# RevCent MCP Guide: `ExpireTrial`

Brief AI/MCP-focused guide for manually expiring a Trial in RevCent.

---

## Related Documentation

| Guide | Link | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Trial Overview | `https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/OverviewTrial.md` | Broad explanation of Trial creation, Product-level trial settings, automatic expiration, trial expiration payments, shipping, tax, salvage, AI workflows, and reporting. |
| GetTrial | `https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/GetTrial.md` | Retrieve the Trial before and after taking action. |
| GetTrials | `https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/GetTrials.md` | Bounded operational Trial retrieval. Not for reporting or metrics. |
| SearchTrials | `https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/SearchTrials.md` | Search for Trials when the Trial ID is unknown, then use `GetTrial`. |
| Product Overview | `https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/OverviewProduct.md` | Explains Product-level Trial settings such as `trial_days`, `price_trial`, and `trial_shipping_setting`. |
| BigQueryRunQuery | `https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/BigQueryRunQuery.md` | Correct operation for Trial reporting, metrics, aggregation, and data mining. |
|


---

## Operation Summary

Operation:

```text
ExpireTrial
```

Title:

```text
Expire A Trial
```

Purpose:

```text
Expire a Trial immediately using the Trial ID.
```

`ExpireTrial` manually expires a Trial before its official expiration date.

The live operation description states:

```text
RevCent automatically expires trials on your behalf.
Use this operation if you wish to expire a trial before its official expiration date.
```

---

## Critical Warning

`ExpireTrial` is a manual premature-expiration operation.

Best practice:

```text
Let RevCent automatically expire Trials on their scheduled expiration date.
```

Use `ExpireTrial` only when the user explicitly wants to expire a Trial early and understands that expiration/payment behavior may occur immediately.

Do not use `ExpireTrial` as the normal Trial lifecycle process.

---

## When to Use

Use `ExpireTrial` only when:

- the business intentionally wants the Trial to expire before its scheduled date,
- the customer explicitly agrees to end the Trial early and proceed,
- support has a clear reason to trigger Trial expiration now,
- the user understands the Trial expiration payment may be attempted immediately,
- the user understands related lifecycle events may occur early.

Examples:

```text
Customer asks to start paid access now instead of waiting for the trial end date.
Support intentionally ends a Trial early with customer approval.
Merchant intentionally wants to convert a specific Trial early.
```

---

## When Not to Use

Do not use `ExpireTrial` when:

- the Trial can expire naturally,
- the user only wants to know the Trial end date,
- the user wants to cancel the Trial,
- the user wants to extend or shorten the Trial without immediate expiration,
- the user wants reporting/metrics,
- the user is unsure about payment consequences,
- an automation is attempting to replace RevCent's automatic Trial expiration process.

Correct alternatives:

| User Intent | Correct Operation |
|---|---|
| Let Trial expire normally | Do nothing; RevCent expires automatically. |
| Cancel Trial | `CancelTrial` after confirmation. |
| Extend Trial | `ExtendTrial`. |
| Shorten Trial but not necessarily expire now | `ShortenTrial`. |
| View Trial | `GetTrial`. |
| Trial metrics/reporting | `BigQueryRunQuery`. |

---

## Input Schema

Required:

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---:|---|
| `trial_id` | string | 20-character Trial ID. |

Example:

```json
{
  "trial_id": "TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"
}
```

---

## Output Schema

Successful output can include:

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---:|---|
| `api_call_id` | string | 20-character API call ID. |
| `api_call_unix` | integer | Unix timestamp when the API call was initiated. |
| `code` | integer | API response code. `1` indicates success. |
| `trial_id` | string | 20-character Trial ID. |
| `result` | string | Result message. |

---

## Recommended Workflow

```text
1. Retrieve the Trial with GetTrial.
2. Verify correct Trial ID and customer.
3. Review active state, days remaining, start date, end date, and related records.
4. Confirm the user truly wants immediate early expiration.
5. Explain that expiration/payment/lifecycle behavior may occur now.
6. Require explicit confirmation.
7. Call ExpireTrial.
8. Retrieve the Trial again with GetTrial to verify the result.
9. Review related payment, shipping, tax, subscription, or salvage records if created.
```

---

## Customer-Facing AI Safety

If `ExpireTrial` is exposed through a customer-facing AI flow, such as a chatbot or AI Voice Agent:

```text
Verify the visitor is related to the Trial before discussing details or taking action.
```

Use a secondary value from the retrieved Trial record, such as customer email or phone.

Do not expire a Trial based only on a visitor-provided Trial ID, name, email, or search term.

Require explicit confirmation before triggering early expiration.

---

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

Do not:

- use `ExpireTrial` as a routine scheduled expiration mechanism,
- manually expire Trials when RevCent can expire them automatically,
- call `ExpireTrial` when the user wants cancellation,
- call `ExpireTrial` when the user only wants to adjust timing,
- call `ExpireTrial` without reviewing the Trial first,
- ignore potential payment/shipping/tax/salvage consequences,
- use `ExpireTrial` for reporting or metrics.

---

## Final AI/MCP Instruction

Use `ExpireTrial` only when the user explicitly wants to expire a Trial before its official expiration date.

RevCent automatically expires Trials on the scheduled expiration date, and that automatic behavior is the preferred normal lifecycle. Manual expiration should be exceptional, intentional, and confirmed.


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Document Parent Directory
* [Operations](https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/index.md) - AI/MCP details and overviews for operations available within the RevCent MCP.