Unpacking the B2B Payment Process

Charging customers effectively involves navigating a complex system of interrelated components, including metering, billing, invoicing, and payments, each with distinct roles and challenges. Metering involves collecting and accounting for billable events, billing determines the amount and timing of charges, invoicing provides a legal document of the owed balance, and payments involve the actual transfer of money from customers. The process is complicated by inconsistent terminology, legacy pricing models, and the need to integrate various systems and platforms, such as third-party payment processors like Stripe. Usage-based pricing models, which often involve charging customers based on metrics like API requests or the number of users, exemplify the necessity of these components working in harmony. A billing engine is often recommended as the central piece in this ecosystem, as it serves as the primary source of truth that other components either feed into or output from, ensuring a systematic and coherent approach to handling customer charges.