PRD: Commercial Features & Pricing

Generated: 2025-07-23 00:00 UTC
Status: Complete
Verified:

Executive Summary

This PRD defines the commercial model, pricing strategy, and monetization features for the Document Conversion Service. It establishes a flexible pricing structure that scales from individual developers to enterprise customers, incorporating usage-based billing, subscription tiers, and value-added commercial features.

Key Objectives

• Create transparent, predictable pricing model
• Implement flexible billing options (pay-as-you-go and subscriptions)
• Build comprehensive usage tracking and credit system
• Enable enterprise-grade commercial features
• Maximize revenue while maintaining competitive pricing

User Stories

As a Individual Developer

• I want a free tier to test the service
• I want transparent pay-as-you-go pricing
• I want to track my usage in real-time
• I want no surprise charges

As a Startup

• I want predictable monthly costs
• I want volume discounts for scaling
• I want to upgrade/downgrade easily
• I want team billing management

As an Enterprise Customer

• I want custom pricing negotiations
• I want invoice billing options
• I want usage analytics for my organization
• I want SLA guarantees

As a SaaS Platform

• I want to resell conversions to my users
• I want wholesale pricing
• I want white-label options
• I want revenue sharing models

Functional Requirements

Pricing Tiers

1. Free Tier

• Monthly Allowance: 100 conversions
• File Size Limit: 5MB
• API Rate Limit: 10 requests/minute
• Features:
  • Basic conversions (XLSX, PDF, DOCX)
  • Standard output formats
  • Community support
  • 7-day result storage

2. Developer ($29/month)

• Monthly Allowance: 1,000 conversions
• File Size Limit: 25MB
• API Rate Limit: 100 requests/minute
• Features:
  • All conversion types
  • Webhook notifications
  • Email support
  • 30-day result storage
  • Basic analytics

3. Professional ($99/month)

• Monthly Allowance: 5,000 conversions
• File Size Limit: 50MB
• API Rate Limit: 500 requests/minute
• Features:
  • Priority processing
  • Batch conversions
  • Advanced options
  • Priority support
  • 90-day result storage
  • Detailed analytics

4. Business ($299/month)

• Monthly Allowance: 20,000 conversions
• File Size Limit: 100MB
• API Rate Limit: 1,000 requests/minute
• Features:
  • Dedicated queue
  • Custom webhooks
  • SSO integration
  • Phone support
  • 1-year result storage
  • Team management
  • Usage reports

5. Enterprise (Custom)

• Monthly Allowance: Unlimited/Custom
• File Size Limit: Custom
• API Rate Limit: Custom
• Features:
  • SLA guarantees
  • Dedicated infrastructure
  • White-label options
  • Dedicated support
  • Custom retention
  • Advanced security
  • Custom integrations

Usage-Based Pricing

1. Pay-As-You-Go Rates

Base Rates (per conversion):
- XLSX → JSON: $0.10
- XLSX → Markdown: $0.12
- PDF → Markdown: $0.15
- PDF → Markdown (with OCR): $0.25
- DOCX → HTML: $0.10
- DOCX → Markdown: $0.12
- PPT → Markdown: $0.20

Volume Discounts:
- 0-1,000: Base rate
- 1,001-10,000: 10% discount
- 10,001-50,000: 20% discount
- 50,001-100,000: 30% discount
- 100,001+: 40% discount

2. Overage Pricing

• Tier overage charged at discounted pay-as-you-go rates
• 20% discount from base rates for subscription customers
• Automatic upgrade suggestions at 80% usage

3. Credit System

• Pre-purchase credits for discounts
• $100 = 1,100 credits (10% bonus)
• $500 = 6,000 credits (20% bonus)
• $1,000 = 13,000 credits (30% bonus)
• Credits never expire
• Transferable between team accounts

Billing Features

1. Subscription Management

• Self-service upgrade/downgrade
• Proration for mid-cycle changes
• Pause/resume subscriptions
• Annual billing discount (20%)

2. Payment Methods

• Credit/debit cards
• ACH/bank transfer (Business+)
• Wire transfer (Enterprise)
• Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum)
• Purchase orders (Enterprise)

3. Invoice Options

• Automatic monthly invoices
• Consolidated team invoices
• Custom billing cycles
• VAT/tax handling
• Multi-currency support (USD, EUR, GBP)

4. Usage Tracking

{
  "usage": {
    "period": "2025-07",
    "conversions": {
      "total": 3500,
      "by_type": {
        "xlsx_json": 1500,
        "pdf_markdown": 1200,
        "docx_html": 800
      },
      "by_day": [...],
      "remaining": 1500
    },
    "costs": {
      "subscription": 99.00,
      "overage": 0.00,
      "total": 99.00
    }
  }
}

Commercial Features

1. Team Management

• Multiple users per account
• Role-based permissions
• Usage quotas per user
• Centralized billing
• Activity audit logs

2. White-Label Options

• Custom domain (api.company.com)
• Branded documentation
• Custom email templates
• Remove service branding
• Co-branded option available

3. Reseller Program

• Wholesale pricing (50% discount)
• Reseller API portal
• End-user management
• Revenue sharing options
• Marketing support

4. SLA Guarantees

• 99.9% uptime (Business)
• 99.99% uptime (Enterprise)
• Conversion time guarantees
• Support response times
• Financial credits for violations

Analytics & Reporting

1. Usage Analytics

• Real-time usage via API
• Historical trends
• Conversion success rates
• Performance metrics
• Cost analysis

2. Business Intelligence

3. Reporting Features

• Scheduled email reports
• CSV/PDF export
• API usage breakdown
• Cost center allocation
• Department chargebacks

Non-Functional Requirements

Billing System Requirements

1. Accuracy

• Usage tracking accuracy: 100%
• Billing calculation accuracy: 100%
• Real-time usage updates
• Audit trail for all transactions

2. Reliability

• Payment processing: 99.99% uptime
• Automatic retry for failed payments
• Backup payment methods
• Grace period handling

3. Security

• PCI DSS compliance
• Tokenized payment storage
• Encryption at rest and in transit
• Regular security audits

Scalability Requirements

1. Transaction Volume

• Support 1M+ monthly transactions
• Real-time usage aggregation
• Distributed billing calculation
• Horizontal scaling capability

2. Geographic Distribution

• Multi-region billing support
• Local tax calculation
• Currency conversion
• Regional pricing options

Technical Specifications

Billing Architecture

1. Usage Tracking System

components:
  usage_collector:
    - Captures conversion events
    - Buffers in Redis
    - Batch writes to database
    
  usage_aggregator:
    - Real-time aggregation
    - Sliding window calculations
    - Alert triggering
    
  billing_calculator:
    - Applies pricing rules
    - Calculates discounts
    - Generates invoices

2. Payment Processing

• Stripe for card payments
• PayPal for alternative payments
• Wise for international transfers
• Crypto payment gateway

3. Subscription Engine

• Recurring billing automation
• Dunning management
• Upgrade/downgrade logic
• Trial period handling

Integration Points

1. Accounting Systems

• QuickBooks integration
• Xero integration
• SAP integration (Enterprise)
• Custom ERP webhooks

2. CRM Integration

• Salesforce sync
• HubSpot integration
• Pipedrive connection
• Customer data sync

Success Metrics

Revenue Metrics

• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Conversion Metrics

• Free to paid conversion: > 10%
• Trial conversion rate: > 30%
• Upgrade rate: > 5% monthly
• Churn rate: < 3% monthly

Usage Metrics

• Credit utilization rate
• Overage frequency
• Feature adoption rates
• Payment success rate > 95%

Dependencies

External Services

• Payment processors
• Tax calculation services
• Accounting platforms
• Analytics services

Internal Systems

• User authentication
• API gateway
• Usage tracking
• Support system

Timeline & Milestones

Phase 1: Basic Billing (Months 1-2)

• Pay-as-you-go implementation
• Basic subscription tiers
• Stripe integration
• Usage tracking

Phase 2: Advanced Features (Months 3-4)

• Team management
• Volume discounts
• Annual billing
• Analytics dashboard

Phase 3: Enterprise Features (Months 5-6)

• Custom pricing
• SLA implementation
• White-label options
• Reseller program

Phase 4: Optimization (Months 7-8)

• Advanced analytics
• Billing experiments
• Retention features
• Expansion revenue

Risk Mitigation

Financial Risks

• Payment fraud: Implement fraud detection
• Chargebacks: Clear terms of service
• Currency fluctuation: Regular rate updates

Business Risks

• Price sensitivity: A/B testing pricing
• Competition: Value-based differentiation
• Churn: Proactive retention programs

Future Considerations

Pricing Evolution

• Dynamic pricing based on demand
• Auction-based priority processing
• Bundled service packages
• Partnership pricing models

Advanced Monetization

• Marketplace for custom converters
• Premium support packages
• Training and certification
• API consulting services