m3ter Reference Architecture for Quote-to-Cash

m3ter’s typical customer is a B2B SaaS company that has reached a stage of maturity where they have high levels of pricing and billing complexity.  They have annual revenues in excess of $100M (or are on a path to get there soon) and they have established strong sales, finance and operations functions. They have graduated to Salesforce as their primary sales system, NetSuite (or SAP, Oracle, or Sage) as their primary finance system, and may have a subscription billing platform (such as Zuora) sitting between them.   They have pricing SKU proliferation due to multiple products and a high volume of custom pricing deals for enterprise customers.  They have usage-based components in their pricing (which is now the case for over 60% of B2B SaaS companies). Sound like you?

m3ter appeals to these companies because we offer: 1/ bulletproof usage data processing infrastructure, 2/ automated rating with extreme pricing and billing configuration flexibility, 3/ an integration layer that automates data flows between systems such as Salesforce and NetSuite, and 4/ an engagement model that inspires confidence.

It is the 4th point that has motivated the creation of this reference architecture. As we engage with companies like these in sales cycles we find they are asking our advice about how to optimise their quote-to-cash processes. They respect our expertise and want our opinion about how they should architect their quote-to-cash stacks.

In response we have created this reference architecture, which outlines how m3ter believes processes, systems and data flows should be configured to optimize the quote-to-cash stack for a mid-size or enterprise B2B SaaS business. The architecture starts at a high level, outlining how the various components of the stack fit together, and then drills down into the lower level object model that spans the various systems, showing how they should interact and how data should flow between them.

Companies that roll out this architecture will have an advantage over their competitors due to their greater command of monetization. Most companies struggle to implement and manage modern pricing strategies because they are hamstrung by their Quote-to-Cash stacks.  This architecture, achievable with minor surgery and using existing systems, unblocks you. 

The benefits to the customer of implementing this architecture include:

1. More efficient, more automated quote-to-cash processes
2. Fewer billing errors
3. Less revenue leakage
4. Faster time to quote
5. Faster deal close rates
6. Faster time to payment
7. Faster month-end closing rates
8. Higher level of support for compliance and audit standards 
9. More accurate reporting data
10. 360 degree view of the customer so that customer-facing roles can make better, faster, and more informed decisions