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Planning a SaaS MVP: what to build first
Plan a SaaS MVP that can grow: pick the one workflow to prove, decide tenancy, auth, billing and permissions early, and leave out what can safely wait.
Prove one workflow end to end
An MVP should let a real customer complete the one job they would pay for, from sign-up to result. Write that workflow down step by step and treat everything outside it as a candidate for later. A narrow product that works completely teaches you more than a broad one that half works.
Decide tenancy before the first table
How customer data is separated is hard to change later. Decide early whether tenants share a database with a tenant ID on every record, use separate schemas, or get separate databases, based on your security and compliance needs. Then enforce it in one place in the code, not in every query.
Get authentication and permissions right early
Use a proven authentication provider rather than building login yourself. Design roles around what customers actually need, often just an admin and a member at first, but structure the code so finer permissions can be added without a rewrite. Invitations and team management usually matter sooner than founders expect.
Plan billing even if you launch free
Pricing will change, so keep plan logic separate from product logic and use a billing provider for payments, invoices and tax. Decide what a plan unlocks, such as seats, usage or features, and check it in one place. Retrofitting billing into a product built without it is a common and expensive rewrite.
Leave out what can safely wait
Advanced reporting, integrations, white-labelling and mobile apps can usually follow once customers are using the core workflow. Keep a written list of what you deferred and why. Spend the time saved on onboarding, error tracking and basic analytics, which tell you whether the MVP is working.