Top 6 Tabs Alternatives Reviewed

Introduction

Tabs is a revenue automation platform for modern B2B businesses that focuses on product-level billing configurations. It brings contract review, billing, receivables, payments, revenue recognition, and reporting together on the same AI-powered platform.

This guide examines Tabs' key limitations and compares six alternatives: Zenskar, Chargebee, Recurly, Zoho Billing, Stripe Billing, and Zuora. Each Tabs alternative is evaluated based on contract flexibility, automation capabilities, revenue recognition features, and integration depth.

Top 6 Tabs alternatives and competitors

1. Tabs vs Zenskar

Zenskar is a modern billing and revenue recognition platform designed for B2B SaaS companies requiring contract-level complexity and flexible pricing models. Unlike Tabs' product-level approach, Zenskar provides native contract-level features and comprehensive entitlements management.

2. Tabs vs Chargebee

Chargebee is a subscription management platform optimized for scaling B2B and B2C SaaS businesses. It offers strong automation for standard subscription workflows but lacks native usage-based billing support.

3. Tabs vs Recurly

Recurly is a recurring billing platform with a focus on subscription automation and churn management. It is best suited for high-volume, B2C subscriptions.

4. Tabs vs Zoho Billing

Zoho Billing is a low-cost subscription billing platform designed for small to mid-sized businesses.

5. Tabs vs Stripe Billing

Stripe Billing is a modular subscription and invoicing platform designed for companies already using Stripe's payment infrastructure. It offers strong API-based customization but lacks advanced financial automation features.

6. Tabs vs Zuora

Zuora is an enterprise-grade subscription and revenue management platform designed for large businesses with complex recurring revenue models. It offers advanced multi-entity support, compliance automation, and deep financial integrations.

5 common challenges with Tabs that finance teams face

1. Product-level limitations

Tabs treats each product as an atomic unit, creating limitations when dealing with contract-level features such as minimum commitments or cross-product credit applications. Features at the contract level are harder to implement and often require workarounds.

2. No native entitlements management

 Tabs lacks a native entitlements module, providing no way to track credits or prepaid usage. This absence forces businesses to require engineering bandwidth to support prepaid billing models.

3. Limited revenue recognition capabilities

Revenue recognition is available only within Tabs and cannot push data to ERP systems. The functionality is dependent on the product level, and performance obligations are closely tied to invoice line items without configurability.

4. Basic ERP integration

ERP integration supports only basic object sync and does not create journal entries to automate accounts receivable, revenue, unbilled revenue, deferred revenue, or payment gateway charges. There is no Xero integration, limiting usability for companies using Xero for accounting.

5. No customer portal

Tabs does not offer a customer portal, preventing customers from managing their billing or subscriptions autonomously.

What to look for in the best Tabs alternative?

1. Contract-level flexibility

• Contract Amendments → Seamless handling of upgrades, downgrades, and mid-cycle changes
• Native Contract Features → Support for minimum commitments, cross-product credits, and custom performance obligations
• Multi-Product Logic → Ability to define rules once at the contract level and handle complex scenarios automatically

2. Prepaid credits & entitlements

• Credit Management → Grant and manage credits without engineering involvement
• Native Entitlements Module → Built-in support for managing prepaid contracts and credit tracking
• Usage Depletion → Automatic tracking of usage against prepaid balances

3. Advanced usage metering

• Format Flexibility → Ability to ingest raw usage data in any format via API, CSV, or database connection
• Decoupled Usage → Usage tracking independent of pricing models‍
• Automatic Mapping → Intelligent mapping of usage events to contracts and invoices

4. Comprehensive revenue recognition

• Full Automation → Automated handling of all customer-side accounts including AR, revenue, unbilled revenue, deferred revenue
• Compliance Support → ASC 606/IFRS 15 compliant revenue recognition‍
• Real-time Adjustments → Automatic adjustments based on usage and contract changes

5. Deep ERP integrations

• Journal Entry Sync → Creation and sync of all necessary journal entries
• Multi-platform Support → Integration with NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero, and other ERP systems‍
• Two-way Sync → Bidirectional data flow between billing and accounting systems

6. Customer self-service

• Customizable Portal → Fully branded customer portal for billing management
• Account Management → Customer ability to view contracts, invoices, balances, and make payments‍
• Subscription Control → Self-service subscription and billing management

7. Advanced analytics & reporting

• Full Data Access → Complete access to all billing and revenue data
• Custom Reports → Ability to create any chart or report needed for business‍
• Pre-built Analytics → Out-of-the-box charts for ARR, MRR, churn, revenue waterfall

8. API-first architecture

• Comprehensive APIs → Full API coverage for all UI functionality
• User-friendly Design → Simple, well-documented APIs for easy integration‍
• Real-time Capabilities → APIs that support real-time data processing

What makes Zenskar the best Tabs alternative?

Zenskar's contract-level flexibility, native entitlements management, and comprehensive revenue recognition automation make it the ideal solution for businesses requiring advanced billing capabilities beyond product-level configurations.

To experience Zenskar’s automation capabilities, book a demo or take an interactive product tour.