Challenge

Before starting AutoKlose, Shawn’s database company used Xero for accounting purposes, Stripe for payment processing, and Recurly for subscription management. However, Shawn knew that Reculy’s system wasn’t meeting his needs because it didn’t have the flexibility he required and it could not interface with Xero. Before launching AutoKlose, Shawn asked his Chief Technical Officer to find a better solution.

After demonstrations and trial subscriptions with a few products, the CTO and Shawn selected ChargeOver because of its simplicity of use, management of multiple subscriptions, and its integration with Xero.

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Solution

When Shawn added the email and marketing tools management piece to his popular database, he wanted to get this new business off on the right foot and selected ChargeOver to manage the subscriptions and interface with Xero. The onboarding process with ChargeOver was extremely smooth. 

“Our account manager was really helpful and made onboarding flawless. The support team was really understanding of our unique needs and helped to customize ChargeOver around them.” Shawn Finder, Founder, and CEO of AutoKlose

An effective integration between ChargeOver and Xero was critical to AutoKlose, and ChargeOver delivered. “The integration was easy,” Shawn said. “It allows us to push all of our transactions to Xero. We only have to go into Xero at the end of the month to finish our accounting processes because ChargeOver does the rest for us.” In addition, because the integration is so in-depth, and because of how smoothly ChargeOver handles automating the billing process on its own, the accounting team doesn’t have to spend much time or manpower in ChargeOver either!

This interconnection between Xero and ChargeOver delivers the information that Shawn and his team need to forecast revenues and review subscription streams. Shawn explained, “Because of the integration with ChargeOver, I can go into Xero and see the revenue we received from a specific type of subscription. We can also see how many clients we have on each different plan and which revenue stream is working best. We use this information to determine the best payment plans for our clients.” Before ChargeOver, this level of data wasn’t available without a significant investment of employee hours. Now this information is just a click away.

ChargeOver also helps the company integrate its two sources of new clients: website purchases and sales calls. “If someone goes to our website for a 14-day trial, ChargeOver automatically creates a customer account. When a customer purchases a subscription after the trial period ends, ChargeOver automatically assigns a subscription number to the account, which is then sent to the administration side of AutoKlose so we know what subscription they are on,” Shawn explained. “When we acquire a new user by phone or without people using the 14-day trial option, we create this customer inside ChargeOver, which is easy to do with the user interface.” Both processes are now streamlined and the data is automatically available in Xero.

In addition, ChargeOver provides AutoKlose with the flexibility to meet the unique needs of its customers. “Most clients pay monthly but we have a client who wanted to pay net 60. The problem was that I didn’t want them to continue to receive invoices and reminders at the 30 day period when they are net 60,” Shawn said. “The solution was easy with ChargeOver because we simply turned the dunning off for that customer. That feature is very useful for this reason and it is also helpful if someone states they want to purchase but then needs to postpone or pause their subscription.” With ChargeOver, AutoKlose can be responsive to customer needs, which increases satisfaction and retention.

ChargeOver also helps to manage the subscription and payment process. Automatic notices are sent if the customer’s credit card has expired and reminder notices are sent until the issue is resolved. The system automatically suspends the account if it isn’t paid within 45 days. “With ChargeOver it’s almost like having an employee manage these processes because we don’t have to do anything manually to address these issues,” Shawn said. “Before ChargeOver, I did this work myself.”

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Result

Using ChargeOver to manage AutoKlose’s recurring billing has resulted in lower operational costs for the company. There is one less person in their accounting department because there is no longer a need for someone to follow up on delinquent accounts or gather information for financial reports. With ChargeOver and its integration with Xero, all of their subscription and financial data is available within moments. “It’s great to have all of our customers in one place, knowing where they are and which subscription they are on as well as the timing of their next invoice date,” explained Shawn. “This information helps us with our forecasting and reporting with all of our different subscription plans.”

When asked if he would recommend ChargeOver to other businesses, Shawn Finder responded by saying, “Absolutely I would! It’s easy to track and forecast all of your revenue in one place and also track all of the subscriptions you have.” He went on to state, “The way the user interface has been developed makes it really easy to use.”

It’s clear to see that ChargeOver has improved AutoKlose’s operations by reducing costs and frustrations while increasing accessibility to the information necessary to help grow and manage their business. ChargeOver’s seamless integration with Xero was a critical factor in this success, along with the automation of actions that improve cash flow and manage subscriptions.

“Without ChargeOver there would be a lot of manual work required just to get a monthly financial report together. Now everything is in one place for us so we can keep track of key data points and make the right decisions within the company by looking at our reports. ChargeOver helps us focus on the business rather than the paperwork.” Shawn Finder, Founder and CEO of AutoKlose