What a SaaS MVP should include (and what to leave out)

The goal of a minimum viable product is to put a useful product in front of real customers quickly. That means being strict about what goes into version one.

Build these first

• User accounts, secure login and password recovery
• The one core workflow that solves your customer's main problem
• Basic subscription billing
• A simple admin view to manage customers
• Analytics so you can see how people use the product

Leave these for later

• Advanced reporting and customisation
• Every possible integration
• Complex roles and permissions beyond the basics
• Native mobile apps, if a responsive web app will do

Plan for growth without overbuilding

Choose an architecture that can scale: keep each customer's data separate, automate deployment and add monitoring from day one. You do not need to build everything now, but you should not paint yourself into a corner.

Launch, learn, repeat

Release to a small group of early customers, collect feedback and let real usage decide what to build next.