Question about Payment solution (Free SaaS idea)

Questions
1

Hello fellow passionate bubble.io developers. I’m seeking some assistance. As I develop apps for my clients, I repeatedly encounter the same issue. In my country, the concept of no-code development is still relatively new, and it’s often perceived as something anyone can easily do. While there’s a high demand for apps here, I prefer to keep my preferred platform under wraps. However, when clients who aren’t averse to no-code discover the platform I use and express willingness to learn it, I inadvertently create competition for myself in a lucrative market.

The crux of the matter lies in how to handle payments to bubble.io on behalf of these clients. I’m hesitant to constantly request money from them each month, and setting up a payment system via credit card on their behalf is financially and bureaucratically cumbersome in my country. How can I ensure they cover their expenses (which may vary each month) without granting them direct access to their bubble app on their own accounts?

I’ve contemplated charging them annual fees in advance, but predicting their expenses for the following year is challenging. If their app gains significant traction, their expenses could skyrocket, leaving me at a loss.

Clients often inquire about access to the source code as well. Currently, I provide them with wrapped bundles for Android and iOS, essentially webviews linked to their app. For those requiring a web app, I set up a custom domain to conceal the use of bubble.

While I understand that concealing bubble.io from clients may not align with the platform’s interests, I am not withholding it from potential users or developers. In fact, I’ve introduced bubble to over 130 individuals thus far. My aim is to conceal it solely from my clients, who number fewer than 20 currently.

I believe there’s a need for a SaaS solution that streamlines payment processing directly to bubble.io, accompanied by customized bank messages. This would be immensely beneficial for developers like myself who operate discreetly. Even a slight increase in client fees, say $10 per month, would likely go unnoticed, and such a tool would serve as a valuable asset for us incognito developers.

2

I think this is more of a pricing strategy problem than tech tool problem.

What’s wrong with invoicing your clients each month with Net 15 or Net 30 terms?

You take the expense that month from bubble, apply a mark up to it, and bill your clients. This is a pretty common business practice.

I’d imagine that you probably also have some type of data based on historical usage to help forecast out future costs to these clients.

If you wanted, you could even forecast out future usage for the year, divide by 12, and give them an estimated monthly cost. Any amount above that cost would be invoiced, but any savings below that cost could be rolled over.

It’d require some admin work on your end, but I think the solution isn’t a SaaS tool, it’s a pricing tool.

3

I cannot charge any card as a freelancer without a company registered which costs too much in my country. In my country there is no stripe, no paypal, only crypto LOL. I need someone to charge my clients then pay bubble. I dont need any markup. I collect dev earnings in cash. (my country is Serbia) , very unregulated, not modern, stupid laws)

4

Ah I see.

You could still do this, just old fashioned. On the first of the month, you could email them the invoice with the cost for the month. Then you could go get the cash at an agreed upon time.