Handle billing questions by email without a finance team
inboxr can draft replies to routine billing questions, such as refund policy, payment methods, and how to update a card, from the policies and links you give it. It does not connect to your billing system and cannot look up an invoice, a charge, or an account balance, so account-specific questions stay with a person.
Last updated October 13, 2026
What inboxr does not do. inboxr does not connect to your billing, payment, or accounting system. It cannot see an invoice, a charge, a balance, or a subscription status, and it cannot issue a refund. It answers from the knowledge base and links you give it. Questions about a specific customer's account need a person.
Where it helps
A large share of billing email is the same handful of policy questions. Those have one right answer, and that answer is already written down somewhere. inboxr drafts the reply from that written answer so you are not retyping it.
- "What is your refund policy?"
- "Which payment methods do you accept?"
- "How do I update my card?" answered with the link to your account or billing portal
- "Where can I download my invoices?" answered with the link and the steps
- "When am I billed?" when your billing cycle rules are in the knowledge base
The workflow
- The email is classified as billing and routed to your billing agent.
- The agent drafts from your policies. If the question is general, the draft answers it and includes the right self-serve link.
- Account-specific questions are yours. "Why was I charged twice?" cannot be answered from a policy document. Review the draft, look up the account yourself, and edit the reply or write your own.
- You approve and it sends from your own mailbox.
What to set up
A billing agent
Create an agent for the billing inquiry type with a careful role: "You answer billing policy questions from the knowledge base. Never state an amount, date, or account status that is not in the knowledge base. For questions about a specific charge or invoice, say that the team will check the account and reply." See multiple agents.
Knowledge scoped to that agent
Write your billing policies as short statements and scope the article to the billing agent, so those facts inform billing replies and nothing else:
- Refund and cancellation policy, with the conditions
- Accepted payment methods and currencies
- When and how often customers are billed
- What happens when a payment fails
- How to get a receipt or invoice copy
More on the knowledge base, or start from the starter template.
Self-serve links
Add the links to your customer billing portal, invoice page, and plan-change page as smart links. Sending a customer to the page where they can fix the thing themselves is often the best billing reply.
Co-pilot or autopilot?
| Keep in co-pilot | Good candidates for autopilot |
|---|---|
| Anything about a specific charge, invoice, or refund request | "What is your refund policy?" |
| Disputes and chargebacks | "Which cards do you accept?" |
| Requests for an exception | "How do I update my payment method?" |
Money questions deserve caution, so many teams keep the billing mailbox in co-pilot permanently. If you do turn autopilot on (it is available on a mailbox after 20 clean approvals), set a high confidence threshold. Drafts below it are held for review. As an added check, an automatic send is held for review if the draft contains a link, email address, or phone number that does not come from your configured links or knowledge. See autopilot and confidence scoring and controls and audit.
A sample conversation
Hi, if I cancel my subscription halfway through the month, do I get money back for the rest of it?
Hi Ingrid, good question. When you cancel, your plan stays active until the end of the period you have already paid for, and it does not renew after that. We do not prorate refunds for the unused part of a month.
You can cancel anytime from the billing page in your account: example.com/account/billing. If something about your situation is different, reply here and a member of the team will take a look at your account.
Sample data. Names and messages are fictional.
The refund rule in this sample comes from the company's own knowledge base article. The draft does not mention Ingrid's plan, renewal date, or amount, because inboxr has no access to them.
Common questions
Can inboxr look up a customer invoice or payment?
No. inboxr does not connect to billing, payment, or accounting systems. It answers from your knowledge base and the links you provide, so account-specific lookups need a person.
Can it issue refunds or change a subscription?
No. inboxr writes and sends email replies. It can explain your refund policy and link to the page where a customer manages their plan, but it takes no action in other systems.
What stops it from guessing at an amount or a date?
Drafts are grounded in your knowledge base, and each one is scored for confidence. In co-pilot you review every draft. In autopilot, low-confidence drafts are held for review instead of sent.
Is billing a good fit for autopilot?
Policy questions with one right answer can be. Anything about a specific charge is better left in co-pilot, and many teams keep the whole billing mailbox in co-pilot for that reason.