Test Data

Advanced Billing provides you with a comprehensive testing area to develop your subscriber communications. Within Advanced Billing’s email editor, we give you the following options:

• Ability to preview subscriber emails
• Options to customize the subscriber data for usage in the preview
• Ability to send preview emails to the email address on file for the account
• Edit emails on the fly using our WYSIWYG editor

Email Formatting

The email editor requires that you use strict XML formatting, versus HTML. For more information on email formatting, please see our documentation on what formatting is acceptable.

Preview Subscriber Emails

When you open the editor for your subscriber emails, Advanced Billing provides you with a starting place and a set of draft communications. This template is the basis of information to distribute to your subscribers.

Use these templates as a starting point. Customize the emails to include all the information necessary to keep your subscribers happy and informed!

This screen shows you two sections, the email body editor, on the left, and the preview pane, on the right:

Editing Examples

In the example below, we’ve added a few attributes:

• Mailing address
• A link to a fictitious account update URL

Please take notice of the usage of <br> for creating line breaks.

The mailing address information was added to the body of the email by adding variables from our email templates list.

We see that your current mailing address is:<br>
{{customer.address}}<br>
{{customer.city}}, {{customer.state}} {{customer.zip}}

Next up, we’ll discuss how to customize the test data for a more accurate depiction of your subscriber communications.

Customization of Test Data

Advanced Billing pre-populates the test data editor with many variables to use during testing. Over time, we expect the needs of a pre-determined set of data to change. Therefore, we allow you to customize the test data to your needs.

In the example below, we have [e-mail] the current email address on file. However, we’d like to update the test data to match our current needs:

• To edit the standard information of the body of the email, select Test Data in the upper right-hand corner of the window.
• Change the field contents to the new test data
• Select Save, then Back

Here, we’ve updated the test data value of the email field to [e-mail]. This is reflected in the preview pane as well, which is depicted in the next screengrab, under Preview Emails.

Preview Emails

Once you’re happy with your edit, you can send a copy of the newly edited email to the email on file for current user. Select Send Preview to proceed.

Liquid Previewing

Advanced Billing allows you to use liquid syntax in your subscriber emails. The link above will show you a few use cases for common questions we hear from merchants. As you construct your test emails, you may find that you would like to change the test data to produce different scenarios with your liquid syntax.

In the example below, we see that the liquid syntax is looking at the existing balance_in_cents for the subscription. If the balance_in_cents is greater than 0, then the specified text will be displayed in the email.

You can change the value of balance_in_cents in the test data. The result with the liquid syntax will be as follows:

Helpful Tips

The defined fields in the editor are only for previewing purposes and will not be used when sending the email. It is also possible to produce scenarios that are not possible in the Advanced Billing system.

Also, not all fields are available for editing will display in email templates. Some fields are used to populate the supported fields. For more information regarding supported fields please check the documentation on email templates.

Test Data

Below you’ll find a complete table of all of the data that is configurable in the email editor. Please keep in mind that once a value is changed for the test data, there is no option to revert to the original data set.

Email Field	Default Value	Description
customer.address	123 Market St	Customer street address
customer.address_2	Unit 4	Customer street address, second line
customer.billing_portal?	No	Is the billing portal enabled for the subscriber? yes/no
customer.city	Boston	Customer city
customer.country	US	Customer country
customer.created_at	Current day	Timestamp of when the customer was created
customer.email	[e-mail]	Email address of customer
customer.first_name	Sue	Customer first name
customer.id	1	ID of the customer
customer.last_name	Smith	Customer last name
customer.organization	Initrode	Organization of the customer
customer.phone	1-555-555-1234	Phone number of the customer
customer.reference	Sue 222	Reference value for the customer
customer.state	MA	Customer state
customer.zip	02116	Customer zip
direct_debit.creditor_name	Creditor Inc.	Creditor’s name
direct_debit.scheme_identifier_reference	1234567	Scheme identifier reference
direct_debit.scheme_identifier_name	GoCardless	Scheme identifier name
direct_debit.bank_name	ABC Bank	Bank name
direct_debit.masked_bank_branch_code	XXXX9	Masked bank branch code
direct_debit.mandate_url	http://acme-inc.test-chargifypay.com/go_cardless_mandate_pdfs?links%5Bmandate%5D=1234567	URL to the GoCardless mandate in the PDF form
payment_profile.bank_account_holder_type	personal	Type of bank account. Personal or business.
payment_profile.bank_account_type	checking	Type of bank account. Checking or savings.
payment_profile.bank_name	Chase	Name of bank where ACH information originates
payment_profile.billing_address	123 Market St	Billing street address
payment_profile.billing_address_2	Unit 4	Billing street address, line 2
payment_profile.billing_city	Boston	Billing city
payment_profile.billing_country	US	Billing country
payment_profile.billing_state	MA	Billing state
payment_profile.billing_zip	02116	Billing zip code
payment_profile.brand	Visa	Card type/brand
payment_profile.card_type	visa	Card type/brand
payment_profile.expiration_month	02	Card expiration month
payment_profile.expiration_year	2021	Card expiration year
payment_profile.first_name	Sue	Payment profile first name
payment_profile.id	2	Payment profile ID
payment_profile.last_name	XXXXXXX1111	Payment profile last name
payment_profile.masked_bank_account_number	XXXX XXXX XXXX 1	Masked bank account number
payment_profile.masked_bank_routing_number	XXXX XXXX XXXX 1	Masked bank routing number
payment_profile.masked_card_number	XXXX XXXX XXXX 1	Masked card number
payment_profile.method_masked_number	XXXX XXXX XXXX 1	Masked card number
payment_profile.method_type	card	Payment profile method
payment_profile.verification_url	https://123.com/verify/123/456	URL to verify ACH account
payment_profile.verified?	No	Is the ACH account verified?
payment.amount	$10.89	Payment amount
payment.amount_in_cents	1089	Payment amount in cents
payment.card_number	XXXX XXXX XXXX 1	Card number used for current payment
payment.card_type	visa	Card type used for current payment
payment.gateway_transaction_id	transaction-123	Gateway transaction ID, generated by the gateway
payment.memo	Payment of $10.89	Payment memo
payment.success	No	Was the payment successful?
payment.test	No	Was the payment made when the site was in test mode?
product_family.name	Acme Online	Product family name
product.accounting_code	AC 1111	Account code of the product
product.archived_at	31 December, 1969	Timestamp when the product was archived
product.archived?	No	Is the product archived?
product.currency	USD	The current currency of the site
product.description	A delightful free product	Description of the product
product.expiration_duration	1 month	Product expiration duration
product.expires?	No	Does the product expire?
product.handle	free	Product API handle
product.id	2	Product ID
product.initial_charge	$0.00	Initial setup charge for the current product
product.initial_charge_in_cents	0	Initial setup charge for the product in cents
product.initial_charge?	No	Is there an initial charge associated with the product
product.interval	1	Product renewal interval
product.interval_unit	month	Product renewal interval unit
product.name	Free	Product name
product.offers_trial?	Yes	Does the product offer a trial?
product.price	$10.99	Current price of the product
product.price_in_cents	1099	Current price of the product in cents
product.qualified_name	Acme Online - Free	Qualified name of the product
product.recurring_duration	1 month	Product recurring duration
product.request_credit_card?	Yes	Does the product purchase request a credit card?
product.require_credit_card?	Yes	Does the product purchase require a credit card?
product.trial_duration	1 month	Duration of the trial of the product
product.trial_interval	30	Duration of the trial of the product
product.trial_interval_unit	day	Unit of measure for the trial period
product.trial_price	$2.99	Product trial price
product.trial_price_in_cents	299	Product trial price in cents
product.update_return_url	https://yoursite.example.com?update=true&return=true	URL provided to the subscriber after successful update via self-service page
subscription.activated_at	Current day	Timestamp in which the subscription was activated at
subscription.agreement_terms	by accepting this you agree that Acme Inc may charge your account	Agreement terms associated with the subscription, as provided on the Public Signup Page
subscription.authorizer_first_name	Jane	First name of authorizing party for the ACH/bank account on file
subscription.authorizer_last_name	Doe	Last name of authorizing party for the ACH/bank account on file
subscription.balance_in_cents	1001	Subscription’s current balance in cents. If a subscription is canceled, the balance in cents it had when being canceled.
subscription.bank_account_on_file?	No	Is there a bank account / ACH information on file for the subscription currently?
subscription.billing_portal_management_url	http://billing-portal.example.com/management/1231321321	Billing portal management URL
subscription.billing_portal?	No	Is the billing portal currently enabled for the subscriber?
subscription.cancel_at_end_of_period	Yes	Is the subscription configured to cancel at the end of the billing period?
subscription.canceled_at	Current day	Timestamp in which the subscription was canceled at
subscription.cancellation_message		Cancellation message associated with the cancellation
subscription.card_on_file?	Yes	Is there a credit card on file for the subscription?
subscription.coupon_code	FREESTUFF	Current coupon code applied to the subscription
subscription.current_billing_amount	$10.99	Current amount due as per the “next billing amount”
subscription.current_billing_amount_in_cents	1099	Current amount due as per the “next billing amount” in cents
subscription.current_period_ends_at	Current day	Timestamp of when the current billing period ends at
subscription.current_period_starts_at	Current day	Timestamp of when the current billing period starts at
subscription.estimated_renewal_amount	$10.99	Estimated renewal amount formatted in currency
subscription.estimated_renewal_amount_in_cents	1099	Estimated renewal amount in cents
subscription.expires_at	Current day	Timestamp of the subscription’s expiration
subscription.expires_at_end_of_period?	Yes	Does the subscription have an expiration date?
subscription.id	1	ID of the subscription
subscription.payment_collection_method	automatic	Payment method of the subscription. Can be automatic or invoice.
subscription.payment_method_on_file?	Yes	Is there a valid payment method on file
subscription.referral_code	REFCODE123	Subscription’s referral code
subscription.state	active	Subscriber’s current subscription state
subscription.subscriber_name	Sue Smith	Subscriber’s full name
subscription.total_revenue	$100,000.00	Total revenue of the subscription in cents
subscription.total_revenue_in_cents	10099	Total revenue of the subscription in cents
subscription.trial_ended_at	Current day	Timestamp when the subscription’s trial ended at in the past (if any)
subscription.trial_ends_at	Current day	Timestamp when the subscription’s trial ends in the future (if any)
subscription.trial_started_at	Current day	Timestamp when the subscription’s trial began (if any)
subscription.require_trial_information?	Yes	Is the Subscription currently on an Introductory Offer Trial Period?
subscription.introductory_offer_period_length	1 month	Length of the Introductory Offer Trial Period
subscription.introductory_offer_ends_at	Current day + 1 month	Estimated day on which the Subscription will end its Introductory Offer Trial Period
subscription.introductory_offer_estimated_renewal_amount	$10.00	Estimated amount of the first subsequent transaction at the end of Subscription’s Introductory Offer Trial Period
update_url	http://example.com/update/subscription	URL for the self-service page associated with the customer