What to Do in Billing Issues

Why resolving billing issues matters for D2C brands

• Protects revenue: Fix failed or duplicate charges quickly to avoid lost sales and refunds.
• Improves customer trust: Rapid refunds and clear communication reduce complaints and returns.
• Streamlines accounting: Clean billing records simplify tax filing and audits.
• Reduces support load: Repeatable playbooks speed resolution and lower manual effort.

Common billing problems & step-by-step fixes

1. Failed payment / charge declined

Common causes: Card decline, insufficient funds, expired card, incorrect details, payment gateway outage.
OrderZup UI steps:

1. Go to Orders → Payment History.
2. Locate the order and review the gateway response code and error message.
3. If user action is needed (card expired / insufficient funds), send a retry payment link or enable an alternate payment method.
4. Use Retry Payment or Send Payment Link features to let the customer complete payment securely.
   Developer tip: Log gateway error codes from webhooks and auto-trigger retry flows for retryable errors.
   Customer message sample: “Your payment for Order #1234 failed. Click here to retry: {payment_link}.”

2. Duplicate charge or duplicate invoice

Common causes: Multiple checkout clicks, webhook replay, manual retries.
OrderZup UI steps:

1. Search by transaction ID and order ID to find duplicates.
2. Confirm which transaction is valid by comparing gateway transaction IDs and timestamps.
3. Refund the duplicate charge and create a support note explaining the action.
4. Void the duplicate invoice and reissue a corrected invoice if required.
   Developer mitigation: Use idempotency keys on payment and invoice endpoints to prevent replay.
   Best UX practice: Disable the retry button after the first click and show a loading state.

3. Incorrect tax / GST breakup on invoice

Common causes: Wrong HSN/SAC code, missing seller GSTIN, incorrect product tax settings.
OrderZup UI steps:

1. Open order → Invoice → verify item HSN codes, tax rates, and GSTIN fields.
2. Correct product tax settings or buyer billing details, then regenerate the invoice.
3. If the invoice was already filed, issue a credit note and reissue the corrected invoice to stay compliant.
   Developer tip: Validate tax fields during checkout for B2B orders and prevent order placement if mandatory tax fields are missing.

4. Refunds delayed or not reflected

Common causes: Gateway processing time, incorrect refund initiation, reconciliation issues.
OrderZup UI steps:

1. Check Payments → Refunds for refund status and gateway references.
2. Confirm the gateway refund ID and check whether it’s processing or completed.
3. If stuck, escalate to the gateway with the transaction reference and notify the customer of expected timelines.
   Developer tip: Use refund.updated webhooks to automatically update order status and notify customers.

5. Reconciliation mismatches (platform vs accounting)

Common causes: Fees deducted by gateway, partial refunds, shipping adjustments, currency conversions.
OrderZup UI steps:

1. Export transaction CSVs: Orders, Payments, Fees, Refunds for the period in question.
2. Match order_id → payment_id → refund_id; flag rows where totals differ.
3. Use annotation features to mark discrepancy reasons for auditors.
   Developer tip: Provide a canonical ledger export that includes platform fees, taxes, and net remittances per payout.

Bulk tools & automated flows for billing operations

• Batch refunds & bulk credit notes: Create rules to refund canceled batches or failed deliveries.
• Scheduled reconciliation exports: Automate daily/weekly CSV exports to S3/FTP for accounting teams.
• Automated alerts: Trigger alerts for high decline rates, large refunds, or unexpected chargebacks.
• Idempotency & webhook protection: Prevent duplicate processing by implementing idempotency and replay protection.

Security, compliance & accounting best practices

• Role-based access controls: Limit who can issue refunds, void invoices, or export financial data.
• Audit logs: Maintain immutable logs for invoice edits, refunds, and manual overrides.
• Retention policy: Store billing records per the statutory period in your jurisdiction (commonly several years).
• Data protection & PCI: Mask PANs, store only tokens if required, and encrypt PII at rest and in transit.
• Clear SLA for refunds: Publish refund timelines in T&Cs and automate status updates to customers.

Troubleshooting checklist (fast triage)

1. Reproduce the issue in the UI using the order ID.
2. Check payment gateway logs and webhook payloads for error codes.
3. Verify invoice generator settings (tax rates, HSN/SAC, GSTIN).
4. Confirm customer billing details and payment attempts.
5. For bulk issues, check recent deployments or integration changes.
6. If money movement is involved, escalate to the payment gateway/finance with transaction references.