2 builders who never spoke to each other

Settle the payment plumbing before signups start

Support exactly one card processor, take the card at signup, and decline the cheque and the bank transfer, because each extra route costs more in overhead than the customer is worth. Taking payment details up front also spares you building the chase and freeze workflow for trials that expire. Pick a provider that handles sales tax and quotes local currency so buyers abroad see a price they recognise.

The method

1. 01

   Choose a payment provider that absorbs sales tax and quotes local currency, so a buyer in each country sees a price they recognise.

2. 02

   Support exactly one payment method and take a card at signup; when a customer asks to pay by cheque or PayPal, decline because the overhead is not worth it.

3. 03

   Require a card at signup rather than after the trial: dropping the card requirement multiplies signups but most are not buyers, and with manual onboarding that means far more support work for a marginal gain in paying customers.

4. 04

   Taking the card at signup also spares you building the chase-and-freeze workflow for expired trials; just let the subscription start automatically when the trial ends unless they cancel.

What it returned

• Picked Paddle over Stripe for MDX.one: it handles the tax side and quotes rupees in India and dollars in the US.

• The author suggests Stripe as the one processor

• The author estimates ten times the support load in exchange for a couple of extra percentage points of lasting paid conversion, and says the trade-off is only worth retesting once onboarding is automated

Sources

• May 2021: Retrospective & Income ReportBhanu Teja · bhanuteja.dev · What I got done during May · undated
• Micro-SaaS Ebook: from Idea to Shipping a Minimum Viable ProductTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · Other common features that you can skip · 2016-11-29