2Checkout review

2Checkout is an online payment processing company that offers business users the ability to process transactions at any time, as well as manage subscription packages. The company has been in existence for around 14 years and was recently acquired by Verifone. According to 2Checkout the ownership should mean that the business will be able to boost its payment and e-commerce solutions moving forwards. 

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As it stands, 2Checkout currently lists over 20,000 clients on its roster, has 4 office locations around the world and provides e-commerce services in over 180 countries. The self-proclaimed all-in-one monetization platform is certainly aimed at making the payments journey that little bit easier, with a strong focus on ease of use.

Pricing

You can select one of three different commerce packages from 2Checkout currently. The base level edition is 2Sell, which provides small business users with an easy and simple way to sell. It’ll appeal if you're on a tight budget, with 3.5% + $0.35 charged per successful sale. 

The benefit with this is you can sign up for free, and you only start paying once you begin selling. Even at this budget level it's possible to sell in 200 countries, the system can be integrated with over 120 different shopping carts and the package can be scaled if and when you need it. The package also allows any type of product to be sold, plus there’s access to recurring billing if you need it. 

Next up, 2Subscribe, aimed at helping companies develop and build a subscription business, which costs 4.5% + $0.45 per successful sale. Again, this lets you sign up for free and comes with all of the 2Sell features. It adds on features aimed at retaining customers and reducing churn, has numerous subscription management tools and allows you to manage renewals and upgrades too. Users can cover the entire subscription lifecycle with this option, while the built-in analytics tools prove invaluable. 

The most potent package comes in the shape of 2Monetize, which is an all-in-one package aimed at letting you sell any kind of goods on a global scale. For 6.0% + $0.60 charged per sale you get all the 2Subscribe functionality along with global tax and regulatory compliance, invoice management, a streamlined back-end as well as access to over 45 different payment methods. You’ll be able to optimize conversion rates and get help for producing unique shopping carts with this one too.

Features

Not all companies need the same functionality, which is why 2Checkout proves appealing as it has developed a more modular approach to what it offers. It’s therefore great if you're starting out as a small business, but it’s also got the scope for scaling things up if your venture evolves into a major operation. Whichever route you take 2Checkout allows for global payment processing. 

That starts out with the Avangate Monetization Platform, which lets you trade digital commerce and handles subscription billing if you’re selling goods or services online. Next, there’s the 2Sell module, which has been designed to ease the process of selling either physical or digital goods and services, either one-time or on a recurring basis. There’s also the scope for using any one of over 120 different cart styles and the capacity for tailoring customer experiences to a localized audience. 

Meanwhile, 2Subscribe does just that as it allows customers to take advantage of many different subscription variants, plus you can easily manage them while successfully reducing churn. Rounding it all out is 2Monetize, the 2Checkout all-in-one solution that rolls everything into single package, which also lets you stay on top of global tax and regulatory compliance too.

Performance

Even if you're only running a small business then performance is everything, especially if you’re dealing with a valued customer base. Thanks to the modular way 2Checkout has been put together it’s easy to make sure you’re running a system that’s perfectly in tune with the size of your venture. 

However, 2Checkout uses its modular appeal to make scaling things up that little bit easier, with a raft of additional services that can boost the potential and performance of your business. For example, try 2Convert for increasing conversion rates, 2Bill for those more complex subscription management tasks or 2Recover for boosting renewal recovery. 

On top of that, performance can be further enhanced with other add-ons that include 2Partner, for increased channel distribution and automation, along with 2Service, that can be used for offering premium services and dedicated support.

Ease of use

Setting up and running a subscription management operation as well as administering e-commerce pages can be challenging. Therefore, 2Checkout has broken things down into component parts, meaning that you’ll only have to tackle areas that are currently relevant to your business. 

2Checkout has created a modular experience that can be added to when you need it, so the learning curve should be fairly gentle. The interface has certainly been created with all levels of users in mind, with plenty of simple controls and a main dashboard area for general use. However, those with more technical knowledge can make use of the many other tools under the bonnet of the cloud-based software.

Support

Any system that offers an all-in-one solution needs to have the benefit of a decent support infrastructure and 2Checkout seems to have achieved that pretty well. It offers a two-pronged support network, with one aspect handling services for shoppers using its systems and the other providing help for merchants. Either way, both bases get 24/7 levels of assistance, plenty of FAQs and login help.

Shoppers get dedicated transaction lookup to help with any anomalies following a purchase, while merchants can make use of an extensive knowledge base plus lots of documentation. Merchant customers can also get assistance with creating a new account if and when their business growth needs it.

Final verdict

2Checkout boasts wide appeal because it can be tailored to different sizes of business due to its modular approach. Adding to that is the way that it can be matched to a variety of different sales avenues, so if you’re selling software or SaaS for example by subscription then it’s ideal. 

At the same time 2Checkout is equally well suited to selling physical goods and services too, or just online services or, in fact, a combination of all the above. Pricing comes suitably well targeted too, with three different packages that look like pretty good value. 

It’s therefore easy to see why the company has some pretty big tech names on its list of clients, and with the acquisition by Verifone it seems entirely likely that 2Checkout could become an even greater force to be reckoned with over time.

Other business software options worth looking at include Sage Business Cloud Accounting, QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, Freeagent, GoSimpleTax, TaxCalc, Nomisma, ABC Self-Assessment or Crunch.

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