The verdict in three sentences
For an IT services company in Amsterdam managing 400 monthly maintenance contracts, manual billing costs about 4 working days a month and lets failed payments slip through without follow-up. Stripe Billing or Chargebee, charged at 0.5 to 0.75% of volume, work as long as your contracts stay simple. A custom platform at EUR 15,000 to 35,000 becomes profitable once you handle proration, annual price indexation, SEPA Direct Debit and structured e-invoicing as EU rules tighten.
What manual billing really costs
With 400 contracts, every month-end looks the same: spreadsheet export, adjusting amendments, prorating clients who joined mid-month, sending PDFs, then chasing late transfers. The visible cost is the bookkeeper's time. The hidden cost is involuntary churn: an expired card or a rejected direct debit mandate that nobody follows up loses a client who had no intention of leaving.
E-invoicing changes the equation too. Under the EU ViDA package, structured e-invoicing is becoming the norm for B2B, and Dutch public buyers already require Peppol invoices. A tool that cannot produce UBL or Peppol-ready invoices will soon become a bottleneck.
| Monthly billed volume | Stripe Billing (0.7%) | Chargebee (about 0.75% above the free tier) | Custom (maintenance) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR 60,000 (400 contracts at 150) | EUR 420 per month | EUR 450 per month | EUR 300 to 500 per month |
| EUR 120,000 | EUR 840 per month | EUR 900 per month | EUR 300 to 500 per month |
| EUR 250,000 | EUR 1,750 per month | EUR 1,875 per month | EUR 400 to 600 per month |
| EUR 500,000 | EUR 3,500 per month | negotiated, often 0.5% so EUR 2,500 | EUR 400 to 600 per month |
| SEPA Direct Debit fees | about EUR 0.35 per debit | depends on gateway | EUR 0.20 to 0.40 depending on bank |
Gateway fees (cards, SEPA) apply in every case. The gap lies in the software commission, which grows with your revenue while the cost of a custom tool stays nearly flat.
Must-have features and cost per option
| Feature | Stripe Billing | Chargebee | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proration on signup, upgrade, cancellation | Yes | Yes | Yes, your own rules |
| Annual indexation (CBS index or per client) | Manual or script | Partial | Automatic |
| SEPA Direct Debit with e-mandate | Yes | Via gateway | Yes, via GoCardless or the bank |
| Automatic retry of failed payments | Yes | Yes, advanced | Yes, custom scenarios |
| Structured e-invoicing (UBL, Peppol) | Via connector | Via connector | Built in |
| Link to ticketing or service management tool | API to build | API to build | Native |
| Upfront cost | EUR 2,000 to 6,000 integration | EUR 3,000 to 8,000 | EUR 15,000 to 35,000 |
How to choose without regret
If your catalog fits in three plans with no indexation or add-ons, start with Stripe Billing: you will be live in 3 weeks. If your contracts include service levels, consumed support hours and an annual price review based on an index, custom avoids costly workarounds. In every case, keep ownership of customer data and SEPA mandates so you can switch tools without having 400 mandates signed again.
Mini case study
Lars, founder of an IT services company in Amsterdam, bills 400 contracts at EUR 150 on average, EUR 60,000 a month. His bookkeeper spends 4 days a month on billing, about EUR 800 in monthly cost, and 2% of contracts leave every year because of failed payments never chased, 8 clients and EUR 14,400 in lost annual revenue. He invests EUR 22,000 in a custom platform with SEPA, dunning and automatic indexation. Time saved is worth EUR 9,600 a year, halving involuntary churn recovers EUR 7,200, and indexation applied without omission adds about 1.5%, EUR 10,800. The annual gain reaches EUR 27,600, for a payback in under 10 months.
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FAQ
Is e-invoicing mandatory for an SME in 2026?
In the Netherlands, Peppol e-invoicing is already required for public sector buyers, and EU ViDA rules phase in mandatory structured B2B e-invoicing for cross-border trade by 2030. Building it in now avoids a second project later.
Does SEPA Direct Debit really reduce unpaid invoices?
Yes, the failure rate of a B2B SEPA debit is around 1 to 2%, versus 5 to 10% late payments on bank transfers. Remaining rejections are handled by automatic retries.
Can we migrate from Stripe Billing to a custom solution?
Yes, if SEPA mandates and payment methods can be exported. Migrating 400 subscriptions usually takes 2 to 3 weeks.
How long does it take to build the platform?
Count 8 to 12 weeks for a version with subscriptions, proration, SEPA, dunning and e-invoicing, then 2 weeks of parallel billing before switching over.
How can indexation be handled automatically?
The platform fetches the published index, computes the review on the contract anniversary and notifies the client 30 days ahead. This prevents omissions that often cost 1 to 3% of recurring revenue.
Let's scope your project. We price your recurring billing platform with SEPA, dunning and e-invoicing, for an indicative budget of EUR 15,000 to 35,000 and go-live in 8 to 12 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
