Step 1: Choose a Payment Processor

Start with a trusted payment processor that supports subscriptions. Options include:

• Stripe: Great developer tools and subscription support.

• Paddle: Handles payments, taxes, and compliance globally.

• Braintree: Offers flexibility and supports multiple currencies.

Look for ease of integration with your product, support for recurring billing, and compliance features like PCI-DSS.

Step 2: Design a Subscription Model

Decide how you want to charge users:

• Monthly vs. annual billing

• Free trials

• Tiered pricing based on features or usage

Make it easy to upgrade or downgrade plans. This helps reduce friction and improve retention.

Step 3: Handle Global Tax Compliance

If you’re selling to customers in the EU, UK, or Canada, you may need to collect VAT or GST. Platforms like Paddle handle this for you, while Stripe offers plugins and guides to help.

Make sure your invoices are tax-compliant and that you’re registered where needed. A misstep here can lead to costly penalties.

Step 4: Automate Your Billing and Invoicing

Use your payment processor’s billing tools or third-party platforms like Chargebee or Recurly to automate:

• Recurring billing

• Dunning (retry logic for failed payments)

• Invoicing and receipts

This reduces manual work and avoids revenue leakage.

Step 5: Set Up Analytics and Reporting

Track metrics like MRR, churn rate, lifetime value, and average revenue per user (ARPU). Most payment platforms offer dashboards, or you can integrate tools like Baremetrics or ProfitWell.

Clear reporting helps with fundraising, forecasting, and decision-making.

Step 6: Stay Secure and Compliant

Protect customer data by staying PCI compliant and using HTTPS across your app. Limit access to payment data and audit it regularly. If you’re collecting and storing card data yourself, the compliance burden is much higher.