Who doesn’t need a little excitement?
We’re buzzing with excitement as we introduce Bluefort’s very first fireside chat. It’s the first in a series that will focus on SaaS subscription management, the expansion of our Partnership Program, and what SaaS companies have to gain from joining our family.
The chat features Edward Borg Grech, Bluefort CEO and Nigel Ridpath, Bluefort Business Development Director, and the new Senior Account Executive E.J. Harof.
So what did they talk about? The explosion of the SaaS subscription market, and the challenges that brings including subscription management.
The good news is there’s also a solution that will make things so, so easy.
”Managing subscriptions used to just be for software people, but it’s expanding into all industries. It’s now a very strategic part of the technology spectrum.
EJ HarofSenior Account Executive
Optimization
While AI continues to be one of the buzzword in SaaS, the real monster lurking under our beds – the lack of optimization. Especially in the subscription landscape.
Because that landscape is packed with problems – selling, revenue recognition, and collecting payments. So basically the entire process!
What SaaS companies have been forced to do is act like a plumber at a 500-year-old building. Adding new pipes and joints and bits where they’re needed – an ERP here, a CRM there, a billing platform elsewhere, and something else to optimize customer communication.
Anyone who has ever stayed in a really old building for long enough knows the system is 80% plumbing and 20% functionality. And it’s going to have constant problems, meaning teams spend all their time figuring out where the leaks are coming from. Fixing the hot water. Doing damage control. Figuring out how to hook everything up and keep it running.
And because of scaling, the system just gets bigger, and less manageable. And at some point it’s gonna blow up and everyone will be dripping in gross, brown water.
The real problems
As time goes on it gets harder for a SaaS company to review all their subscription management processes and how they interact with each other? In fact, many wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the last time they were able to do that.
How could they? Their subscription base has grown so fast that they haven’t had times. But what they do know is that ROI is taking a massive hit due to labor costs and mistakes. They’re hemorrhaging money. And maybe the churn’s getting out of control.
Let’s look at how the biggest impacts are seen in finance and sales.
1. Finance
GAH. Accounting standards and revenue recognition. The responsibility of getting the numbers right and compliant is extremely difficult to deal with, without the right tools. They have to recalculate revenue recognition every time a subscription is upgraded or downgraded.
”The thing that the CFO most fears is the tap on the shoulder from the compliance people saying “Are you absolutely sure that these revenue recognition numbers are right?”
Nigel RidpathRevenue Director
And they have to do it for thousands of subscriptions that change constantly. And then there’s the fear of compliance officers questioning the numbers. The errors resulting from an inefficient system can even force finance folks to make sales and product departments limit subscription options. That means a smaller product offering, untold missed revenue opportunities, and unhappy customers who will leave for a better offering.
2. Sales
Whew. From a CRO’s perspective, the sales strategy involves selling a product that a customer doesn’t have. But what’s often overlooked is usage. This means the sales team has to risk pushing products that might be completely unnecessary, missing out on what the customer actually needs.
This means inefficiency and high churn rates. Sales teams are bogged down with admin work instead of selling.
The solution
The solution isn’t just optimization of all these processes – it’s optimization into ONE process.
And this has been at the heart of Bluefort’s development of the only end-to-end subscription management solution out there.
We’re a SaaS subscription company too. We get it. We’ve lived the nightmare. And our journey to this solution came through three key milestones:
- The Scaling epiphany: We realized that the enterprise market was yearning for a solution that could manage everything involved in subscriptions at a large (and always growing) scale.
- Filling the Dynamics 365 gap: Our first customer discovered that Dynamics 365 didn’t meet all their SaaS needs. So, we found a solution that complimented Dynamics.
- Customer-centric viewpoint: We decided to lean into the focus on customer needs first. And it must always stay that way.
Our solution and partnership with GoCardless is designed to streamline the entire subscription process, making it as easy as pie for businesses to get paid with minimal effort.
So how does the solution solve those pain points that plague SaaS companies?
Revenue
Bluefort’s solution automates subscription payments and integrates seamlessly with Dynamics 365. This automation knocks down silos between the teams. It significantly reduces errors. It delivers real-time accurate revenue recognition no matter how many changes. It also eliminates the need for manual data entry because everything from invoicing and billing to payment collection and reconciliation is done automatically.
That means the numbers can always be relied upon. And subscription offerings will never be limited because of a lack of resources. The finance department becomes available to focus on strategic tasks rather than admin.
Sales
Bluefort’s solution addresses these issues by creating opportunities based on usage data and feeding those opportunities to the sales team automatically. All the sales team has to do is sell offerings that they know are suitable for the customer at the right time.
That means more inbound revenue. Happier customers. All leads are managed and tracked.
In other words, no more bad plumbing.
But there’s one more big thing we talked about…
Optimize subscription success and unleash growth. From lead to sale with Buefort’s all-in-one SaaS platform.
Our Partnership Program
Our partner program is constantly growing and we’re loving it! In true Bluefort style, we don’t do one-size-fits-all so we offer three types of partnerships:
Referral partnerships: Perfect for those who stumble upon opportunities that they’d like to pass our way. Think of it as a friendly handshake between businesses. If we end up working with the referral, we send a thank you the referee’s way.
Strategic partnerships: For those looking for teamwork. If they have another partnership prospect and they think our products would fit into the mix, we can join forces and co-sell. It’s all about teamwork!
Implementation partnerships: For those already in Dynamics but feel like a subscription element would add some extra spice. Doesn’t matter if they want to do the implementation themselves or want us to take the reins. And there’s plenty of room for their partners too.
Wrap-up
And there you have it, folks! We’ve chatted about the exciting world of SaaS subscriptions, tackled the challenges, and explored some pretty awesome solutions. But remember, this is just the beginning of our journey together.
As we wrap up our first fireside chat, we hope you’re walking away with a better understanding of the subscription landscape and how to navigate it. More importantly, we hope you feel inspired and ready to take on the SaaS world by storm!
We firmly believe that with a little collaboration and a lot of passion, we can turn any challenge into an opportunity. And isn’t that what the SaaS family is all about?
Now, don’t go too far! We’ve got plenty more chats lined up for you. So keep your eyes peeled and your mugs ready for our next fireside chat. We promise it’s going to be another exciting deep-dive into the world of SaaS.
Until then, keep blazing trails and remember, you’ve got a partner in Bluefort. Together, we can make the subscription world a better place. Cheers to that!
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