We’re happy to announce that there are now over 550 businesses using Chargify to manage their subscriptions & billing. We’re proud to have an amazing customer base and loyal Chargify fans. Some of you are even showing off your candy.

Feedback from our growing customer base has been great. We’re busy building more amazing features to help you grow your business with Chargify.

And in more good news, Mark Cuban has invested in Chargify. Mark’s experience and wisdom building great companies gets us even more excited for the future of Chargify. BRL Law Group represented Chargify in the equity financing deal.

Thanks for being great customers, and as always, good luck growing your businesses.

~ Lance

Version 1.7.0 brings a brand new feature to Chargify: Taxes!

The ability to define taxes in Chargify is something that many of you, especially those in the EU, have been asking for awhile.

Check out the documentation here: http://docs.chargify.com/taxes

As always, If you have any questions, give us a shout on twitter (@chargify /cc @npverni).

Shifting Tides Reveal Opportunity

Having been in the web design industry since 1995, Matt Certo, co-founder of WebSolvers (a 12 person Orlando web design firm), has seen the technology landscape evolve dramatically. Back in the early days of his company, most Websites were built from scratch using Notepad. If a WebSolvers client wanted a website, it was built in pure HTML and content update requests were sent via Fax machine.

As time went on, content management systems, dynamic Web applications, and API feeds broadened the landscape dramatically.  Clients wanted it faster, cheaper, and more powerful than ever.  As Certo explains it, “we began to see a portion of our prospects asking for the functionality of a $25,000 Website with only a $2,500 budget.  They needed the time of our best folks, but were turning to less expensive alternatives and settling for a lesser result.”  As it turned out, that was both a problem and an opportunity.

Conceiving a Product

Among all of those shifts, Certo and the team at WebSolvers saw an opportunity to build a product.  “We wanted to figure out a way to meet that client need in a way that made financial sense for them and us,” he explains.  They crafted Consulto, a Web design platform for professional firms (i.e. law firms, accounting firms, and general consultants), the segment of clients with which they had experienced this common set of demands.

Backing up your data is real easy to do, so you should never need to curse the day when you decided to leave early instead of save your files. But eventually your system probably will crash, and you most likely will end up cursing that day.

Having backed up your data in the cloud (where it can be accessed from any device whenever you need it) could be the silver lining on that fateful day when you get the blue screen of death.

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is an easy and quick way to store, sync, and share important documents or presentations that you’ll want to keep safe and portable. It’s cross platform and works on basically any smartphone. You get 2GB free but can upgrade to 50GB for $10/month and 100GB for $20/month. To store a file, just drag and drop it (or a copy to backup) into your virtual Dropbox directory. Access it whenever, wherever. You can install Dropbox on an unlimited number of devices to see and edit your files. Only the changed parts are synced, so your Internet doesn’t slow down.

2. Mozy Pro

This backup solution is meant for storing and syncing your data only. Mozy Pro also offers businesses the possibility of backing up their computers and servers, but each unit will need its own license. One desktop licenses is $3.95/month plus $0.50/GB per month, while a server licenses comes out to $6.95/month plus $0.50/GB per month. You can schedule automatic backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Custom settings let you choose how much bandwidth to use as and which files, or sets of files, to backup.

3. Jungle Disk

Jungle Disk is kind of like a combination Dropbox and Mozy Pro, but with a more complex pricing plan. The Workgroup Edition for sharing, syncing, and backing up your data for groups of two to 100 costs $4 per user/month plus storage fees, while the Server Edition provides Windows- and Linux-based server backup solutions for $5 per server/month plus storage fees. Both editions have unlimited storage space where you only pay for what you use.

If you can pay for a 95¢ pack of gum with your credit card, then you should be able to use your card for that antique mahogany desk at the craft fair! The new smartphone card readers, aside from looking super cool, are also highly functional. Being able to accept credit cards anywhere at any time, regardless of whether you have a brick and mortar store, or are a local artist, can dramatically increase your sales and streamline your invoice process as well.

While there are probably around a hundred card processing apps available for different smartphones (iPhones win out here), only a small number of companies have joined an app to a specific card swiping device. See how they all compare before you decide which one is best for your business.

Square

Perhaps the smallest card reader on the market, Square is also one of the most easily recognizable devices. About the size of a book of matches, Square plugs directly into the audio jack and can be used on most iPhones or Android phones. Both the device and app are free, and no contract or merchant account is required, so money goes straight into your bank account.

It looks sleek, is easy to use, and allows you to make refunds easily. Square’s pricing plan is equally as simple. For every card swipe, Square takes 2.75%. However, non-swipe transactions incur a fee of 3.5% plus 15¢.

There are tons of other non-swipe card processing apps for the iPhone. Some of these are: Pocket Terminal (can handle multiple business accounts), iPay POS (compatible with dozens of the most popular payment gateways), ProcessAway (recurring billing), SWIPE (cheap app with lots of features), and many more.

Intuit GoPayment

Intuit GoPayment is similar to Square but with two distinct differences. While Square only works with Apple and Android products, Intuit GoPayment is also compatible with BlackBerry devices (Note: only the app, not the card swiper). This service also gives larger businesses the option of signing up for a $13 monthly plan with reduced transaction fees of 1.7% (swiped) and 2.7% (non-swiped). The app and card reader are free, and money is deposited right into your bank account.