📝 Overview
If a customer's payment fails, the steps you'll need to take will depend on the payment method they use, or purchase type. You can find guidance for each payment method below.
Stripe
Stripe
When the failed payment is being made via Stripe, the payment will automatically be reattempted every 24 hours until it reaches the number of failed payment attempts which you have set in your Customer Settings section by going to Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers or by clicking here to be redirected.
Once the number of failed attempts has reached the number set in your customer settings, then the customers membership will become unusable, which means that they will no longer be able to use that membership to register for new sessions/events.
💡Currently, only customers will receive notifications regarding retries and failed payments. To stay up to date with any open invoices or failed payments, see the To-Dos section available on the dashboard and in the left hand menu.
⚠️ Any existing registrations made prior to the membership becoming unusable will remain active though, and customers will still be able to attend these events.
What's next?
If a customers payment has reached the maximum retry limit, you can go into their membership where you will see this payment with a red "Max Retries" label, and you can select the "Resolve" option to either change the payment method, Skip/Edit the payment, or Retry the payment again.
💡 Alternatively, if this payment is for a recurring membership, you could also try skipping that payment, and adding it anew as an "ad-hoc" payment by following the steps in our guide here.
This would be particularly helpful if you want to update the amount the payment is for.
GoCardless
GoCardless
The system does not auto-retry GoCardless payments, so you would need to manually retry these payments in your "Failed Payments" section by going to Billing/Revenue ➜ Failed (here), clicking "Actions" to the right of the failed payment, and selecting "Retry".
Once the payment is retried, it will typically take between 3-5 business days before we know if the payment went through successfully or not, but if it fails, it will show up in the "Failed Payments" section again.
💡 If there are any failed payments you need to address, this will also be displayed in the Dashboard when you log into your account under To-dos:
Offline, Cash, and No Payment Method
Offline, Cash, and No Payment Method
When a customer has added an offline payment method such as cash or any payment method where you would need to confirm the payment manually, their payments would not be categorized as "Failed" payments when they're overdue because they would need to be manually actioned by the business.
Because of this, these payments will appear as "Pending Offline Payments" which would need to be confirmed, voided, or otherwise actioned by the business. To see these payments, please go to To-dos ➜ Offline Payments (here).
Once there, you can click on "Actions" next to each overdue payment and address it accordingly:
Because payments in this case are not technically failing, the membership will not automatically become blocked after a specific number of days, so in this case this is something you would need to implement manually.
💡 When you log into your account, if there's any pending offline payments you need to address, you will see them on the top-right:
No Payment Method
No Payment Method
When a customer membership doesn't have a payment method associated with it (either because the payment method was deleted at some point, or deferred when being added by the business), we will email the customer once a week before their first billing date reminding them that there's no payment method present.
If no payment method has been added by the time they're meant to be billed, we will email them daily reminding them that there is no payment method added to their membership yet.
This email can be edited by going to Communication ➜ Notifications ➜ Customer Membership: Missing Payment Method, and you can use the variables on the right to also include a link which redirects them to their account where they can add a payment method.
They will continue to receive this email daily until a payment method has been added, and each day that passes will count as a failed payment until they reach the number of failed payment attempts which you have set in your Customer Settings section by going to Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers or by clicking here to be redirected.
Once the number of failed attempts has reached the number set in your customer settings, then the customers membership will become unusable, which means that they will no longer be able to use that membership to register for new sessions/events.
⚠️ Any existing registrations made prior to the membership becoming unusable will remain active though, and customers will still be able to attend these events.
☝️ What happens to Non-Recurring Payments (Single Purchases)
The retry behaviour described in the sections above applies to recurring membership payments. Non-recurring payments, such as single class purchases, day passes, and pack purchases, behave differently when they fail.
Click here to find out more about Non-Recurring Payments
Click here to find out more about Non-Recurring Payments
When a non-recurring payment fails at checkout, the purchase is not completed. The customer will see an error message, and no product or registration is delivered. The system does not attempt to retry non-recurring payments.
If the customer would like to try again, they will need to go through the checkout process again. The most common reason for a non-recurring payment failure is an issue on the customer's bank side, such as insufficient funds or a declined card.
💡 If you see a non-recurring payment listed as "Retrying" in your dashboard, this is a display artifact from a previous issue that has since been resolved.
These entries can be safely voided from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices. For more detail, see the guide on resolving retrying payments here
🚨 What happens if the first payment for a recurring membership fails?
We've introduced an update to help prevent situations where customers could purchase recurring memberships even if their card was expired, blocked, or didn't have enough funds.
Click here to find out more about failed first payments for recurring memberships
Click here to find out more about failed first payments for recurring memberships
Previously, memberships could be automatically blocked after a certain number of failed payments. However, during that time, customers could still register for and attend classes even though their payment hadn't gone through.
With this update, customers can still try to purchase a membership, but if their first payment fails, the system will now automatically remove them from any classes they registered for.
This ensures that only members with successful payments can attend classes.
What this means
This applies only to the first payment of a recurring membership.
If the payment is successful, the customer's class registrations stay as normal.
If the payment fails, the system automatically removes them, no manual action needed.
If you have any questions or would like help adjusting your membership or payment settings, please contact our support team, we're happy to help!
🔄 Why a Customer May Temporarily Appear on a Class List During Checkout
During the checkout process, a customer may temporarily appear on a class list or show as registered for an event before their payment has been fully confirmed. This is expected behaviour and is designed to hold their spot while the payment is being processed.
Click the arrow to learn more about checkout pending behaviour
Click the arrow to learn more about checkout pending behaviour
When a customer begins the checkout process, the system temporarily holds their spot in the class or event. This means you may see the customer on the class list while their payment is still being processed.
If the customer completes checkout and the payment is successful, the registration is confirmed and they remain on the class list as expected.
If the customer does not complete checkout, or if the payment fails, the temporary hold is released and the customer is removed from the class list. No purchase is created and the spot becomes available again.
⚠️ If you notice a customer on a class list who does not have a confirmed payment, check the customer's profile to see if the purchase was completed. If no purchase was created, the customer was likely in the middle of checkout and did not finish.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Why did my customer's payment fail?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Payments can fail for several reasons, including insufficient funds, expired or incorrect card details, bank restrictions, or payment processor declines. The exact reason is usually provided by the payment processor.
Will the system automatically retry the payment?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
This depends on the payment method being used. Stripe automatically retries failed recurring membership payments. GoCardless payments are not automatically retried and need to be retried manually. Non-recurring payments (single purchases) are not retried at all. Check the relevant payment method section in this guide for details.
What happens to the customer's membership if their payment fails?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
If a recurring membership payment fails, the membership remains active while the system retries the payment (for Stripe). Once the retry limit is reached, the membership becomes unusable and the customer can no longer register for new events. Existing registrations remain active.
Can the customer still book classes after a failed payment?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
During the retry period, the customer can still attend pre-booked events. Once the retry limit is reached and the membership becomes unusable, the customer will not be able to register for new events until the payment is resolved.
How can the customer update their payment details?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Customers can update their card or payment details from the Customer Portal. You can also update payment details from the business side by navigating to the customer's profile and accessing their membership settings.
Can I manually retry a failed payment?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. For Stripe, you can resolve retrying payments from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices. For GoCardless, you can manually retry payments from To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments by clicking Actions ➜ Retry.
Will the customer be notified if their payment fails?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. The system sends automated notifications to the customer when a payment fails, prompting them to update their payment details or take action.
Can I waive or write off a failed payment?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. You can void the payment from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices or To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments, which will skip the payment permanently.
Do non-recurring payments (single purchases) retry if they fail?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
No. Non-recurring payments, such as single class purchases, day passes, and pack purchases, are not retried if they fail at checkout. If the payment fails, the purchase is not completed. The customer will need to go through checkout again if they would like to reattempt the purchase.
Why does a customer temporarily appear on a class list before their payment is confirmed?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
During checkout, the system temporarily holds the customer's spot while the payment is being processed. If the payment is successful, the registration is confirmed. If the customer does not complete checkout or the payment fails, the temporary hold is released and the customer is removed from the class list.
What should I do if a payment is stuck in "Retrying"?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
For detailed steps on resolving retrying payments, including when to take action and when to wait, see the guide on resolving retrying payments here.
A customer says they were charged but their purchase is not showing. What should I do?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
In rare cases, a payment may be processed by the payment provider but not immediately reflected in your dashboard. If a customer reports being charged but you do not see the corresponding purchase, see the guide on what to do when a customer was charged but did not receive their purchase here.
A customer's payment failed at checkout, but it worked when they tried again later. Why?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Transient checkout errors can occur for a variety of reasons, including temporary bank-side restrictions, network issues, or brief processing delays. If a payment fails at checkout but succeeds when the customer tries again shortly after, no further action is usually needed on your part. If this happens frequently to multiple customers, please contact our support team so we can investigate.
My customers are seeing error messages or error screens during sign-up or checkout. What should I do?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
If your customers report seeing error messages, error screens with reference codes, or "something went wrong" messages during checkout, start by collecting the details: what they were purchasing, what error they saw, and whether they were charged. Then check your payment processor's dashboard (Stripe or GoCardless) to see if a charge was created. If a charge went through but no purchase is showing, contact our support team. If no charge was created, the customer can try again. If multiple customers are affected at the same time, please contact our support team with the details so we can investigate.
A customer was charged after their membership was cancelled. Why did this happen?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
If a membership is cancelled close to a billing date, the payment may have already been scheduled or initiated by the payment processor before the cancellation took effect. This can happen when the cancellation is set to take effect at the end of the current billing period, or when the cancellation is processed after the payment has already been queued.
To check what happened, navigate to the customer's profile and review the Memberships tab. Look at the cancellation date and the effective date of the cancellation. Then check the Payments tab to see when the charge was processed relative to the cancellation.
If the customer was charged for a period after their membership should have ended, you can issue a refund from the customer's Payments tab. For instructions on processing refunds, see the guide here.