What is Salesforce Subscription Management?

Author

mirketa

August 7, 2023

What is Salesforce Subscription Management?

Salesforce Subscription Management allows businesses to efficiently manage subscriptions, including order processing, billing, and renewals, within the Salesforce platform. This solution automates recurring revenue tasks and streamlines processes, enabling businesses to enhance customer experience throughout the subscription lifecycle.

As part of Salesforce Revenue Cloud, Salesforce Subscription Management integrates crucial touchpoints between businesses and their customers. It simplifies customer interactions across billing, collections, and approvals, ensuring a unified and scalable process for managing subscription products. By utilizing this platform, businesses can automate invoicing, revenue recognition, and self-service capabilities, thus driving growth and enhancing the entire purchasing journey.

Key Features of Salesforce Subscription Management

Subscription Creation

Salesforce Revenue Cloud supports the creation and management of various subscription plans tailored to customer needs. Businesses can define subscription pricing, terms, and conditions for different tiers or packages.

Order Management

End-to-end order management is streamlined. Revenue Cloud processes subscription orders, manages amendments, and ensures accurate fulfillment.

Billing and Invoicing

The platform automates billing and invoicing, calculating recurring charges, discounts, and proration adjustments as needed, ensuring that businesses can easily manage subscriptions.

Revenue Recognition

Automated revenue recognition ensures compliance with accounting standards. The platform provides visibility into revenue streams and helps businesses accurately recognize revenue from subscription sales.

Subscription Renewals and Expirations

The system tracks subscription renewal dates, sends reminders, and simplifies the renewal process. Expirations are also managed efficiently, with opportunities for renewal or upsell.

Customer Self-Service

Self-service capabilities empower customers to manage their subscriptions. Customers can upgrade or downgrade, modify payment options, and access billing information, all via self-service portals.

Revenue Cloud Powering Subscription Management

Salesforce Revenue Cloud, introduced in 2020, combines CPQ, Billing, Partner Relationship Management, and B2B Commerce functionalities. This enables businesses to optimize revenue streams and streamline processes across sales channels. As part of the Salesforce Customer 360 platform, it enhances revenue management strategies while driving business growth.

Key Subscription Aspects in Revenue Cloud

Subscription Creation: Tailor subscription plans based on customer preferences.
Order Management: Handle all aspects of subscription order processing and fulfillment.
Billing & Invoicing: Automate recurring charges and invoice creation.
Revenue Recognition: Comply with accounting standards through automation.
Renewals & Expirations: Manage and track subscriptions with automated reminders.
Self-Service: Provide customers with tools to manage their accounts directly.

Getting Started with Salesforce Subscription Management

Editions and Permissions

Salesforce Subscription Management is available in Lightning Experience for Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions, with a Subscription Management license in Sales Cloud and Service Cloud.

Accessing Subscription Management:

Navigate to the setup menu and use Quick Find to search for “General Settings” under Subscription Management.
Enable “New Order Save Behaviour” to activate the necessary automation for order changes and updates.

Key Features in Subscription Management

Estimated Tax Inclusion: Include taxes in subscription quotes for accurate pricing.
Automated Payment Schedules: Automatically generate payment schedules for seamless invoicing.
Negative Invoice Lines: Convert negative invoice lines into credit memos for smooth credit handling.
Automated Refunds: Handle refunds and balance settlements automatically when changes occur.
Streamlined Billing Functions: Suppress unnecessary billing schedules for simplified management.

Benefits of Salesforce Subscription Management

Facilitates customer self-service for acquiring, upgrading, and managing subscription products via e-commerce and mobile platforms.
Enhances subscription business models by automating billing, collections, and approvals.
Centralizes self-service experiences, making it easier for customers to manage their subscriptions.
Empowers businesses with full control over billing, ensuring a smooth subscription lifecycle.

Conclusion

Salesforce Subscription Management is an essential tool for businesses dealing with recurring revenue. It simplifies the management of subscription services from start to finish, including billing, invoicing, and renewals. By leveraging Salesforce Revenue Cloud’s powerful features, businesses can optimize revenue streams, enhance customer experiences, and scale their subscription models effortlessly.

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