Scaled Commerce

Scaled Commerce runs a subscription platform for software companies that want recurring revenue instead of depending on a new release every year. The company says it covers the whole path a customer follows, from checkout and billing through account management, customer service and license management. The platform is hosted on Google Cloud and is sold as a turnkey service that the company maintains on behalf of the publisher.

Recurring billing for software publishers

The platform handles purchasing and recurring billing together. Its engine is designed to automate dunning, which is the process of chasing failed payments, and the company says these tools help reduce customer churn and keep customers for longer. Subscriptions, rent-to-own and perpetual plans can all be run through the same system, which lets a publisher move a product onto subscription or add a payment option without rebuilding its store.

The company also estimates recurring revenue a month in advance, so a publisher can plan its cash flow. Cost per acquisition tools show which marketing efforts bring in profitable customers, according to the company.

License management and software protection

Licensing is a central part of the offer. The company offers digital rights management and entitlement integrations with providers such as iLok and Wibu, so that software is fulfilled automatically after purchase and its entitlements are managed without manual steps. The company says it supports both online and offline products, which matters for desktop software that runs without a constant connection.

A branded cart and customer dashboard

The platform provides a white-labeled customer dashboard, where buyers manage their plans and accounts under the publisher's own brand. A headless cart supports checkout inside the publisher's own pages. A promotions module can apply fixed or percentage discount rules in several currencies and can target segments of customers, with more than thirty predefined segments for telling active customers from lapsed ones.

Data, webhooks and the CRM

Every transaction can send a webhook, and a REST application programming interface gives publishers their customer data in real time. Built-in customer relationship management and customer service tools keep a record of each customer's spending and purchase history, and they handle plan changes, license changes, refunds and credits. The company also offers a reseller portal and quote-to-cash features designed around subscriptions.

The company says some publishers can build a service platform themselves, but it argues that a maintained, turnkey service lets a publisher spend its time on new products.