Business Models
The patterns in this section are end-to-end blueprints. Each one takes a recognizable real-world business model, names the companies that operate it, walks through the modeling decisions, and shows the actual API calls that build it on Kontier. They are designed to be adapted, not just read - copy-paste the curl commands, swap in your own product names and prices, and you have a working pricing model in under an hour.
Why this section exists. Generic feature documentation tells you what each primitive does; it doesn't tell you how to combine them to build a specific business. These blueprints close that gap. Every billing system has a long list of features - what makes Kontier different is that those features compose cleanly into recognizable real-world models without the bespoke glue code that usually accumulates between "the billing platform" and "what the business actually charges for."
Pattern catalog
| Pattern | Real-world examples | Commercial shape | Headline Kontier primitives |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS per-seat | Slack, Linear, Notion, Figma, Cursor | Per-user monthly or annual, mid-cycle quantity changes, trials | Declared-quantity product, a trial phase, cut-and-publish revisions prorated at the cut |
| API platform | OpenAI, Twilio, Stripe API, Anthropic API | Pay-per-call with graduated discounts, real-time visibility | Usage events, meters, STAIRCASE pricing, usage aggregates |
| Hybrid platform (PaaS) | Vercel, Supabase, Render, PlanetScale | Flat tier + usage overage above included allowance | Plan allowances, rollover, allowance state, allowance.rolled_over webhook |
| Marketplace + payouts | Etsy, Shopify Payments, Uber, DoorDash | Platform takes a fee, pays the rest out to sellers | Marketplace sellers, sales, payouts and statements |
| Subscription box | HelloFresh, BarkBox, Dollar Shave Club | Fixed weekly or monthly delivery, pause/skip, gift subscriptions | Pause/resume, scheduled changes (skip, holiday hold), fixed-length phases and wallet credit (gifts) |
| Domain registrar | Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare Registrar | Hundreds of TLDs as one logical product, per-TLD pricing | Keyed products via key sets (key_set_id), per-key prices (price_key), set-price fallback (is_set_price) |
| Telecom carrier | T-Mobile, Vodafone, Free Mobile | Prepaid + monthly recurring + roaming overage + family plans | Wallets and reservations (prepaid balance), plan allowances (included minutes), keyed products (per-country roaming), meter thresholds |
| Cloud infrastructure | AWS, Hetzner, Linode, Cloudflare Workers | Hourly metered + reserved capacity + spot pricing | Keyed metered products, usage events, agreed prices on subscription lines |
| Creator platform | Substack, Patreon, Twitch, OnlyFans | Subscriber pays platform; platform takes a cut and settles to creator | Subscriptions, marketplace sales; revenue-share settlement is not in the public API |
| Enterprise SaaS | Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, SAP | Custom-priced multi-year deals, multi-currency, deal-desk approvals | Agreed prices on subscription lines, the quote.send approval checkpoint, FX policy pinning |
| Reseller network | Microsoft Partner Network, AWS Marketplace, Stripe Apps | Multi-tier reseller hierarchy, partner commissions, co-op funds | Customer tags for attribution, wallets for co-op budgets; commission settlement is not in the public API |
| Outcome-based services | Consulting, agencies, professional services, healthcare | Charge on delivered milestones, not time | Billing milestones, approval workflows, custom fields |
How to use these blueprints
Each page follows the same shape:
- The shape of the problem - what makes this model harder to build than it looks
- Kontier blueprint - which primitives map to which concerns
- Build it - the concrete API calls that get the model running end-to-end: catalog, publish, subscription revision, usage
- Variations - common adaptations (annual prepay, multi-currency, regional discounts)
- What you don't have to build - the work Kontier already does for you
- Cross-links - to the deep concept docs for each primitive used
Pick the closest match, not the exact match. A subscription box pattern is the right starting point for any "regular delivery + pause + skip" model, even if your product isn't food. A marketplace blueprint applies whether your sellers are individuals, brands, or other businesses. The blueprints are templates; the variations sections show how to bend them.
Combine when you need to. Real businesses are rarely one pure pattern. A modern PaaS combines SaaS-per-seat (for editor users) with API-platform metering (for runtime usage), and adds marketplace sales when third-party integrations charge through the platform. The pattern pages cross-link where natural combinations exist.
When to deviate from a blueprint
These patterns favor the most common shape of each model. If your business has unusual constraints, the right move is usually to start from the closest blueprint and add the specifics on top, not rebuild from primitives. Common reasons to deviate:
- Regulatory constraints that mandate specific notice periods, tax treatments, or invoicing formats. Layer the relevant tax rules on top; leave the rest of the blueprint intact.
- Channel-specific pricing (different rates for direct customers vs resellers vs partners). Give each channel its own plan, or state an agreed price on the customer's subscription lines; the standard catalog stays as it is.
- Multi-currency. Add each currency to the workspace's currency allow-list, add prices in it, and create each subscription in the customer's currency; exchange rates are pinned when an invoice is finalised. The blueprint calls stay the same.
Missing a business model?
If your business model isn't represented here, open an issue or write to engineering@kontier.eu with a sketch of the model - what you charge for, when you charge, who pays whom, and what the edge cases are. The most-requested patterns get added next.