Zero Friction
Zero Friction is a cloud SaaS meter-to-cash and billing platform for heating and cooling suppliers.
What Zero Friction is
Zero Friction is a cloud SaaS meter-to-cash and billing platform for heating and cooling suppliers. It creates invoices using fixed rates, consumption-related rates, or cost distribution, then sends them by email or post. Meter readings can arrive through an API, (S)FTP, or email, including standard hourly data, with no stated maximum number of connections. Payment handling covers direct debits, manual transfers, QR codes, payment links, automated reminders, and payment plans. An optional customer portal displays energy usage and invoices, supports online relocations, and connects through standard APIs. Integrations cover meter data management, CRM, ERP, and banking systems, with Stripe, Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Power BI named. Zero Friction supports district heating, communal heating, and cooling. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. It states that it is ISO 27001 certified, GDPR compliant, and uses EU data centers. Pricing is paid and available on request, with a free trial. The service runs on web and API platforms.
Good
- Supports fixed and consumption-related billing
- Accepts API, (S)FTP, or email meter data
- Offers multiple payment methods and plans
- Optional portal shows usage and invoices
- No maximum connections stated
Watch out
- No free plan
- Pricing is available only on request
- Custom development excludes most bespoke work
Who it suits
It suits heating and cooling suppliers, building managers, and heat suppliers needing billing, metering, and payment workflows.
Verdict
Zero Friction combines metering, billing, payments, integrations, and customer access for heating and cooling operations. Its paid, customized approach and limited custom-development policy should be considered before choosing it.
Plans and prices
From Zero Friction's own pricing page, checked 21 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| BPO Enterprise | Priced on request | meter reading · master data management · contracting · billing · cash collection · customer interaction · reporting and governance · monthly rate per connection |
| BPO Standard | Priced on request | meter reading · master data management · contracting · billing · reporting and governance · monthly rate per connection |
| SaaS | Priced on request | one-time implementation cost · optional add-ons · price per connection and price per user |
The facts
Each one read from Zero Friction's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API authentication
- The API uses subscription keys plus OAuth 2.0 client-credentials authentication and tenant and organization headers.checked 21 Oct 2026
- API limits
- The documented rate limit is 60 calls per minute for Standard and 600 calls per minute for Enterprise.checked 21 Oct 2026
- API pricing
- The Enterprise API product costs extra and its price is available on request.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Custom development
- Custom development is not supported except for custom integrations; customers can submit or vote on feature requests.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Customer portal
- An optional self-service portal lets end customers manage moves, view consumption and access invoices.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Documentation and support
- The company provides an extensive documentation library, self-service support, office-hours chat, phone and email support, and internal bug-fixing targets.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Electronic invoicing
- The PEPPOL/UBL integration provides XML invoice export for import into a customer's PEPPOL environment.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Extensibility limit
- Custom development is not offered except for custom integrations; all customers use the same SaaS product.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Funding
- Zero Friction announced a €2.5 million funding round led by existing investor Shift Invest.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Hosting
- SaaS pricing includes Microsoft Azure data storage and processing, with data storage subject to defined retention periods.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Independent market evidence
- SHIFT Invest reported that Zero Friction serviced 22,000 people with district-heating connections in 2021.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The integration catalog covers meter-data management, CRM, ERP, banking, reporting, payment, customer-service, accountancy, communication and e-invoicing systems.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Limit: customization
- The company says it does not provide custom development beyond integrations.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Limit: pricing transparency
- The pricing page publishes no numeric prices; buyers must request a tailored quote and pay a one-time implementation charge.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Limit: support coverage
- Staff support is available during CET office hours; outside those hours the company can redirect calls to a third party but does not provide technical maintenance or on-site support.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Meter data
- It accepts meter data through API, (S)FTP, or email and supports standard hourly metering data.checked 7 Oct 2026
Money
- Automated billing
- The platform automates processing from meter readings through invoice generation.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Billing
- The platform supports invoicing based on fixed or consumption-related rates and cost distribution, with invoices sent by email or post.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Consumption billing
- It supports credit billing, cost allocations and pay-as-you-go billing, with monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly periods.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Cost allocation
- The platform calculates building heat losses and allocates related costs to individual accounts.checked 21 Oct 2026
The company
- Company headquarters
- LinkedIn lists headquarters in Ghent, Flemish Region, Belgium.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Company size
- LinkedIn lists Zero Friction as a privately held software-development company with 11–50 employees.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Founded
- LinkedIn lists the company as founded in 2018.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Headquarters
- Ghent, Belgiumchecked 28 Sep 2026
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