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Payment & Billing Requirements

Story Prefix: PAY Feature Area: Payment & Billing System Overview: university-reg-features.md Related docs: Access restrictions → user-authentication-requirements.md (AUTH-009) | Notifications → notifications-requirements.md

PAY-001: View Tuition and Fee Breakdown per Term​

As a Student I want to see a detailed breakdown of my tuition and fees for each term So that I understand exactly what I owe and why

Acceptance Criteria​

  • The billing page displays, per term: tuition charges (by course and credit hour), mandatory fees (technology, activity, health, etc.), course-specific fees (lab fees, materials), and any adjustments or credits
  • Line items are labeled clearly so students understand each charge
  • The current outstanding balance is displayed prominently at the top of the billing page
  • Financial aid applied to the balance is shown as a credit line item (linked to PAY-005)
  • Only the account holder (Student) and Administrators can view billing details (AUTH-009)

PAY-002: Make an Online Payment​

As a Student I want to pay my tuition and fees online So that I can settle my balance conveniently without visiting the bursar's office

Acceptance Criteria​

  • Students can make a full or partial payment via credit/debit card or ACH bank transfer
  • The payment form is served over HTTPS; card data is processed through a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway and is never stored on university servers
  • Students receive an on-screen confirmation and email receipt immediately after a successful payment
  • Failed payments display a clear error message and do not result in a partial charge
  • Students can save a payment method (tokenized) for future use; saved methods can be removed at any time

PAY-003: View Payment History​

As a Student I want to view a history of all payments I have made So that I can reconcile my records and confirm past transactions

Acceptance Criteria​

  • The payment history page lists all transactions: date, amount, payment method (last 4 digits for card / masked account for ACH), transaction ID, and status (Successful / Pending / Failed)
  • Students can download individual payment receipts as PDF
  • Payment history is accessible to the student and to Administrators; it is not accessible to Instructors or Academic Staff (AUTH-009)
  • History covers all terms; students can filter by term or date range

PAY-004: Receive Automated Billing Reminders​

As a Student I want to receive automated reminders before payment deadlines So that I do not miss due dates and incur late fees or holds

Acceptance Criteria​

  • Automated reminders are sent 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, and 1 day before each billing due date
  • Reminders include: amount due, due date, and a direct link to the payment page (PAY-002)
  • Students with a zero balance for the term do not receive reminders for that term
  • Reminders are delivered via email by default; SMS delivery is available if opted into (see notifications-requirements.md NOTIF-002)
  • Administrators can configure the billing due dates and reminder schedule per term

PAY-005: View Financial Aid Applied to Balance​

As a Student I want to see how my financial aid (grants, scholarships, loans) has been applied to my account So that I understand my net balance after aid disbursement

Acceptance Criteria​

  • The billing page displays a financial aid section listing each aid type (grant, scholarship, loan, work-study), the awarding authority, and the amount applied
  • Financial aid data is synced from the financial aid system (see integration-requirements.md INT-001)
  • The net balance (charges minus aid) is clearly calculated and displayed
  • Students are notified when financial aid is posted or updated on their account (see notifications-requirements.md)
  • If aid disbursement results in a credit balance, the student is informed of the refund process

PAY-006: Generate a Billing Statement​

As a Student or Administrator I want to generate a formatted billing statement for a specific term So that I can submit it to a third party (employer reimbursement, loan servicer, tax purposes)

Acceptance Criteria​

  • Students can generate a billing statement for any term in which they have charges
  • The statement includes: student name, student ID, term, itemized charges, financial aid applied, payments made, and outstanding balance
  • Statements are downloadable as a PDF and optionally emailable to a specified address
  • Administrators can generate billing statements for any student account
  • Statements are clearly labeled with the generation date to indicate they are point-in-time snapshots