SaaStr

AUGUST 30, 2021

Freshworks had about 44,000 customers on June 31, 2020 and now has 52,500 — 20% growth in customer count in a year. Freshservice on its own crossed $100m in ARR in December 2020. 62% of revenue from annual subscriptions. A reminder that, like Zoom , you don’t have to force annual subscriptions.

Scale 361

Scale SMB Scaling Payment Features 361

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 27, 2025

I saw too many companies implode in 2020–2021 after raising too much too soon and getting out over their skis. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). I used to believe pretty strongly in not overcapitalizing your business too early.

Cloud 157

Cloud Sales Hiring Scale Investment 157

SaaStr

DECEMBER 28, 2019

Q: What were the effects on Adobe’s finances when they switched from a licence purchase to a subscription model? Revenue run rate grew from $4 billion in 2012 to an estimated $14 billion in 2020 (!). The post What were the effects on Adobe’s finances when they switched from a licence purchase to a subscription model?

Finance 162

Finance Deferred Revenue Subscription Payment Features 162

SaaStr

MAY 8, 2021

Squarespace is at $700m ARR and has 3.7m “unique subscriptions” although it’s unclear how many unique customers that is. Wix is at $1B ARR, worth $15B and added 1 million new subscriptions in 2020. Both it and Wix are a bit murky on customer count vs “subscriptions”, but those are the data we have. More here.

SMB 285

SMB SaaS Payment Features Subscription 285

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

Subscriptions can fuel payments and merchant revenue. As more and more SaaS apps add a payments element, that payments element can really scale over time. We can this clearly with Shopify, which waiting all the way until 2020 to really monetize its partner base heavily. It works for Zoom and Slack, too.

Payments 363

Payments Merchant Services Payment Solutions Scale 363

SaaStr

AUGUST 18, 2022

So there were a lot of SPACs in the peak of the 2020/2021 Boom … and then they stopped when the boom end. Finally a SaaS company (at least sort of) with almost 50% of its revenue from subscriptions. But after year of working at it, Getty Images now gets almost half of its revenue from subscriptions. #2. of revenue. #4.

Payment Features 57

Payment Features Subscription Revenue Scaling 57

SaaStr

OCTOBER 14, 2021

And 100 by 2020 and 200 by 2021. 90% of GitLab’s customers pay by subscription — but most still self-manage the deployment. GitLab’s SaaS revenues are still just 20% of their revenues, although that’s up from 9% in 2020. We may see this more often. #4. First $100k customer in 2017. Then 20 by 2018.

Outsourced Development 66

Outsourced Development Software Development Innovation Cloud 66

SaaStr

MARCH 17, 2020

Sendoso previewed the 2020 direct mail and gifting trends from their upcoming “State of Sending” report, scheduled for release on March 31. Blissfully unveiled their SaaS Trends 2020 report, hitting on a few highlights in the virtual presentation. The full report is available at blissfully.com/saas-trends/2020-annual-report/.

Sales Hiring 227

Sales Hiring Scale Payment Features Marketplace as a Service 227

SaaStr

JUNE 22, 2025

When COVID-19 decimated business travel in 2020, Navan could have become another casualty. Instead, the company pivoted aggressively into expense management and payments, expanding beyond its travel roots. The company’s journey reflects the broader transformation of enterprise software during the pandemic era.

B2B 184

B2B Payments SaaS Payments Payment Services 184

SaaStr

OCTOBER 15, 2020

For example, Sage Intacct is compatible with Salesforce1, allowing Sage to automate the SaaS subscription billing life cycle through features such as subscription changes, automatic billing, flexible pricing, and accurate revenue recognition. #3 If your team wasn’t spread out across the country before COVID-19, it probably is now.

Business 325

Business Marketplace as a Service AI Search compliance 325

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 11, 2024

We all know 2020 and 2021 was the year of excessive software buying fueled by ZIRP. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). Companies that do not disclose subscription rev have been left out of the analysis and are listed as NA.

Cloud 167

Cloud Cost optimization & reporting GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Software Review 167

SaaStr

AUGUST 3, 2022

Zoom came out of 2020-2021 with SMBs no longer growing, but a huge boost in the enterprise. during peak Covid in Q3 2020. Payments still materially accelerating overall growth to 16%, and predicting revenue growth from payments and merchant solutions to more than double that of subscriptions and SaaS.

Payment Methods 277

Payment Methods Merchant Services SaaS Payments Payment Solutions 277

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 19, 2024

The graph below shows the median net retention going back to 2020. To calculate implied ARR I take the subscription revenue in a quarter and multiply it by 4. Not every company reports subscription revenue, so they’ve been left out of the analysis (or I’ve estimated their % subscription revenue).

Cloud 318

Cloud GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Software Azure 318

Baremetrics

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Fast forward to today when most software companies use a Subscription as a service (SaaS business model , and things aren’t as simple. You have to deal with recurring payments, multiple pricing plans, annual vs monthly payments, add-ons, variable payments and the list goes on. SaaS analytics tools fill that gap.

Payment Solutions 105

Payment Solutions Merchant Services Systems Review SaaS Payments 105

Chart Mogul

MARCH 30, 2020

So you're building an awesome subscription business — great! Billing is the lifeline of your subscription business. Subscription management platform (optional). A subscription management platform can effectively drive a lot of the pricing model of your product – before we even get to the payment transaction.

Payment Solutions 90

Payment Solutions Merchant Services Payment Features SaaS Payments 90

FastSpring

JUNE 13, 2024

Currently, Apple Pay is enabled on 78% of all iPhones and saw 100% growth from 2020 to 2022. By enabling Apple Pay, sellers can tap into a vast pool of buyers within the Apple ecosystem who are more likely to complete purchases when this payment option is available.

Payment Methods 159

Payment Methods Payments Payment Services Payment Features 159

SaaStr

JANUARY 8, 2021

Snowflake was one of the hottest IPOs in Cloud ever in 2020, rocketing to an $85B+ market cap today! Net net, if your customers want to buy in a consumptive vs. recurring fashion … let them. As long as the NRR is just as high as a subscription model, Wall Street says That’s A-OK today. Subscription or consumption.

Cloud 255

Cloud Payment Features Subscription Enterprise 255

FastSpring

JANUARY 19, 2023

Since it joined FastSpring in early 2020, the company has increased its revenue by 628% and is still growing fast. When NitroPack was first getting started, they used PayPal to accept and process payments. “It Their team needs a payment platform that matches their inventive nature and acts as a growth partner.

Merchant Services 147

Merchant Services Payment Services Payments Payment Features 147

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

The company exploded from 3,000 restaurant locations in 2016 to 40,000 in 2020. Mediocre margins in payments. Fintech is hot, and adding payments to a SaaS solution has turbocharged Shopify, Bill, Wix … and Toast. But Toast sure doesn’t make that much money on payments yet. But it took 6+ years to get there.

Payment Methods 320

Payment Methods Payment Solutions Payments Cloud 320

Chart Mogul

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

Monthly recurring revenue is one of the least exciting topics to take on in 2020. Twitter hive, at @ChartMogul we’ve set out to write the MRR guide for 2020 — something that goes beyond the “How to calculate MRR” that you’re so tired of. — Ilia Markov (@nochainmarkov) August 27, 2020. It is simple (to calculate).

Payments 145

Payments Revenue Payment Features SaaS Payments 145

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

He personally emailed every customer who canceled their Zoom subscription to understand their issues. However, he remained convinced that existing solutions weren’t meeting user needs effectively. Yuan’s approach to building Zoom was heavily influenced by his customer-centric philosophy.

VP of Engineering 258

VP of Engineering Software Engineering Company Culture Engineering 258

SaaStr

JULY 12, 2023

The business exploded during lockdown when in-person tours were more difficult, growing 100% YoY from 2020 to 2021, and the business continues to grow today. Subscription revenue is up just 16%, while services revenues are up 119%. Subscriptions are now down to 52% of revenue, from 60% a year ago. #3. Go Global, folks! #4.

Payment Features 231

Payment Features Subscription Revenue Software 231

Neil Patel

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

In fact, a long and complicated checkout process is the number three reason why consumers abandon their carts in 2020. It’s also vital that the payment gateway is secure because obviously we’re dealing with sensitive data here. This is particularly important in e-commerce where the checkout process needs to be streamlined.

Payment Services 144

Payment Services Merchant Services Payment Methods Technical Review 144

FastSpring

APRIL 11, 2019

We’ve seen explosive growth in the field of subscription and recurring billing with more and more software and SaaS companies discovering how impactful implementing a subscription model can be for their long-term growth plans. To help you make an informed decision, we’re exploring the subscriptions trends in today’s market.

SaaS Payments 98

SaaS Payments Payment Methods Payment Solutions Payments 98

SaaStr

JUNE 5, 2020

It’s hard to imagine a world where analysis didn’t understand recurring, subscription based revenue for technology products. The company is the poster child for subscription-based software, a model that’s gaining popularity among corporate buyers. This CNET article captures the uncertainty well: .

Venture Capital 293

Venture Capital Technical Review SaaS Scale 293

Subscription Flow

JUNE 26, 2024

Did you know that the Dutch payment processing company Mollie was only able to raise $100 million in 2020 as its growth tech investment? Lo and behold, in no time Mollie became the third largest European payment processor (after the fellow Dutch company Adyen and the London-based Checkout.com). So what happened?

Payment Features 52

Payment Features Payment Methods Payment Services Payment Solutions 52

Infinicept

MAY 5, 2022

In early 2020, Visa introduced rules for subscription-based merchants and those that offer free trials before. So it is with card brand rules. What one major brand views as a needed control or mandate is often repeated – perhaps with a nuanced spin – by another.

Merchant Services 98

Merchant Services Branding Subscription Payment Features 98

SaaStr

JUNE 19, 2024

Kelsey joined them as CPO, and they started experimenting with less expensive packages downmarket where customers could go online and set up a subscription. Toby joined Bitly in 2020 as CEO, and they started to lean in and push hard into the PLG motion. They got great early signal, and it was transformative. It wasn’t good.

Scale 294

Scale Scaling Underperforming Technical Team User Experience 294

SaaSX

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

In 2020, your data has never been safer or easier to use, emerging trends have never been more exciting, and we’ve never been more connected to the people around us. It could be argued that the biggest technological advance the 2010s brought was the rise of cloud computing and cloud-based subscription services. Camille Nicita.

Trends 120

Trends Artificial Intelligence SaaS Mobile 120

Intercom, Inc.

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Subscription services have been steadily on the rise for years now. Keeping that going during a time of social distancing might seem like a challenge, but Harmon and team have already been building the infrastructure they need to continue offering those social experiences for years – via personalized subscription services.

B2C 221

B2C Outsourced Development Payment Features Subscription 221

Buffer Resources

AUGUST 16, 2023

We’ve shared a number of parts of Buffer’s business transparently over the years — and one piece we’ve always wanted to expand on is where your money goes when you pay for a Buffer subscription.

Merchant Services 98

Merchant Services Payment Services Payment Features Payments 98

SaaSOptics

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is one of many ways to measure your predictable revenue stream. Its primary purpose is to permit performance reporting across dissimilar subscription terms (e.g. The contract starts on May 1, 2020 and ends on April 30, 2021. How much Monthly Recurring Revenue was added and when?

Subscription 86

Subscription Payment Features Business Systems Review 86

FastSpring

OCTOBER 21, 2020

Invoice Issue Date: To improve the buyer experience, invoices will now include the original order date as “Issued: [date]” under the order ID in the top left corner. Taiwan e-Invoicing Compliance: FastSpring is now compliant with the Taiwan Ministry of Finance (MoF) eGUI and e-invoicing requirements.

Payment Features 78

Payment Features Payment Services Payment Solutions Payments 78

Unbounce

MARCH 2, 2020

To get the best possible conversion rate in 2020, you need to explain the complexities of your software without boring the pants off your prospects. And SaaS marketers are getting better at all of the above in 2020. SaaS Landing Page Trends in 2020 [A Qualitative Look]. It’s no easy task. But it is possible. million conversions.

SaaS 145

SaaS Software Review Consulting Machine Learning 145

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

“The Current State of SaaS Companies, Subscriptions and Retention with ProfitWell” Patrick Campbell joined SaaStr for a terrific update from his prior data and report from 2020. Jyoti will be back at SaaStrBuild.com Mar 9-10 so join us there! #10.

Acquisition 236

Acquisition Payment Features Subscription Trends 236

FastSpring

DECEMBER 22, 2020

2020 was a year unlike any we’ve experienced before, that tested all of us in ways we couldn’t have imagined twelve months ago. Not only did our customers thrive in 2020, but they also did so at a record level. The isolation, stress, and unpredictability of 2020 were unprecedented. We added three new executives to our team.

Payment Methods 131

Payment Methods Payment Services Payment Solutions Payments 131

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

In the past (2015 - 2020), companies would typically beat a quarter by 3-4% and raise guidance for the next quarter by about 2%. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). It’s still really difficult to sell software.

Cloud 252

Cloud Forecasting Metrics Payment Features 252