Challenge

ALL CONNECT is redefining the sale of communications infrastructure products through its web sales agency, Net Navi, and its MVNO, Broad WiMAX. Using its extensive experience connecting users and carriers, ALL CONNECT continuously rolls out innovative services. By starting small, the company bypasses lengthy initial development processes; however, existing systems require around 6 months and a budget of 20–30 million yen for new implementations.

“Launching new businesses without significant costs has always been a challenge,” says Tomoya Maeda, department head of information systems and executive officer at ALL CONNECT Co., Ltd. “Rebuilding architecture and adding functionality and customisations demand high investments. To address this, we redefined our operations with the goal of setting up new systems within a week, focusing on achievable functionalities.”

However, launching subscription services posed challenges for payment processing, including fee calculations and accounts receivable management. ALL CONNECT turned to Stripe for its payment system, enabling the company to set up credit card payments in days – significantly faster than the two months required with other solutions.

Solution

After reviewing the system and finalising business requirements, Stripe was formally adopted and development began.

“I helped introduce Stripe by coordinating necessary documentation and setting up the development environment, and I found the process to be exceptionally well organised,” Maeda says. “While integrating with the existing system posed challenges, I was surprised by how easily we implemented the mechanisms for subscription services. Although not all critical business functions were completed in a week, we successfully launched a product in just two months – about one-third of the time required for previous launches.”

Results

By implementing Stripe Billing to manage subscriptions, ALL CONNECT has automated sending monthly invoices, handling declined payments, and issuing refunds. The previous system required extensive manual work, including exporting invoice data to a CSV file, entering it into a separate system, and line-by-line review by an administrator.

“A lot of financial operations were on-site,” Maeda says. “Previously, we needed 4 employees for each business, but now 1 employee can handle it in just 40 hours a month.”

The accounting department also had specific needs from the payment system, such as the ability to view sales, accounts receivable balances, and other key data. Stripe Sigma and Stripe Revenue Recognition meet these requirements without the need for manual data imports or separate reports. Stripe offers a comprehensive solution, including reporting and visualisation from an accounting perspective.

“Moving forward, our goal is to further reduce operations,” Maeda says. “While our services primarily focus on attracting web customers, our advertising budget was limited by concerns about back-office capacity. By automating operations, we can adjust our marketing budget more freely based on market conditions. Implementing Stripe has proven effective for both business growth and expanding sales.”