-office billing systems. Here are just a few of the many things that makes it possible:

• Test new models and revenue strategies efficiently.
• Shorten time to market, and eliminate the need for costly SMEs.
• Track real-time usage for accurate billing.
• Change of pricing on the fly, as often as you want.

Outmoded billing and financial software can’t keep pace with new business models, and the companies that want to stay ahead will abandon their legacy systems in favor of models that support rather than impede growth. The key to agility in business is being able to experiment with new business offerings, and the right SaaS billing platform enables companies to do just that and more.

To learn more about the power of agile billing to drive innovation, download our free e-book today. Then, when you’re ready, we invite you to take a tour of our platform or request a demo to learn whether the Gotransverse is the right billing partner for your organization.