Guide · Updated · 5 min
The first 15 articles every B2B SaaS help center needs
A new help center doesn't need 100 articles. It needs the 15 that answer what customers ask in their first month, written in their words. Here is the list, grouped the way customers think about it, with an example title for each from Ledgerloop, the invoicing SaaS we use in examples.
Short answer
Write these first: four getting started articles, four on account and billing, three on your core workflows, two on integrations, and two troubleshooting articles for the problems customers hit most. Title each one with the question or task as customers say it, answer it in the first two sentences, and let real tickets decide what comes after.
How should you choose your first help articles?
Choose from your inbox, not from your product's menu. The best first articles answer the questions you're already answering by hand, because each one saves time from day one. The list below is a starting point that fits most B2B SaaS products; swap items for whatever your own tickets say customers ask most.
Keep each article to one task or one question. Fifteen short, focused articles beat five long ones, because customers search for a specific answer and AI assistants cite specific pages.
Getting started: the first four
These carry new customers from sign up to their first success. Every new customer reads at least one of them, so they deserve the most care.
| # | Article | Ledgerloop example title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quick start: from sign up to first result | Send your first invoice in 5 minutes |
| 2 | Set up your account | Add your business details and logo |
| 3 | Invite your team | Invite teammates and set their roles |
| 4 | Import your existing data | Import clients and invoices from a spreadsheet |
The quick start matters most. Write it by doing the steps in a fresh account, and stop at the moment a customer gets real value, not when the setup is complete.
A copyable structure with a filled example is at Getting started guide template.
Account and billing: the next four
Billing questions are high stakes: customers ask them when money is involved, and a wrong or missing answer becomes a refund request or a cancellation. Answer them plainly, including the answers customers don't want to hear.
| # | Article | Ledgerloop example title |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Plans and what each includes | What's included in each Ledgerloop plan |
| 6 | Change or cancel your plan | Upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your plan |
| 7 | Invoices, receipts, and payment methods | Download receipts and update your card |
| 8 | Security and data basics | Where your data is stored and who can see it |
State limits as numbers, and link the pricing page instead of repeating prices in several articles, so a price change is one edit.
Templates: Billing FAQ template and Account and login article template.
Core workflows: three articles
Pick the three jobs customers hired your product for and write one article for each. These are the articles people return to, and the ones your assistant will cite most.
| # | Article | Ledgerloop example title |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | The main job, step by step | Create and send an invoice |
| 10 | The second job | Set up recurring invoices |
| 11 | The thing that saves them time | Send automatic payment reminders |
Include the options people ask about inside each workflow article (late fees inside reminders, partial payments inside invoices) rather than scattering them across tiny articles.
Integrations: two articles
Write one article for your most used integration and one overview of how integrations work. Integration questions are common, often urgent (something stopped syncing), and hard to answer from memory.
| # | Article | Ledgerloop example title |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Your most used integration | Connect Ledgerloop to your accounting software |
| 13 | How integrations and syncing work | How syncing works and what to do when it stops |
Say what syncs, in which direction, and how often. Most integration tickets come from customers assuming something syncs that doesn't.
Template: Integration setup guide template.
Troubleshooting: the last two
Write troubleshooting articles for the two problems customers hit most often. You already know what they are: they're the tickets you answer with the same paragraph every week.
| # | Article | Ledgerloop example title |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | The most common problem | Why a client didn't receive an invoice email |
| 15 | The second most common problem | Why a payment isn't showing as paid |
Structure each one as symptom, likely causes in order of how common they are, and the fix for each. End with what to send support if none of it works, so the ticket arrives with the details you need.
Template: Troubleshooting article template.
How do you write these articles fast?
Write each one the way you'd answer the ticket, then tidy it. Open your sent mail, find your best reply to the question, and turn it into the article: title in the customer's words, direct answer first, steps after, and a link to the next article they'll need.
- Title: the question or task as customers phrase it.
- First two sentences: the answer, including “no” if the product can't do it.
- Then: numbered steps, one action per step.
- Then: limits, exceptions, and what to do if it doesn't work.
- Last: links to the next likely question.
At one or two articles a day, fifteen takes two weeks of mornings.
What should you write after the first 15?
Let customers tell you. Once the help center is live, every question that the articles don't answer, whether it arrives as a ticket, a failed search, or a question your assistant couldn't answer, is the next article to write. Rank them by how often they come up. How to find what's missing from your help center walks through doing that in an afternoon.
And keep the first 15 current. They're the most read pages you have, so they're the ones that hurt most when a release makes them wrong; How to keep your help center up to date has a routine for that.
How does usedocs help with this?
usedocs can draft a first set of articles from your connected code, import an existing help center with redirects, and then find what's missing: questions its assistant couldn't answer and tickets imported from your helpdesk become ranked gaps, each with a drafted article. When merged pull requests change what an article describes, it proposes the edit. You approve everything in one review queue.
FAQ
How many articles should a new help center have?
About 15 good ones is enough to launch. Coverage of the questions customers actually ask matters far more than the article count.
Should I launch a help center before I have customers?
Write the getting started and billing articles before launch; write the rest from the questions your first customers ask.
How long should a help article be?
As short as it can be while fully answering one question. Most good help articles are a few hundred words.
Should help articles include screenshots?
Only where the screen is genuinely confusing. Text steps are easier to keep current, and screenshots go stale with every visual change.
What's the most important help article?
The quick start. Every new customer reads it, and it decides whether they reach their first success without writing in.
Should I organize articles by feature or by task?
By task, in the customer's words. Customers search for what they're trying to do, not for the name of your menu.