Manage Recurring Subscriptions Easily

Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce Essential Edition handles every aspect of recurring billing for your SaaS or Web 2.0 company so you can focus on growing your business instead of building a billing system. The Essentials Edition supports free trial periods, one-time fees, promotions, discounts, refunds, sales tax, multiple subscription plans, and automated renewal management with email notifications.

Automate Recurring Payments for Credit Cards and ACH Effortlessly

Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce Essentials Edition supports all types of payments, including cash, check, credit card, debit card, ACH, and wire transfer. The Essentials Edition enables you to choose payment gateways from Authorize.net or PayPal, two of the most reputable payment gateways in the online recurring billing space. Other gateway providers are also available as optional custom configuration. PCI compliant storage of your customer's billing information so you don't have to worry about the liability associated with managing it yourself. Strong encryption ensures all your communications and data are secure.

With the Essentials Edition, you can easily stay on top of recurring credit card or ACH payments with payment reports designed for the complexities of recurring payments, and our automated dunning management capabilities that handle all potential payment failure situations for credit cards and ACH, and lets you send configurable notifications for each event. You can send notifications in advance of credit card expiration, so your customer can securely login and update their payment information. Automation that saves you time, keeps you on top of cash flow, and helps retain customers.

Seamlessly Integrate Recurring Billing & Payments into Your Website with our APIs

Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce Essentials Edition web services API makes it easy for you to integrate your SaaS application with Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce. Use our API to manage products, create subscriptions, support customers, and process payments. Robust API documentation ensures cloud developers have all the resources they need to integrate Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce in their SaaS application.

Gain Realtime Insight into Your Subscription Business

With Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce Essentials Edition you will always know how your subscription business is performing. Real-time access to all your customer and business data ensures you are never surprised. Reporting tools identify trends concerning sign-ups and cancellations to help your business grow. Product and pricing reports show you which subscriptions are performing best.

Branded Quickstart Web Pages for Non-Developers

Connect:SM for Cloud Commerce Essentials Edition provides an optional package that includes complete, end-to-end customer registration, customer care, and all back office functions using brandable web pages so that you can get up and running with a minimum of integration effort. This is the easiest way to start offering subscriptions and collecting recurring payments from your customers.

How does Connect:SM Essentials work with my existing website?

There are two options for integrating Connect:SM Essentials into your existing website. 1) The easiest and quickest way is to link your website to the Essentials Branded Quickstart Web Pages. 2) For the more technically savvy, integrating using our APIs gives you the ability to seamlessly integrate Connect:SM Essentials features and functionality into your SaaS application.

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Is my billing data secure?

Yes, Connect:SM Essentials is PCI compliant so you don't have to worry about managing this sensitive billing information. We use strong encryption for all sensitive customer data and transactions and host Connect:SM Essentials in a SAS 70 certified data center.

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What happens when a customer's credit card or ACH payment fails?

Online transactions fail for a number of reasons: there could be a problem with the credit card used or ACH information provided, your online payment gateway settings, or your merchant account. If there is a problem with the customer's credit card or ACH information, Connect:SM Essentials captures the error code information from the payment gateway and generates a report listing what problems caused the payment to fail so you can take action to remedy the situation. Connect:SM Essentials also enables you to link processing or dunning actions to certain failure codes to automate the process of correcting failed payments. Some failure codes simply require re-submitting the transaction, while other codes might require sending out an automated email notification asking the customer to take action to correct the problem. Connect:SM Essentials gives you control over how you handle failed payments and the associated dunning process.

Can I accept ACH payments with Connect:SM Essentials?

Yes, you have two options available to you. 1) sign up for Authorize.net's electronic check service. 2) sign up and get a merchant account through one of BillWise's certified ACH processors. A third option is PayPal since it works with member bank accounts, but the processing fees are higher with PayPal than with a traditional ACH processor which are also much lower than credit card processing fees.

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Besides the fees for Connect:SM Essentials, what other fees should I anticipate incurring?

Separate from Connect:SM Essentials, you will incur recurring fees for hosting your SaaS application and you will incur transaction fees relating to credit card and ACH processing from Authorize.net, PayPal, or another payment gateway service. If you use other 3rd party provided services, you may have fees associated with transactions.

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Why should I choose Connect:SM Essentials over one of the other entry level subscription billing products available on the market?

Most importantly, because Connect:SM Essentials doesn't lock you into an entry level billing product that doesn't scale or offer an upgrade path as your business expands and adds complexity. Because Connect:SM Essentials is part of the Connect:SM product line, you can easily upgrade to the Professional or Enterprise Editions when you need more advanced capabilities such as usage processing, multiple currency support, advanced taxation, reseller support, or product packages and bundles to name a few of the many features and functions available within the Connect:SM family of SaaS billing products.

How long does it take before I can start using Connect:SM Essentials after registering?

Once you have completed the basic configuration, you can start using Connect:SM Essentials almost immediately if you have a merchant account and Authorize.net or Paypal account active. Just input your merchant credentials into Connect:SM Essentials, setup your products and subscription plans, and start taking customer orders. If you don't have a merchant account or account with Authorize.net or PayPal, you can still setup products and subscription plans, define pricing, etc. and use Connect:SM Essentials as a post-pay recurring transaction invoice billing system until you are established to accept credit card payments.

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How many customers and transactions can I bill with Connect:SM Essentials?

Unlimited. Unlike other entry level subscription billing services, Connect:SM Essentials doesn't place any cap on how many customers or transactions you can process in the application. Our pricing structure has a reasonable minimum monthly fee and uses tiered pricing based on number of active subscribers supported.

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Can I use Connect:SM Essentials if I don't accept credit cards or ACH payments?

Yes, Connect:SM Essentials provides all the automation and capabilities needed to generate charges for invoices and handle accounts receivable, payments, and collections activity.