Support AI Skill

Billing System Integration

Enable support agents to view billing information and perform account operations including plan details, payment history, refunds, credits, plan changes, and subscription management directly from support platform. Use when integrating billing data into supp...

Billing System Integration

Enable support agents to view complete billing information and perform authorized billing actions directly from the support platform, resolving billing inquiries without escalation.

Workflow

1. Billing Data Display and Context

  1. Billing sidebar in ticket view:
   BILLING CONTEXT — Customer: Acme Corp
   ======================================
   
   ACCOUNT BILLING:
     Current plan: Enterprise Pro ($2,400/month)
     Billing cycle: Monthly (renews Jan 28, 2026)
     Payment method: Visa ending 4242 (expires 03/2027)
     Billing email: [email protected]
     Billing address: 123 Enterprise Way, San Francisco, CA
     
   PAYMENT STATUS:
     Last payment: $2,400.00 on 2026-01-01 ✅ Success
     Next invoice: $2,400.00 on 2026-01-28
     Outstanding balance: $0.00
     Payment failures (last 12 months): 0
     
   PAYMENT HISTORY (Last 6 Months):
     Date          | Amount    | Status   | Method     | Invoice ID
     --------------|-----------|----------|------------|------------
     2026-01-01    | $2,400.00 | ✅ Paid   | Visa 4242  | INV-2026-01
     2025-12-01    | $2,400.00 | ✅ Paid   | Visa 4242  | INV-2025-12
     2025-11-01    | $2,400.00 | ✅ Paid   | Visa 4242  | INV-2025-11
     2025-10-01    | $2,400.00 | ✅ Paid   | Visa 4242  | INV-2025-10
     2025-09-01    | $2,400.00 | ✅ Paid   | Visa 4242  | INV-2025-09
     2025-08-01    | $2,400.00 | ✅ Paid   | Visa 4242  | INV-2025-08
     
   CREDITS & ADJUSTMENTS:
     Available credit: $0.00
     Credits applied this cycle: $0.00
     Pending credits: None
     
   SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS:
     Start date: 2024-03-15
     Contract end: 2026-03-15 (annual)
     Auto-renewal: Enabled
     Seats: 45 of 50 (90% utilization)
     Add-ons:
       - Advanced Analytics ($500/month)
       - Priority Support ($300/month)
       - API Extra Pack ($200/month)
       
   LIFETIME VALUE:
     Total revenue: $136,800.00
     Months active: 22
     MRR contribution: $3,400.00
     ARR contribution: $40,800.00
     Churn risk: Low (on-time payments, high usage)
  1. Payment failure handling workflow:

2. Agent Billing Actions and Approvals

  1. Agent-permitted billing actions (role-based):
   BILLING ACTION PERMISSION MATRIX
   =================================
   
   Action                          | L1 Agent | L2 Agent | Manager | Billing Specialist
   --------------------------------|----------|----------|---------|-------------------
   View billing information        | ✅       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   View payment history            | ✅       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Generate payment link           | ✅       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Resend invoice                  | ✅       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Apply one-time credit (<$100)   | ❌       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Apply one-time credit ($100-500)| ❌       | ❌       | ✅      | ✅
   Apply one-time credit (>$500)   | ❌       | ❌       | ❌      | ✅ (VP approval)
   Issue refund                    | ❌       | ❌       | ✅      | ✅ (up to $1,000)
   Extend trial period             | ✅       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅ (up to 14 days)
   Pause subscription              | ❌       | ❌       | ✅      | ✅
   Change plan (upgrade)           | ❌       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Change plan (downgrade)         | ❌       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Cancel subscription             | ❌       | ❌       | ✅      | ✅ (customer-requested)
   Force cancellation              | ❌       | ❌       | ❌      | ✅ (with legal approval)
   Update payment method           | ❌       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Adjust seat count               | ❌       | ✅       | ✅      | ✅
   Apply discount                  | ❌       | ❌       | ✅      | ✅ (up to 15%)
   Apply discount (15%+)           | ❌       | ❌       | ❌      | ✅ (VP approval)
  1. Refund workflow:
  1. Plan change workflow:

3. Billing Dispute and Resolution

  1. Overcharge investigation:
  1. Duplicate charge resolution:
  1. Tax and compliance issues:

Templates & Frameworks

Billing Support Dashboard

BILLING SUPPORT DASHBOARD — January 2026
==========================================

BILLING TICKET METRICS:
  Billing tickets this month: 890 (12% of total tickets)
  Billing tickets resolved without escalation: 756 (85.0%) ✓
  Billing tickets escalated: 134 (15.0%)
  Average resolution time: 4.2 minutes (target: <5 minutes) ✓
  CSAT for billing tickets: 4.4/5.0
  
  TOP BILLING ISSUE CATEGORIES:
  Category                  | Tickets | % of Billing | Avg Resolution | Auto-Resolved
  --------------------------|---------|--------------|----------------|-------------
  Payment failed            | 234     | 26.3%        | 3.1 min        | 67%
  Invoice discrepancy       | 156     | 17.5%        | 5.4 min        | 45%
  Plan change request       | 123     | 13.8%        | 2.8 min        | 89%
  Refund request            | 89      | 10.0%        | 6.2 min        | 23%
  Overcharge dispute        | 67      | 7.5%         | 7.1 min        | 34%
  Duplicate charge          | 45      | 5.1%         | 2.3 min        | 91%
  Payment method update     | 38      | 4.3%         | 1.9 min        | 95%
  Tax question              | 34      | 3.8%         | 8.5 min        | 12%
  Other billing             | 104     | 11.7%        | 4.8 min        | 56%

AGENT BILLING ACTIONS (This Month):
  Action                          | Count | Success Rate | Avg Time
  --------------------------------|-------|--------------|----------
  Generate payment link           | 312   | 99.7%        | 0.8 min
  Resend invoice                  | 187   | 100%         | 0.5 min
  Apply credit (<$100)            | 89    | 100%         | 1.2 min
  Refund processed                | 45    | 98.9%        | 2.1 min
  Plan upgrade                    | 67    | 100%         | 1.8 min
  Plan downgrade                  | 34    | 100%         | 1.5 min
  Extend trial                    | 23    | 100%         | 0.7 min
  Update payment method           | 156   | 97.4%        | 1.3 min
  
  Total agent billing actions: 913
  Actions requiring approval: 134 (14.7%)
  Average approval time: 2.1 hours

REFUND ANALYTICS:
  Refunds processed this month: 45
  Total refund amount: $8,234
  Refund reasons:
    Service outage credit: 18 ($3,420)
    Billing error: 12 ($2,340)
    Customer dissatisfaction: 8 ($1,560)
    Duplicate charge: 5 ($780)
    Other: 2 ($134)
    
  Refund approval breakdown:
    Auto-approved (within agent limits): 34 (75.6%)
    Manager-approved: 8 (17.8%)
    VP-approved: 2 (4.4%)
    Denied: 1 (2.2%)

PAYMENT FAILURE TREND:
  Payment failures this month: 234
  Recovery rate (after agent intervention): 78%
  Average recovery time: 1.3 days
  Most common failure reasons:
    Card expired: 89 (38.0%)
    Insufficient funds: 67 (28.6%)
    Card declined (bank): 45 (19.2%)
    Card not recognized: 23 (9.8%)
    Other: 10 (4.3%)
    
  Churn from payment failures: 12 accounts (5.1% of failures)
  Revenue at risk from failures: $34,800 MRR

BILLING SYSTEM HEALTH:
  Stripe API connection: ✅ Operational
  Invoice generation: ✅ Operational
  Payment processing: ✅ Operational (99.97% uptime)
  Webhook delivery: ✅ Operational (99.9% success rate)
  Refund processing: ✅ Operational
  
  System response times:
    Billing data retrieval: 340ms avg (target: <500ms) ✓
    Payment link generation: 280ms avg (target: <500ms) ✓
    Refund processing: 1.2s avg (target: <3s) ✓

Billing Inquiry Resolution Playbook

BILLING INQUIRY RESOLUTION PLAYBOOK
=====================================

SCENARIO 1: "I was charged twice"
  Investigation: Check payment history for duplicate charges within 24 hours
  Root cause: Payment gateway retry on false failure OR card issuer duplicate
  Action: Issue immediate refund for duplicate amount
  Customer communication: "We found a duplicate charge of $X. We've issued an 
   immediate refund. It will appear on your statement within 5-7 business days."
  Prevention: Flag account for payment monitoring (30 days)
  Resolution time: 2-3 minutes
  
SCENARIO 2: "My payment failed"
  Investigation: Check failure reason, number of retries, account status
  Root cause: Expired card, insufficient funds, bank decline, gateway error
  Action: Generate new payment link, extend grace period if needed
  Customer communication: "Your payment of $X failed due to [reason]. Please 
   update your payment method using this link: [link]. Your account will remain 
   active for [X] days while you update."
  Escalation: 3 consecutive failures → account suspension warning → CSM outreach
  Resolution time: 3-5 minutes
  
SCENARIO 3: "I want to change my plan"
  Investigation: Current plan, target plan, proration calculation
  Action: Process plan change (upgrade immediate, downgrade next cycle)
  Customer communication: "Your plan has been updated from [old] to [new]. 
   Your new monthly charge is $X (effective [date]). Here's what's included: [features]"
  Follow-up: Schedule onboarding call for new features (if upgrade)
  Resolution time: 2-4 minutes
  
SCENARIO 4: "I want a refund"
  Investigation: Refund eligibility, amount, reason, purchase history
  Action: Process refund (if eligible) or explain policy
  Customer communication (approved): "We've processed your refund of $X. 
   The credit will appear within 5-7 business days. [Additional context]"
  Customer communication (denied): "Based on our refund policy, this charge 
   isn't eligible for refund because [reason]. However, I can offer [alternative]"
  Escalation: Refund >$1,000 or pattern of refund requests → manager review
  Resolution time: 5-10 minutes
  
SCENARIO 5: "I was overcharged"
  Investigation: Invoice breakdown vs plan pricing, proration details, add-ons
  Root cause: Proration from previous change, new add-on, seat increase, tax
  Action: Explain charge OR issue credit if genuine error
  Customer communication: "I reviewed your invoice. The $X charge includes: 
   [breakdown]. This is because [explanation]. Your next invoice will be $Y."
  Prevention: Add invoice breakdown template for transparency
  Resolution time: 5-7 minutes
  
SCENARIO 6: "I need a tax invoice"
  Investigation: Tax jurisdiction, invoice format, company details
  Action: Generate tax invoice PDF, resend with correct details
  Customer communication: "I've generated your tax invoice for [period]. 
   You can download it here: [link]. If you need it in a specific format, let me know."
  Resolution time: 1-2 minutes

Integration Points

Edge Cases

Output

Monthly Billing Support Report

BILLING SUPPORT MONTHLY REPORT — January 2026
===============================================

VOLUME & PERFORMANCE:
  Billing tickets: 890 (12% of total)
  Resolved without escalation: 756 (85.0%)
  Average resolution time: 4.2 minutes
  CSAT: 4.4/5.0
  
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
  Refunds processed: $8,234 (45 refunds)
  Credits applied: $3,456 (23 credits)
  Plan upgrades: $23,400 MRR (67 upgrades)
  Plan downgrades: ($8,900 MRR) (34 downgrades)
  Net billing impact: +$14,500 MRR
  
  Revenue retained from payment recovery: $34,800 MRR (78% recovery rate)
  Churn from payment failures: $3,400 MRR (12 accounts, 5.1% of failures)

BILLING SYSTEM HEALTH:
  Uptime: 99.97%
  API success rate: 99.8%
  Payment processing success: 97.2%
  Webhook delivery: 99.9%

RECOMMENDATIONS:
  1. Reduce payment failure churn: Add automated card update prompt (expected -40% failures)
  2. Create self-service refund request flow (reduce agent time on refunds by 60%)
  3. Add billing FAQ in-app widget (deflect common billing questions)
  4. Implement invoice preview before plan changes (reduce overcharge disputes by 50%)