Few things I learned running a bootstrapped SAAS:

- On-boarding and acquiring new clients is still a lot easier than sustaining/retaining them. A lot of us focus too much on marketing, getting new clients etc. but not on sustaining them. For some businesses, that works but for SAAS, customer retention is a big deal and really hard.

- Every month, a small percentage of Credit cards will fail to renew the client's subscription. Sometimes it is just the banks being stupid, sometimes the cards expired or reported stolen. You need to have a process to ensure clients are aware and fix this asap. Fancy word for this is "dunning"

- Unless you have a solid team with good funding, offering a free or freemium version will be difficult for you since you will get tons of tire kickers and time wasters. So you will be spending too much time talking to them when they are probably not going to be paying customers anyway. Hint: If after 2 discussions/emails/calls, someone still asking questions are most likely the ones who will never convert. Yes, there are a few who take time but in my experience of doing this for 3 years now, I almost know who will convert and who won't.

- Not all clients are same. You may have to be partial at times depending on the client. For example, some clients just want the whole world and don't get the idea of a SAAS. Learn to keep them in check while it is ok to pamper the good ones a bit more. Hint: Keep track of support emails/questions/tickets for each client. If you see too many unreasonable requests from a client, be polite but frank with them about what is possible vs not. Often times, clients mean well and just don't understand why a feature cannot be built just for them. It is your job to explain that to them.

- Reduce friction when it comes to on-boarding. A lot of clients leave because they find it difficult to get started. This is not the same as building an easy software. This is about ensuring that your clients learn how to use that software when early on. Documentation, FAQs, Guides whatever you call it. And no, don't listen to people who say that only badly designed software needs documentation. Everything needs documentation. Trust me.

- Backups. Remote backups. Not on the same server. Don't take this casually.

- Learn to Sell. Only way is to actually do it. Don't "outsource" your sales specially in the beginning. You being able to convince someone that your product is worth it is what matters.

- If you start growing and think you need to hire, be very careful. Hire really slow. Fire really fast. If you can, hire a freelancer/sub-contractor instead of full-time. Then go from there as needed.

- You will need to do some basic accounting yourself to understand your business numbers. Learn how to create a simple PnL statement. If you don't know, talk to a good CPA (or equivalent in your country).

- If you are making some money, don't forget to incorporate AND also hire a good CPA if you can afford. For small businesses or SAAS products, a good CPA can cost anywhere from $500-$2000 for the entire year (depending on what you ask them to do)

Finally, I will leave you with this. Running a SAAS is awesome once you get a hold of what matters and what doesn't. You will learn with experience and probably make a few mistakes. But don't give up and keep fighting. Nothing is better than seeing recurring payments hitting your bank every month and knowing that you are providing value to some people in the real world.