How to Use One-Time Payments to Increase SaaS Sales

To incorporate a one-time payment option in your SaaS company, you have to make sure that it is compatible with the types of products and customers that the regular subscriptions do not cover.  This is necessary because depending only on monthly or annual payments might miss customers who would like to pay just once.

This guide outlines the process of creating, setting up, and adjusting a one-time payment model that can enhance income and customer reach.

The decision about whether to use a one-time fee or a subscription is dependent on how the customer values the feature. In the software world, a one-time payment refers to a single payment for a product that is fully completed at once and does not require continuous hosting or periodic updates. This enables businesses to access alternate sources of income outside the sale of services or products, which may be particularly applicable for digital goods or single-service offerings.

Focusing on products requiring less long-term maintenance may correlate with sustained profit levels from individual sales.

In order to understand if a function is appropriate for a single payment, consider asking these questions:  

• Does the feature require hosting, cloud computing, or API calls?  If so, the feature should be split into a subscription; if not, it can be a one-time purchase with eenmalige betalingen.  
• Does this value get delivered all of a sudden, or does it get eroded slowly?  In the first case, it is useful for a one-time fee (for example, a single installation cost); otherwise, it should be for a subscription (for example, continuous use of the service).  
• Does this feature require any special products, updates, or infrastructure?  If the answer is yes, it is viable for a one-time license; if the answer is in the negative, then it should be saved for a subscription.  

Focus on Complete Value: Find features that offer full value and don’t need continuous server power or a lot of development work.

Targeted Users: Consider creating a one time license for people who use the software infrequently or who want to avoid the expense of a subscription but do not want to miss out on the benefits of the software. This kind of model addresses the problem of too many subscriptions (subscription fatigue).

The choice to provide only a subscription or a one-time purchase has some disadvantages. In fact, the subscription limits the money you get upfront, and a pure one-time fee restrains the profits and income in general.

The solution is to implement hybrid pricing, a plan that includes elements of both markets, and thus attracts customers with different amounts of money available and levels of commitment. This strategy reduces the effect of depending on one source of income and increases the SaaS Customer Lifetime Value, meaning the total amount earned from each customer over time. 

One option is to offer core functionality as a subscription and extra features as a one-time purchase. Clients tend to select options that align with their perceived needs.

Lifetime Deals: involve a one-time payment for a product license valid for the project’s duration, alongside standard subscription options. This can result in a significant amount of initial capital that may be used to offset investment and development expenses.

Add-Ons and Upgrades: Offer a one-time payment for an extra feature that a customer can purchase in addition to their subscription.

For example, charging a single fee for a new customer to access all old data records.

In order to carry out both recurring payments and a single payment, your SaaS company needs a strong, flexible billing system, which is capable of performing both types of operations seamlessly.  The presence of this kind of system helps data organization and relates to clarity in the creation of invoices, renewals, and legal issues pertinent to these transaction types. This way, you will have better financial records and get the most out of what each customer brings in.

It saves everybody’s time and makes it possible to focus on product improvement, rather than on finding solutions to problems with the payment process.

• Select a Unified Platform: Prefer a solution that manages both subscription billing (including partial fees, failed payment attempts, and cancellations) and single invoices without trouble. This will reduce the effort required and makes integration simple.
• Global Compliance and Tax Automation: For SaaS selling worldwide, the payment processor must handle different tax rules (like VAT) and accept payments in different currencies.  A reliable payment, subscription, and tax solution like PayPro Global provides this functionality, supporting more than 140 currencies and 70 payment methods for processing internationale betalingen, and also handling global SaaS sales tax as a Merchant of Record.
• Make Checkout Easy: Since in the case of one-time payments, there is just one opportunity to complete the sale, it is important to keep the checkout brief. A guest checkout that asks for very little information leads users to proceed easily and quickly with the purchase, reducing cart abandonment rates.

A significant consideration regarding permanent one-time licenses is the provision of ongoing support en new features without a recurring revenue stream from the user. To avoid losing money on support, the SaaS business should differentiate the license for the software from the support and update services. This ensures that the costs of providing support are covered, which is usually through an optional, periodic payment.

It is advisable to explain the terms in the very beginning to avoid customer confusion and keep the development on track.

Establish Paid Service Tiers: Consider separating software access from maintenance and support offerings. Be specific about what the first payment includes. In addition to the standard version, offer a recurring subscription plan for:  

• Ongoing Support: Issue resolution assistance is provided during the first period (e.g. 90 days).
• Major Updates/Upgrades: Access to future versions or new feature releases (e.g., V2.0) that have been released after the initial purchase. 

Define “Ownership”: Be clear about what the one-time payment covers. For example, a single payment grants access to the software for version 1.0 only, but in order to maintain that access in the future, it is requested to subscribe to a recurring payment or make another one-time payment to upgrade to version 2.0. This type of plan can provide the SaaS business with financial resources for ongoing development.