)){kind=small}
From everyday consumer goods to mobility and industrial equipment, products are increasingly offered through subscriptions or lease models. What is well established in the consumer market is now firmly embedded in B2B. Suppliers of machinery, security systems and technical installations are shifting from one-off sales to recurring revenue models.
For customers, this lowers the barrier to purchase. For suppliers, it creates more predictable revenue and longer-term customer relationships. These advantages only materialise when invoicing, payment processing and follow-up are designed to support a subscription model.
The impact of subscriptions on invoicing
A one-off sale generates one invoice and one payment. A subscription model results in consistently higher volumes and a fundamentally different operational rhythm.
A simple example illustrates this:
Suppose you sell 100 new subscriptions per day and invoice monthly. That equates to roughly 3,000 new subscriptions each month. Within a year, you build up to around 36,000 active subscriptions, generating 36,000 invoices in month twelve alone. Across the first year, this results in approximately 234,000 invoices.
Even at lower volumes, workload increases quickly if processes are not designed to scale.
The impact on payment processing and accounts receivable
With subscriptions, direct debit is usually the default payment method. Payment processing therefore becomes cycle-driven rather than transaction-driven, requiring continuous monitoring of recurring collection runs.
While the majority of collections are successful, higher volumes inevitably lead to more failed direct debits and chargebacks. These reopen previously settled items, require additional follow-up and increase pressure on accounts receivable.
Higher volume means greater complexity
Subscriptions drive not only higher volumes, but structural complexity. Upgrades, downgrades, mid-term changes and the reconciliation of previously paid amounts must be processed consistently, with future payment instructions adjusted accordingly.
Without end-to-end system support, exceptions multiply and operational pressure rises faster than revenue. As a result, part of the additional income is absorbed by manual intervention and corrections, directly affecting margin and customer experience.
Why traditional systems fall short
Many financial systems are built around one-off transactions and fixed invoicing moments. They lack the subscription logic required to manage changes, cancellations, discounts and price adjustments consistently throughout the contract term.
The result is limited scalability, manual intervention and fragmented system landscapes supported by spreadsheets and workarounds.
The solution: Abillity® for subscription invoicing and collections
With Abillity®, FIQAS provides an integrated solution specifically designed for subscription models.
Subscriptions are configured easily. Invoices are generated automatically. Direct debits are processed and matched immediately. Unpaid invoices follow an automated workflow, with room for tailored actions where necessary.
This ensures the process remains scalable, transparent and under control — even as volumes grow.
Selling subscriptions with scalable invoicing and payment processing
A subscription model is commercially attractive, but only if invoicing, payment processing and follow-up are designed to scale from the start. With the right automation, volume grows — not complexity.
Considering a subscription model? Assess the impact on your order-to-cash process early.
