billing-automation▌
wshobson/agents · updated Apr 8, 2026
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Automated billing systems for recurring payments, invoicing, subscription lifecycle, and dunning management.
- ›Manages complete subscription lifecycle including trial periods, activation, plan changes, cancellation, and pause/resume workflows
- ›Handles failed payment recovery through configurable dunning workflows with retry schedules, customer notifications, and grace periods
- ›Calculates prorated charges for mid-cycle plan upgrades, downgrades, and seat changes with day-based adjustments
Billing Automation
Master automated billing systems including recurring billing, invoice generation, dunning management, proration, and tax calculation.
When to Use This Skill
- Implementing SaaS subscription billing
- Automating invoice generation and delivery
- Managing failed payment recovery (dunning)
- Calculating prorated charges for plan changes
- Handling sales tax, VAT, and GST
- Processing usage-based billing
- Managing billing cycles and renewals
Core Concepts
1. Billing Cycles
Common Intervals:
- Monthly (most common for SaaS)
- Annual (discounted long-term)
- Quarterly
- Weekly
- Custom (usage-based, per-seat)
2. Subscription States
trial → active → past_due → canceled
→ paused → resumed
3. Dunning Management
Automated process to recover failed payments through:
- Retry schedules
- Customer notifications
- Grace periods
- Account restrictions
4. Proration
Adjusting charges when:
- Upgrading/downgrading mid-cycle
- Adding/removing seats
- Changing billing frequency
Quick Start
from billing import BillingEngine, Subscription
# Initialize billing engine
billing = BillingEngine()
# Create subscription
subscription = billing.create_subscription(
customer_id="cus_123",
plan_id="plan_pro_monthly",
billing_cycle_anchor=datetime.now(),
trial_days=14
)
# Process billing cycle
billing.process_billing_cycle(subscription.id)
Subscription Lifecycle Management
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from enum import Enum
class SubscriptionStatus(Enum):
TRIAL = "trial"
ACTIVE = "active"
PAST_DUE = "past_due"
CANCELED = "canceled"
PAUSED = "paused"
class Subscription:
def __init__(self, customer_id, plan, billing_cycle_day=None):
self.id = generate_id()
self.customer_id = customer_id
self.plan = plan
self.status = SubscriptionStatus.TRIAL
self.current_period_start = datetime.now()
self.current_period_end = self.current_period_start + timedelta(days=plan.trial_days or 30)
self.billing_cycle_day = billing_cycle_day or self.current_period_start.day
self.trial_end = datetime.now() + timedelta(days=plan.trial_days) if plan.trial_days else None
def start_trial(self, trial_days):
"""Start trial period."""
self.status = SubscriptionStatus.TRIAL
self.trial_end = datetime.now() + timedelta(days=trial_days)
self.current_period_end = self.trial_end
def activate(self):
"""Activate subscription after trial or immediately."""
self.status = SubscriptionStatus.ACTIVE
self.current_period_start = datetime.now()
self.current_period_end = self.calculate_next_billing_date()
def mark_past_due(self):
"""Mark subscription as past due after failed payment."""
self.status = SubscriptionStatus.PAST_DUE
# Trigger dunning workflow
def cancel(self, at_period_end=True):
"""Cancel subscription."""
if at_period_end:
self.cancel_at_period_end = True
# Will cancel when current period ends
else:
self.status = SubscriptionStatus.CANCELED
self.canceled_at = datetime.now()
def calculate_next_billing_date(self):
"""Calculate next billing date based on interval."""
if self.plan.interval == 'month':
return self.current_period_start + timedelta(days=30)
elif self.plan.interval == 'year':
return self.current_period_start + timedelta(days=365)
elif self.plan.interval == 'week':
return self.current_period_start + timedelta(days=7)
Billing Cycle Processing
class BillingEngine:
def process_billing_cycle(self, subscription_id):
"""Process billing for a subscription."""
subscription = self.get_subscription(subscription_id)
# Check if billing is due
if datetime.now() < subscription.current_period_end:
return
# Generate invoice
invoice = self.generate_invoice(subscription)
# Attempt payment
payment_result = self.charge_customer(
subscription.customer_id,
invoice.total
)
if payment_result.success:
# Payment successful
invoice.mark_paid()
subscription.advance_billing_period()
self.send_invoice(invoice)
else:
# Payment failed
subscription.mark_past_due()
self.start_dunning_process(subscription, invoice)
def generate_invoice(self, subscription):
"""Generate invoice for billing period."""
invoice = Invoice(
customer_id=subscription.customer_id,
subscription_id=subscription.id,
period_start=subscription.current_period_start,
period_end=subscription.current_period_end
)
# Add subscription line item
invoice.add_line_item(
description=subscription.plan.name,
amount=subscription.plan.amount,
quantity=subscription.quantity or 1
)
# Add usage-based charges if applicable
if subscription.has_usage_billing:
usage_charges = self.calculate_usage_charges(subscription)
invoice.add_line_item(
description="Usage charges",
amount=usage_charges
)
# Calculate tax
tax = self.calculate_tax(invoice.subtotal, subscription.customer)
invoice.tax = tax
invoice.finalize()
return invoice
def charge_customer(self, customer_idhow to use billing-automationHow to use billing-automation on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
- ›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
- ›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with
node --version) - ›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add billing-automation
2Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill billing-automationThe skills CLI fetches billing-automation from GitHub repository wshobson/agents and configures it for Cursor.
3Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?││ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────│ • Amp│ • Antigravity│ • Cline│ • Codex│ ●Cursor(selected)│ • Cursor│ • Windsurf4Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/billing-automationReload or restart Cursor to activate billing-automation. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /billing-automation) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
List & Monetize Your Skill
Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning
GET_STARTED →Use Cases▌
User Story & Requirements Generation
Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs
Example
Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios
✓Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage
Competitive Analysis
Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps
Example
Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities
✓Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days
Roadmap Prioritization
Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs
Example
Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale
✓Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster
Stakeholder Communication
Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations
Example
Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement
✓Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead
Implementation Guide▌
Prerequisites
- ›Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
- ›Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
- ›Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
- ›Stakeholder contact information and communication channels
Time Estimate
30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements
Installation Steps
- 1.Install product management skill
- 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
- 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
- 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
- 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
- 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
- 7.Share effective prompts with product team
Common Pitfalls
- ⚠Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
- ⚠Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
- ⚠Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
- ⚠Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
- ⚠Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements
Best Practices▌
✓ Do
- +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
- +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
- +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
- +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
- +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
- +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition
✗ Don't
- −Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
- −Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
- −Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
- −Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
- −Don't ignore company-specific context and culture
💡 Pro Tips
- ★Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
- ★Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
- ★Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
- ★Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs
When to Use This▌
✓ Use When
Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.
✗ Avoid When
Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.
Learning Path▌
- 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
- 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
- 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
- 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
general reviewsRatings
4.4★★★★★63 reviews- ★★★★★Charlotte Desai· Dec 24, 2024
Useful defaults in billing-automation — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.
- ★★★★★Fatima Gupta· Dec 24, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: billing-automation is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
- ★★★★★Charlotte Diallo· Dec 20, 2024
billing-automation has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
- ★★★★★Charlotte Abebe· Dec 12, 2024
We added billing-automation from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Noah Thompson· Nov 15, 2024
billing-automation is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.
- ★★★★★Fatima Khanna· Nov 15, 2024
We added billing-automation from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Maya Bansal· Nov 11, 2024
billing-automation fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
- ★★★★★Ama Rahman· Nov 3, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: billing-automation is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
- ★★★★★Hiroshi Sharma· Oct 22, 2024
billing-automation has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
- ★★★★★Benjamin Gonzalez· Oct 6, 2024
Keeps context tight: billing-automation is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
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