Paddle Revenue Delivery Platform review

Use Paddle to streamline your business needs if you sell digital products around the world

Paddle
(Image: © Paddle)

TechRadar Verdict

Being able to amalgamate lots of tasks into one workflow means that Paddle is a great solution for businesses that want to sell digital products via a single platform.

Pros

  • +

    One-stop solution

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    Great onboarding

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    Excellent support

Cons

  • -

    Quite niche

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Paddle is a revenue delivery platform, which allows B2B SaaS businesses to amalgamate their workflow and become more efficient at selling digital products and subscriptions. It’s effectively a one-stop solution that lets companies manage their payment structure surrounding subscriptions while also handling VAT, GST, sales tax and all of the other component parts of everyday business activity. 

Formed back in 2012, the UK-based startup might be a relative newcomer but it’s already making a lot of headway, having recently secured more investment while rolling out more new features along the way. Businesses looking for a better platform to manage their entire software sales process will find Paddle ideally suited to their needs. 

The Paddle platform has been specifically designed and engineered to help companies that sell software as a service and, thanks to the tools it comes armed with, handling payments, managing subscriptions and streamlining checkouts can all be done with ease.

Paddle

Getting the right package from Paddle ideally requires that you speak with their team before anything else (Image credit: Paddle)

Pricing

Whatever the size of your business operation Paddle maintains that you will have full access to the same features and functions as everyone else using the platform. In terms of pricing there’s a percentage fee on transactions only, which means that you don't have to worry about a subscription fee. 

However, because Paddle is able to handle many different aspects of your business requirements the process in getting the right package for your needs requires that you liaise with their staff before anything else. This lets them determine the best system to suit your business. 

In order to do that you’ll therefore need to complete a form giving them an overview of your business, which in turn will be handled by their risk team and from there a demo will be used to showcase what Paddle can do. Paddle can facilitate migration from an existing platform, or get you started from scratch.

Paddle

Paddle has a wide array of tools to help sell SaaS packages in the B2B environment (Image credit: Paddle)

Features

If you’re a company that wants to sell software to customers then any method that makes the process easier is always going to be welcome. Paddle does just that, as the revenue delivery platform works using one single foundation that pulls together all of the critical component parts. 

Business owners can create efficient payment methods, allow pinpoint management of subscriptions and offer seamless checkout experiences, all running on the one platform. As you can see from the accompanying graphic, the Paddle platform lets businesses join up all of the dots of their administration work. 

This core platform means it’s possible to manage checkout processes, invoicing needs, subscriptions and recurring billing along with ensuring compliance with tax and data requirements in whichever territory you're selling in. Paddle can also be used in conjunction with popular platforms including Salesforce, NetSuite and Xero.

Paddle

There's plenty within Paddle for those who want to get under the bonnet of the platform (Image credit: Paddle)

Ease of use

Paddle was created to lower the hassle factor involved in many aspects of selling B2B SaaS products. As a result, the experience has been developed to provide businesses with a much more streamlined workflow that manages to iron out many of the disruptive aspects of subscription management. Using Paddle means it’s very straightforward to handle multiple subscriptions, offer quick and easy renewals, and deliver products to different territories and across multiple currencies. 

Working with Paddle on a day-to-day basis revolves around its dashboard and associated menu system, which lets users manage core aspects of the service from within one user-friendly interface. Paddle is also great at helping businesses with existing subscription management systems in pace to migrate across to the new platform. At the same time, Paddle can be easily set up and configured if you’re starting from scratch.

Paddle

Paddle lets you cover a wide variety of tasks within the SaaS B2B arena such as collecting payments (Image credit: Paddle)

Support

For a package that needs to do a lot of things, often at once, it’s entirely likely you’ll have more than the occasional need to visit the Paddle support pages. However, the Paddle team likes to spend time before you’ve even started using its systems to better understand your requirements. 

Paddle

While Paddle offers plenty of support it aims to get a better understanding of your requirements before you get started (Image credit: Paddle)

That way, once you’ve implemented the Paddle platform there should be less margin for error. Initial investigations by the team will help determine your customer base, what sort of payments are involved and what sort of development plan you have in place moving forwards. At the same time, Paddle gets lots of praise for its support teams who can help with any issues once you get up and running.

Final verdict

Paddle continues to evolve nicely and now offers one of the best ways to amalgamate business tasks and sit everything all on one platform. If you're selling digital products in the B2B SaaS arena then it’s certainly worthy of closer inspection. 

While you’ll ideally need to get in touch with their team to better understand the right package for your needs, and how much that is going to end up costing you, it’s also quick and easy to get started with the platform. Paddle covers all bases too with a great selection of tools that offer everything needed to sell digital products. 

At the same time Paddle can ensure that you’re compliant with all the rules and regulations in any given sales territory. The other bonus with Paddle is that it’s easy for businesses to migrate from an existing system. Equally, if you’ve got a vision for a new digital business and need an outlet for it then using Paddle might just get you off to a great start. Getting yourself set up for a Paddle demo could therefore be time well spent.

Rob Clymo

Rob Clymo has been a tech journalist for more years than he can actually remember, having started out in the wacky world of print magazines before discovering the power of the internet. Since he's been all-digital he has run the Innovation channel during a few years at Microsoft as well as turning out regular news, reviews, features and other content for the likes of TechRadar, TechRadar Pro, Tom's Guide, Fit&Well, Gizmodo, Shortlist, Automotive Interiors World, Automotive Testing Technology International, Future of Transportation and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International. In the rare moments he's not working he's usually out and about on one of numerous e-bikes in his collection.