With the rise of subscription models and the increasing demand for digital transformation, many growing businesses are faced with a question: Is it time to switch to a cloud-based billing system or stick with the traditional on-premise billing for our business? 

A fast-growing business means a bigger customer bases and increased range of product offering or services. We believe that a cloud billing system is more suitable for fast-growing businesses, especially in a rapidly changing and consumer-centric market. 

Take a look at the main differences of these two options.

1. Framework

The setup is the most fundamental distinction between the two billing solutions. For cloud-based solutions, the software is hosted by a vendor in the cloud and businesses access it through their web browser. Meanwhile, on-premise software is purchased and installed on local servers in the company’s physical space. This means that all the maintenance goes to the company, as opposed to cloud billing where this responsibility is on the software vendor. The cost (both in money and time) of purchasing, implementing, maintaining, and often upgrading the servers is a great downside of on-premise billing.

2. Flexibility

You can modify an on-premise system to fit your needs or even install new systems if necessary, but it is most likely that you will have to do it again and again. Each change to on-premise systems cost money and take time, which can delay your business processes. 

A cloud solution is made for change, as it is agile and not a fixed structure so you can make modifications as you go. Changes can be configured easily without the help of a technical expert. It is also designed for companies to track trends and to respond quickly to customer needs, taking advantage of new opportunities in the market.

3. Growth

Elastic scalability is another benefit of cloud billing that supports the growth of businesses. Manual intervention is necessary for on-premise systems when the client base expands (by purchasing and installing new servers). However, if demands sink, you’re stuck with paying for excessive capacity that you don’t need. A cloud-based system is scalable, which means it can add or remove capacity as needed in a short amount of time and marginal cost. This leaves no restriction to your growth, and you would not have to pay for capacity you no longer need. 

Elastic scalability becomes even more vital to the business when it grows and expands internationally. The hassle of dealing with adding new servers or regions to suit local currencies, taxes, land languages is eliminated with a cloud-based solution. 

4. Integration

Many businesses have installations of multiple systems to ensure smooth operation and it is vital that these systems work well together. On-premise systems tend to only work well with solutions that are on the same platform. Therefore, manual data transfer is required when off-platform solutions are needed, which causes another cut on time and budget.

Cloud-based systems, however, are built for integration with other systems, including CRM, ERP, tax payment gateway, and more. This would enable seamless integrations, automated workflows and smooth data transfer.

A few last words

Overall, cloud billing solutions provide more agility and flexibility at a lower cost and less time. We’d like to help you evaluate and analyze your business needs and solutions, streamline operations and introduce growth. Take a look at our platform and contact us for a personalized demo, only for your business.