> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.payreque.st/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Support Requests
> Manage customer support tickets with email-to-ticket, rich text replies, file attachments, email notifications, and two-way email conversations
# Support Requests 🎫
A built-in ticketing system that lets you manage customer inquiries, complaints, billing questions, and more — all from your PayRequest dashboard. Customers can submit requests from the customer portal, and you can respond with rich text replies that optionally notify them via email.
**All Plans**: Support Requests are available on all plans. Customers submit requests through the customer portal, and you manage them from the **Support Requests** page in your dashboard sidebar.
## 🎯 Overview
Customers submit tickets from the portal or by replying to any email
Customer replies to invoices, orders, or reminders automatically create support tickets
Reply with a rich text editor, insert customer variables, and optionally email the customer
See when customers view their tickets, track conversation history, and monitor resolution
## 📋 Request Types
Support requests are categorized by type to help you triage and filter:
| Type | Use Case |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **General Support** | General questions and help requests |
| **Billing Question** | Questions about charges, invoices, or payments |
| **Technical Issue** | Problems with portal access, payments, or functionality |
| **Refund Request** | Customer requesting a refund |
| **Complaint** | Formal complaints requiring attention |
| **Pause Subscription** | Request to pause an active subscription |
| **Cancel Subscription** | Request to cancel a subscription with notice period (see [Cancellation Requests](/subscriptions/cancellation-requests)) |
| **Invoice/Order Correction** | Corrections needed on invoices or orders |
| **Feature Request** | Suggestions for improvements |
| **Quote Request** | Custom quote inquiries (legacy category — for new custom-scoped work, sell a [Commission product](/products-and-pricing/commissions) or send a [Quote](/invoices/creating-invoices) instead) |
| **Provider Request** | Requests related to service providers |
## 🚀 Managing Requests
### Request List
Navigate to **Support Requests** in your sidebar to see all tickets. The list page shows:
* **Total count** with status breakdown (Open, In Review, Resolved)
* **Customer avatars** with business/individual badges
* **Status and priority badges** on each card
* **Message preview** (HTML stripped for readability)
* **Conversation count** and last response indicator
### Filtering & Search
Use the filter bar to narrow down requests:
* **Search** — Find by subject, message content, or customer name/email
* **Status** — Open, In Review, Resolved, Rejected, Closed
* **Type** — Filter by any request type
* **Priority** — Low, Medium, High, Urgent
## 💬 Responding to Requests
### Rich Text Editor
The response form includes a full rich text editor with:
* **Formatting** — Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
* **Lists** — Bullet and numbered lists
* **Blockquote** — For quoting customer messages
* **Links** — Insert clickable links
* **Undo/Redo** — Full history support
**Keyboard Shortcuts**: Use standard shortcuts like `Ctrl+B` for bold, `Ctrl+I` for italic, and `Ctrl+Z` for undo. The editor also supports Markdown notation — type `**text**` for bold, `- ` for bullet lists, etc.
### Insert Variables
Click the **code bracket icon** (`{ }`) in the editor toolbar to quickly insert contextual data at your cursor position:
* **Name** — Customer's display name
* **Email** — Customer's email address
* **Company** — Company name (if business customer)
* **Request ID** — e.g. `#32`
* **Subject** — The request subject line
Inserts the customer's subscription names (up to 3 shown), with amounts displayed for reference
Inserts invoice numbers (up to 3 shown), with amounts displayed for reference
The dropdown also includes a **Business Name** option that inserts your company name.
**Real Values**: Variables insert the actual values (e.g. "Francesco Trovato"), not template placeholders. This makes your replies read naturally.
### Internal Notes
Check **"Internal Note (only visible to admin)"** to add notes that customers cannot see. Internal notes appear with an amber highlight in the conversation and are excluded from the customer portal view.
## 📎 File Attachments
You and your customers can add files to any reply — screenshots, PDFs, invoices, signed documents, anything that helps resolve the ticket. Attachments appear inline in the conversation and are automatically included as real attachments on the reply email.
**Both sides can attach**: Admins upload from the dashboard reply form; customers can attach files when replying from the customer portal.
### Uploading Files
Below the reply editor is a drag-and-drop **Attachments** area. Drop files onto it, or click to browse.
* **Up to 10 files** per reply
* **Maximum 20 MB** per file
* Any file type is accepted — images, PDFs, spreadsheets, ZIPs, etc.
* Remove a queued file by clicking the remove icon on its preview card before sending
### How Attachments Are Shown
In the conversation history:
* **Images** (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.) are rendered as inline previews — click to open full-size
* **Other files** appear as download cards with filename and size
* Each attachment belongs to a specific reply and shows alongside that message
### Attachments in Emails
When you send a reply with **"Send reply notification to customer via email"** enabled, any files you attached are included as **real email attachments** — the customer receives them directly in their inbox, no portal login needed.
**Email size limits**: Most email providers reject messages over 25–40 MB total. The 20 MB per-file limit gives room for one large attachment plus the email body, but combining many large files in a single reply may cause delivery issues.
### Privacy & Storage
* Files are stored on PayRequest's private object storage with unguessable unique identifiers
* Downloads from the portal or dashboard are routed through an authorized download endpoint that verifies ticket ownership on every request
* Internal notes and their attachments are never visible to customers
* Attachments inherit the ticket's lifecycle — deleting a reply removes its files automatically
## 📧 Email Notifications
### Sending Reply Notifications
When replying to a request (non-internal), you can check **"Send reply notification to customer via email"** to email the customer about your response.
The email includes:
* **Your business logo** at the top
* **Customer greeting** by name
* **Request subject** for context
* **Reply preview** (first 200 characters)
* **"View Full Reply" button** linking to the customer portal
* **Any attachments** you added to the reply, sent as real email attachments
* **Business branding** in the footer
**Enabled by Default**: The email notification checkbox is checked by default for convenience. Uncheck it if you only want to add a reply without notifying the customer.
### Button States
The submit button changes based on your selection:
* **"Add Reply"** — When email notification is unchecked or reply is internal
* **"Send Reply & Email"** — When email notification will be sent
After sending, a confirmation message shows the recipient's email address.
## 📨 Email-to-Ticket (Inbound Email)
Customers can create support tickets simply by **replying to any email** they receive from your business — invoices, payment reminders, order confirmations, subscription notices, and more. No portal login needed.
**How it works**: Every outgoing email includes a Reply-To address at your business's `payreque.st` address (e.g., `yourshop@payreque.st`). When a customer replies, the email is automatically converted into a support ticket.
### Supported Emails
All customer-facing emails include the Reply-To header:
| Email Type | Example |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| New Invoice | Invoice created notification |
| Invoice Paid | Payment confirmation |
| Invoice Reminder | Overdue payment reminders |
| Order Confirmation | New order acknowledgment |
| Order Completed | Order fulfillment notice |
| Payment Link | Smart link sent to customer |
| Payment Reminder | Smart link follow-up |
| Subscription Suspended | Pause/suspension notice |
| Price Increase | Subscription price change |
| Mandate Request | iDEAL mandate setup |
| Mandate Activation | Mandate confirmed |
| Security Deposit | Deposit authorization |
| Debt Collection | Payment collection notices |
| Checkout Recovery | Abandoned cart reminders |
| Portal Notification | Custom portal alerts |
| Support Reply | Your reply to an existing ticket |
### How Tickets Are Created
The customer hits "Reply" on any email from your business and writes their message.
The reply is received at your `payreque.st` address and processed automatically.
The sender's email is matched to an existing customer in your account. If no exact match is found, the system checks for customers with the same email domain (e.g., `jan@company.com` matches `support@company.com`).
A new support ticket is created with the email subject and full message body, set to type **Support** and priority **Medium**.
You receive an email notification about the new ticket with a direct link to your dashboard.
**Domain Matching**: If a customer emails from a different address at the same company domain, the system still matches them. For example, if `support@acme.com` is your customer, an email from `jan@acme.com` will also be matched. Common email providers like Gmail, Outlook, etc. are excluded from domain matching to prevent false matches.
### Reply via Email (Two-Way Conversations)
When you receive a notification about a new ticket, you can **reply directly to the notification email** instead of opening the dashboard. Your reply is automatically added to the ticket conversation and forwarded to the customer.
Similarly, when a customer receives your reply notification, they can reply back by email — their response is appended to the same ticket thread.
**Unknown Senders**: Emails from addresses that don't match any customer in your account are automatically ignored. This prevents spam from creating unwanted tickets.
### Reply-To Address
Your business's Reply-To address is determined automatically:
| Business Type | Reply-To Address |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| **Shop owners** | `{shopname}@payreque.st` |
| **Freelancers** (PayRequest Page) | `{handle}@payreque.st` |
| **Fallback** | `u{userid}@payreque.st` |
**No Setup Required**: The Reply-To address is generated automatically based on your shop name or PayRequest Page handle. No DNS or email configuration needed on your end.
## 👁️ Customer Activity Tracking
### Ticket Views
The timeline automatically tracks when a customer views their support ticket in the portal. This helps you understand engagement:
* **Teal eye icon** in the timeline when the customer opens the ticket
* **Throttled to once per hour** — repeated page refreshes don't create duplicate entries
* Shows the exact timestamp of each view
### Timeline
The sidebar timeline shows a chronological feed of all activity on a request:
| Event | Icon | Color |
| ----------------------- | -------- | ------ |
| Request created | Dot | Green |
| Customer reply | Dot | Gray |
| Admin response | Dot | Blue |
| Internal note | Dot | Amber |
| Email sent to customer | Envelope | Indigo |
| Customer viewed request | Eye | Teal |
Up to 15 events are shown, with a summary if there are more.
## 🔄 Request Lifecycle
Customer creates a ticket from the portal, or by replying to any business email. Status: **Open**. You receive an email notification.
View the request details, customer info, and any related records. Change status to **In Review**
Write a reply using the rich text editor, insert relevant variables, and optionally send an email notification
Customer sees your reply in the portal (tracked in timeline). They can add follow-up replies which reopen closed tickets
Mark the request as **Resolved** when the issue is addressed, or **Closed** when no further action is needed
### Status Flow
```
Open → In Review → Resolved
→ Rejected
→ Closed
```
**Auto-Reopen**: If a customer replies to a resolved or closed ticket, it automatically reopens with status **Open** so you don't miss follow-ups.
## 📊 Request Detail Page
### Main Content Area
The detail page has a two-column layout:
**Left Column (2/3 width):**
* Original request message (rendered with full HTML formatting)
* Related record link (if linked to an invoice, order, or subscription)
* Full conversation history with color-coded messages
* Reply form with rich text editor
**Right Column (1/3 width):**
* Customer card with avatar, name, email, phone, company
* Status and priority management dropdowns
* Activity timeline
### Related Record Popover
When a request is linked to a subscription, hovering over the related record badge shows a detailed popover with:
* **Subscription name** and ID
* **Status badge** (active, cancelled, etc.)
* **Amount and billing interval** (e.g. €9.25 / month)
* **Next billing date** and creation date
* **Cancellation details** if a cancellation is pending (requested date, effective date, reason)
* **Quick link** to the full subscription detail page
For invoices and orders, the link shows the invoice number or order number alongside the ID.
### Cancellation Decision Actions
When viewing a **Cancel Subscription** request, the detail page shows a dedicated **Cancellation Decision** panel with the customer's requested effective date and two action buttons:
* **Approve & Cancel** — Cancels the subscription immediately and marks the request as resolved
* **Reject & Keep Active** — Clears the cancellation from the subscription and marks the request as rejected
These actions are only visible while the request is still open or in review. Once resolved or closed, the buttons are hidden.
### Quick Actions
Action buttons at the top of the page let you quickly:
* **Mark In Review** — Acknowledge you're looking into it
* **Mark as Resolved** — Issue has been addressed
* **Close Request** — No further action needed
## 🎨 Customer Portal Experience
Customers interact with support through the portal at `/shop/{storename}/support`:
* **View all their tickets** with status badges and filtering
* **Create new tickets** with subject, message, type, and priority
* **Reply to existing tickets** (automatically reopens closed tickets)
* **Attach files** to replies — same 10 files / 20 MB limits as the admin side
* **See admin responses** (internal notes are hidden)
* **Download attachments** sent by your team through a secure, ticket-scoped link
When creating a request with type **Cancel Subscription** or **Pause Subscription**, the form automatically selects "Subscription" as the related record type and requires the customer to choose which subscription the request is about. The dropdown shows subscription names with amounts and status for easy identification.
**Custom Domains**: Support works on custom domains too. If your shop uses `shop.yourbusiness.com`, support is available at `shop.yourbusiness.com/support`.
## 💡 Best Practices
* Acknowledge requests within 4 hours
* Use "In Review" status to signal you're on it
* Use internal notes to document your investigation
* Send email notifications for important updates
* Use the variable inserter for consistent, personalized replies
* Reference specific subscription or invoice details
* Include next steps or expected timelines
* Use formatting to highlight key information
## 🎓 Next Steps
Sell custom-scoped creative and freelance work with a starting price
See the full customer portal experience including support integration
Set up in-portal notifications for your customers
Configure your email settings for support notifications