SaaS Platforms
A Subscription Product on a Foundation That Will Last
We define what the first version must prove, then build the accounts, billing, permissions and support tools it rests on, so that you launch a real product and retain control of it.
Our Point of View
A subscription product is shaped by decisions made before the first feature. We settle how customer data is separated and who may do what early, while change is still inexpensive.
The Situation
The idea behind a software product is usually simple. Most of the build goes into what surrounds it: accounts, teams, billing, permissions and the tools a support team needs. These elements determine whether a first customer can be served properly and whether the product can grow on the same foundation.
Our Approach
We separate two questions. The first is what the initial version must prove, and we focus the build on that. The second is what belongs in from the start, which includes keeping each customer's data separate, along with monitoring and backups from the first release. You own the code, the data and the accounts from the first day.
What We Deliver
From First Version to a Product You Control
How We Engage
Your First Version in Four Weeks
A first working version of the product arrives within four weeks. A launch-ready subscription product is planned across twelve, because billing, data separation and admin tools must be dependable before customers arrive.
Configuration on Your Data
We stand up the platform and load it with data representative of your business. By the close of week one, your stakeholders are reviewing a working system.
Expected Outcomes
What Leadership Should Expect to See
A Foundation Built to Last
Accounts, permissions and separate customer data are settled early, which prevents an expensive rewrite when customers arrive.
Clear Sight of How Customers Use the Product
Analytics show how customers use the product and where they drop off, so that the next investment follows the evidence.
Full Control of What You Launch
Source code and documentation are handed to you, so that you may move to your own team or to another supplier whenever you choose.
Industries
Where This Work Applies
Institutions subscribing to a learning product expect their records to remain separate from every other institution's, with distinct roles for staff and learners.
Firms turning their expertise into a subscription need plans, invoices and usage limits, along with screens for helping clients without touching the database.
Customer records call for strict separation and a clear account of who can see what, which we design in from the start.
Insights
Perspectives on Subscription Products
Perspective · 4-minute read
Free Your Plan Catalogue From the Billing Core and Sell the Plans Your Market Wants
ExpandA billing system can decide which plans you sell without anyone choosing it. We map what you run, then modernise in stages so that new plans reach customers sooner.
Perspective · 5-minute read
Plan Customer Education on the Product Roadmap and Release It With Each Feature
ExpandEducation belongs on the roadmap, where teaching a feature and simplifying it are weighed openly. We build the learning platform that lets it ship with each release.
Perspective · 4-minute read
Treat Subscription Billing as a Product With an Owner, and Launch With It Ready
ExpandBilling behaves like a product, with its own rules and its own failures. We build the subscription model into the first version, with an owner, so your commercial rules are yours.
Guide · 4-minute read
Tenant Isolation Is Settled in the First Week, and We Build It Into Your First Release
ExpandThe first migrations decide whether one customer can ever see another's data. We settle the model, put tenant context in every table and test with two tenants from the start.
Guide · 4-minute read
Usage-Based Pricing Works When You Can Rebuild Any Invoice From the Raw Events
ExpandUsage pricing turns an event stream into a financial record. We settle the billable unit in writing and build the meter as its own record, so every invoice can be explained.
Perspective · 5-minute read
Settle Tenancy, Separation and Roles First, Then Build the Features on Top
ExpandA subscription product's first decisions are made before its first feature: what a customer is, how data is kept apart and who may do what. We settle them early, while change is cheap.
Frequently Asked
Questions From Prospective Clients
How Small Can the First Version of the Subscription Product Be?
What Will Exist at Week Four, and What Does the Remainder of the Twelve Weeks Add?
Can Separating Each Customer's Data Wait Until After the First Version?
Will Plans, Invoices and Usage Limits Be in Place Before We Charge Our First Customer?
Can Our Support Team Resolve Customer Issues Without an Engineer Touching the Database?
Who Holds the Source Code and Customer Accounts If the Product Later Moves to Our Own Team?
Will We Be Able to See Where Customers Drop Off in the Product?
Explore Further
Related Services
Custom Software
Software shaped around your process, for the part of the work that off-the-shelf tools cannot handle, and owned by you.
Web Applications
Portals, dashboards and internal tools that run in any browser, with nothing to install and a record of every action.
Desktop Applications
Windows, macOS and Linux applications that work offline, reach local files and hardware, and update themselves safely.
Next Step
Book an Appointment
Arrange a complimentary 30-minute conversation, with no obligation. You will leave with a candid view on whether the initiative is worth building and, if it is, a scope and a date, with the cost worked out together on the call. Alternatively, send an enquiry and we will respond.