📝 Overview
If a customer's payment fails, the steps you'll need to take depend on the payment method they use or the type of purchase.
This guide explains what happens for each payment method, how it affects the customer's membership and bookings, and how to resolve it.
💳 Customer Payment Methods
How a failed recurring membership payment is handled depends on the payment processor the customer uses. Stripe payments are retried automatically, while GoCardless payments need to be retried manually.
🔵 Stripe
When a recurring membership payment fails through Stripe, the system retries it automatically every 24 hours until it succeeds or reaches the limit set in your Customer Settings.
Click the arrow to learn more about failed Stripe payments
Click the arrow to learn more about failed Stripe payments
Failed Stripe payments are retried every 24 hours until they reach the number of failed payment attempts set in your Customer Settings. To change this, go to Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers, or click here to be redirected.
Once the number of failed attempts reaches the limit in your Customer Settings, the customer's membership becomes unusable. This means they can no longer use that membership to register for new sessions or events.
⚠️ Any registrations made before the membership became unusable remain active, and the customer can still attend those events.
Customers receive automatic emails about payment retries and failed payments. Owners, Admins and Instructors with the Revenue permission can also receive an email the first time a customer's payment fails, but not for later retries. You can turn this email on or off under My Account ➜ Notifications.
To stay up to date with any open invoices or failed payments, check the To-Dos section of your dashboard.
What's next?
If a customer's payment has reached the maximum retry limit, their membership shows Registrations Blocked. Open the membership and you'll see the payment with a red max retries label, the message "We are no longer attempting to process this payment automatically each night", and the number of attempts so far. Click Resolve and choose Change Payment Method, Skip/Edit Payment or Retry Payment.
💡 If the payment is for a recurring membership, you can also skip it and add it again as an ad-hoc payment. This is particularly helpful if you want to change the payment amount. Follow the steps in the guide here.
If a failed payment shows the message "This customer was deleted in the Stripe account", see the guide on why customer payments fail here.
🟢 GoCardless
GoCardless payments aren't retried automatically, so you'll need to retry any failed GoCardless payments manually from your To-Dos.
Click the arrow to learn how to retry a failed GoCardless payment
Click the arrow to learn how to retry a failed GoCardless payment
To retry a failed GoCardless payment, go to To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments (here) ➜ click Actions next to the failed payment ➜ select Retry. You can also reach this page from Billing/Revenue ➜ Failed.
Once you retry the payment, it may take 3–5 business days before the result is confirmed. If the retry fails, the payment will appear in your Failed Payments section again.
💡 Any failed payments you need to address are also shown under To-Dos on your dashboard when you log in:
For more help, see the guide on resolving failed Direct Debit payments here.
💵 Offline & Cash Payments
Payments made with cash or another offline method don't fail in the same way as online payments, because your business needs to confirm them manually. Instead, overdue offline payments appear as Pending Offline Payments for you to action.
Click the arrow to learn more about overdue offline payments
Click the arrow to learn more about overdue offline payments
When a customer pays with cash or any other method you confirm manually, overdue payments aren't categorised as Failed payments, because your business needs to action them.
These payments appear as Pending Offline Payments, which you can confirm, void, or otherwise action. To see them, go to To-Dos ➜ Offline Payments (here), then click Actions next to each overdue payment to address it.
Because these payments aren't technically failing, the membership won't be blocked automatically. If you'd like to block a membership with overdue offline payments, you'll need to do this manually. See the guide here.
💡 When you log in to your account, any pending offline payments you need to address are flagged, as shown below:
🚫 No Payment Method
If a recurring membership has no payment method, the customer receives email reminders to add one. Each day without a payment method once billing is due counts toward your failed payment limit.
Click the arrow to learn more about memberships with no payment method
Click the arrow to learn more about memberships with no payment method
A membership may have no payment method because the payment method was removed, or because adding it was deferred when the business set up the membership. Before the first billing date, the customer is emailed once a week to remind them that no payment method is present. They also see an ADD PAYMENT DETAILS banner in their account.
If no payment method has been added by the billing date, the customer is emailed daily to remind them that there is no payment method on their membership.
You can edit this email by going to Communications ➜ Notifications ➜ Customer Membership: Missing Payment Method, and customise it using the available placeholders.
The customer continues to receive this email daily until a payment method is added. Each day without one counts as a failed payment attempt, up to the number of failed payment attempts set in your Customer Settings. To change this, go to Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers, or click here to be redirected.
Once the limit is reached, the customer's membership becomes unusable, which means they can no longer use it to register for new sessions or events.
⚠️ Any registrations made before the membership became unusable remain active, and the customer can still attend those events.
🛒 Non-Recurring Payments (Single Purchases)
The retry behaviour described 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 the arrow to learn more about non-recurring payments
Click the arrow to learn more about non-recurring payments
When a non-recurring payment fails at checkout, the purchase isn't completed. The customer sees an error message, and no product or registration is delivered. Non-recurring payments aren't retried.
If the customer would like to try again, they'll need to go through checkout 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. You can safely void these entries from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices. For more detail, see the guide on resolving retrying payments here.
🚨 When the First Payment on a Recurring Membership Fails
If the first payment on a customer's recurring membership fails, the system automatically removes them from any classes they registered for. This ensures that customers can't attend classes before a successful first payment.
Click the arrow to learn more about failed first payments for recurring memberships
Click the arrow to learn more about failed first payments for recurring memberships
Customers can still try to purchase a recurring membership, but if their first payment fails, the system automatically removes them from any classes they registered for. This prevents customers from booking and attending classes without ever making a successful payment.
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 removes the customer from those classes, with no manual action needed.
Later failed payments follow the normal retry process, and existing registrations remain active.
If you have any questions or would like help adjusting your membership or payment settings, you can contact our support team here.
🔄 Why Customers Appear on a Class List During Checkout
During checkout, a customer may temporarily appear on a class list before their payment has been confirmed. This is expected behaviour, and it holds their spot while the payment is 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 checkout, the system temporarily holds their spot in the class or event. You may see the customer on the class list with a Checkout Pending status while their payment is being processed.
If the customer completes checkout and the payment is successful, the registration is confirmed and they remain on the class list.
If the customer doesn't complete checkout, or 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 doesn't have a confirmed payment, check their profile to see whether the purchase was completed. If no purchase was created, the customer was likely in the middle of checkout and didn't finish.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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?
Click the arrow to see the answer
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.
For a full breakdown, see the guide here.
Will the system automatically retry the payment?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
This depends on the payment method. Failed Stripe recurring membership payments are retried automatically. GoCardless payments aren't retried automatically and need to be retried manually. Non-recurring payments (single purchases) aren't retried.
See the relevant payment method section in this guide for details.
What happens to the customer's membership if their payment fails?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
If a Stripe recurring membership payment fails, the membership remains active while the system retries the payment. Once the retry limit is reached, the membership becomes unusable and the customer can no longer register for new events.
Existing registrations remain active.
How do I unblock a customer's membership after their payment has been sorted?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
A membership stays blocked until every failed payment on it has been resolved, not only the most recent one.
To resolve each failed payment:
Go to the customer's profile.
Click the Memberships tab.
Click the membership.
Click Resolve next to each failed payment, then choose Change Payment Method, Skip/Edit Payment or Retry Payment.
You can change how many failed attempts are allowed before a membership becomes unusable by going to Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers and editing Number of failed payment attempts before a membership is unusable.
💡 For more detail on each Resolve option, see the guide on Registrations Blocked here.
Can the customer still book classes after a failed payment?
Click the arrow to see the answer
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 won't be able to register for new events until the payment is resolved.
If the failed payment is the first payment on a recurring membership, the customer is removed from the classes they registered for.
How can the customer update their payment details?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Customers can update their payment details from their account on your Customer Site. You can share the customer-facing steps from the guide here.
To update payment details from your dashboard:
Go to Customers ➜ Customer List and select the customer.
Click the Memberships tab.
Click the active membership.
Click Payment Method to add or change the payment method.
⚠️ A card saved on the customer's profile isn't used by the membership until it's selected as the membership's payment method. If the customer adds a new card but the old one keeps being tried, change the payment method on the membership to the new card, then retry the payment.
Can I manually retry a failed payment?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. For Stripe, a payment that is still being retried appears in To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices. Once it reaches your retry limit, it moves to To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments and shows a max retries label on the customer's membership, where you can click Resolve ➜ Retry Payment.
For GoCardless, you can manually retry payments from To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments by clicking Actions ➜ Retry.
Why does Retry show "No payment option" or "Retry this payment using None?"
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
This can happen when the failed payment has been skipped. Skipped payments are no longer attempted, so they can't be retried, even if the membership has a card saved.
To collect the amount, add a new ad-hoc payment to the membership. If the payment wasn't skipped and you still see this message, contact our support team.
💡 To learn how to add an ad-hoc payment to a membership, see the guide here.
Will the customer be notified if their payment fails?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. Customers receive automatic emails about payment retries and failed payments.
Owners, Admins and Instructors with the Revenue permission can also receive an email the first time a customer's payment fails, but not for later retries. You can turn this email on or off under My Account ➜ Notifications.
Can I waive or write off a failed payment?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. You can void the payment from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices or To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments.
Voiding closes the invoice so it won't be collected, and it can't be undone.
Do non-recurring payments (single purchases) retry if they fail?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
No. Non-recurring payments, such as single class purchases, day passes and pack purchases, aren't retried if they fail at checkout. The purchase isn't completed.
The customer will need to go through checkout again to reattempt it.
Why does a customer temporarily appear on a class list before their payment is confirmed?
Click the arrow to see the answer
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 doesn't complete checkout or the payment fails, the hold is released and the customer is removed from the class list.
What should I do if a payment is stuck in "Retrying"?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
A recurring Stripe payment shows as "Retrying" while the system is still reattempting it, so in most cases you can wait for the retries to finish. A non-recurring payment showing as "Retrying" can be safely voided from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices.
For detailed steps, 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?
Click the arrow to see the answer
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. Start by checking your payment processor's dashboard to confirm the charge.
For the full steps, see the guide on what to do when a customer was charged but didn't receive their purchase here.
A customer's payment failed at checkout, but it worked when they tried again later. Why?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Temporary checkout errors can happen for a variety of reasons, including 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. 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?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
If your customers report 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 whether 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, contact our support team with the details. For more help, see the guide here.
A customer was charged after their membership was cancelled. Why did this happen?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
If a membership is cancelled close to a billing date, the payment may already have been scheduled or initiated by the payment processor before the cancellation took effect. For example, GoCardless begins processing payments 7 days before the billing day, so cancellations made inside that window may not stop that payment.
To check what happened, open the customer's profile and review the Memberships tab for the cancellation date and when it took effect. Then check the Payments tab to see when the charge was processed.
If the customer was charged for a period after their membership should have ended, you can issue a refund from their Payments tab. For instructions on processing refunds, see the guide here.
A customer's PayPal payment is missing or not showing in my dashboard. What should I do?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Unlike Stripe and GoCardless, PayPal doesn't support automated recurring billing.
Each PayPal renewal requires the customer to log in to their PayPal account and approve the payment. If a recurring membership payment is missing, the most likely reason is that the customer hasn't approved the renewal in PayPal.
In this situation, you can:
Ask the customer to log in to their PayPal account and approve the pending payment.
Arrange payment through an alternative method and update the membership accordingly.
If the payment shows as confirmed in PayPal but still doesn't appear in your dashboard, contact our support team through the chat widget on your dashboard so we can investigate.
💡 Because PayPal doesn't support automated recurring billing, we recommend switching customers on recurring memberships to Stripe or GoCardless.