📝 Overview
You may notice that a customer is able to register for events even though their payment did not go through successfully. This can be confusing, but it is expected behaviour in certain scenarios due to the way payment processing works.
When a customer purchases a membership or completes a registration, the payment is not processed at the exact same moment as the booking. Depending on the payment method, the payment may be initiated and then confirmed (or declined) shortly after. During this retry period, the customer's membership remains active and they may register for events before the payment outcome is known.
The system is designed this way to ensure a smooth customer experience during checkout. However, it also means that if a payment ultimately fails, the customer may already have active registrations.
💡 A recent update now automatically removes class registrations when a customer’s first recurring membership payment fails. For more details on how the system handles failed payments step-by-step, see the guide here.
🔄 How Payment Processing Works
Understanding why this happens starts with how payments are processed. The behaviour differs depending on the payment method your customer uses.
Click the arrow to learn more about how each payment processor works
Click the arrow to learn more about how each payment processor works
Click on any of the drop-down options below to find out more about each payment processor.
Click here to find out more about Stripe
Click here to find out more about Stripe
When a customer makes a purchase using Stripe, the payment is processed at the time of checkout. If the payment is successful, the membership is added to the customer's profile, any class registrations are confirmed, and everything proceeds as normal.
If the payment fails, the system will automatically retry the payment every 24 hours. During this retry period, the customer's membership remains active.
Once the number of retries reaches the limit you have set in your Customer Settings, the membership becomes unusable and the customer can no longer register for new events using that membership.
🔔 If a customer's first payment on a recurring membership fails, the system will automatically remove them from any classes they registered for.
This applies only to the first payment.
If any following payments fail past that point, existing registrations will not be automatically cancelled and the customer can still attend those pre-booked events.
Click here to find out more about GoCardless
Click here to find out more about GoCardless
When a customer makes a purchase using GoCardless, the payment is initiated but may take several business days to confirm. The membership is added to the customer's profile and any class registrations are recorded while the payment is being processed.
If the payment is successful, everything proceeds as normal. If the payment fails, it will appear in your Failed Payments section. GoCardless payments are not automatically retried, you will need to manually retry them from your dashboard.
🔔 If a customer's first payment on a recurring membership fails, the system will automatically remove them from any classes they registered for.
This applies only to the first payment.
If any following payments fail past that point, existing registrations will not be automatically cancelled and the customer can still attend those pre-booked events.
Click here to find out more about Offline, Cash & No Payment Method
Click here to find out more about Offline, Cash & No Payment Method
When a customer’s membership is set up with an offline payment method (such as cash), their payments are categorized as Pending Offline Payments rather than failed payments, since these require manual confirmation by the business.
Because these payments are not technically failing, the membership will not be automatically blocked. You would need to manually block registrations on the membership if the payment is overdue. You can find pending offline payments under To-dos ➜ Offline Payments.
If a customer’s membership has no payment method at all, the system will email the customer reminders. Before the first billing date, reminders are sent weekly. On and after the billing date, reminders are sent daily. Each day without a payment method counts toward the failed payment limit you have configured.
💡 You can customize this reminder email by going to Communication ➜ Notifications ➜ Customer Membership: Missing Payment Method (see here).
🛠️ How To Recover Failed Payments
When a payment fails and reaches the point where it is no longer being retried, it will appear under To-dos ➜ Failed Payments (also accessible via Billing/Revenue ➜ Failed). From here, you can take action to resolve the payment.
Click the arrow to learn more about resolving failed payments
Click the arrow to learn more about resolving failed payments
When you click Actions next to a failed payment, you will see the following options:
Void | Skips the payment permanently. Voided invoices can no longer be paid |
Retry | Manually re-attempts the payment. For Stripe, this processes promptly. For GoCardless, confirmation may take 3–5 business days |
Change payment method | Switches the payment method on the customer’s membership and processes the failed payment via the new method |
Cancel membership | Cancels the customer’s membership entirely. You will also have the option to cancel any remaining pending payments |
You can also resolve a failed payment directly from the customer’s profile by going to Customers ➜ Customer List ➜ selecting the customer ➜ Memberships tab ➜ clicking the membership name. Failed payments will display a red Max Retries label with a Resolve option next to them.
💡 For recurring memberships, you can also skip the failed payment and add it as a new “ad-hoc” payment if you need to adjust the amount.
For more details, see the guide on how to add a payment to a recurring membership here.
For a full breakdown of what happens when a payment fails, including the retry process and how it affects the customer’s membership, see here.
✅ How To Reduce Failed Payments
While failed payments can happen for a variety of reasons, there are several steps you can take to minimize the impact and stay on top of any issues.
Click the arrow to view tips for reducing failed payments
Click the arrow to view tips for reducing failed payments
🟢 Configure Your Failed Payment Settings
Review and adjust the payment failure settings in your account. You can find these by going to Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers and clicking Edit.
Number of failed payment attempts before a membership is unusable – This setting controls how many times a Stripe payment can fail before the customer’s membership is automatically blocked. Setting this to a lower value means the membership will be blocked sooner if payments continue to fail.
Number of days before an offline pending membership payment is considered overdue – This setting applies to offline and pending payments. Once a payment is classified as overdue, you can manually block the customer’s membership from being used.
🟢 Monitor the To-Dos Section Regularly
Your Dashboard displays a To-Dos widget that shows the number of items needing your attention, including failed payments, open invoices, and pending offline payments. You can also access the full To-Dos section from the left-hand navigation menu. Checking this section regularly helps you catch failed payments early.
🟢 Use the Upcoming Billing Page
The Billing/Revenue ➜ Upcoming Billing page shows all scheduled future payments. Use the Retrying filter to see payments currently in the retry process, and look for the No Method indicator to identify customers who are missing payment details before their next billing date.
🟢 Block Memberships With Overdue Offline Payments
For offline or cash payments that are overdue, you can manually block a membership from being used. For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, see the guide on blocking memberships with pending offline payments here.
🟢 Customize Payment Reminder Notifications
For customers who are missing a payment method, the system sends automatic email reminders. You can customize these notifications by going to Communication ➜ Notifications ➜ Customer Membership: Missing Payment Method. You can include a link that redirects the customer to their account where they can add a payment method.
💡 Currently, only customers receive automated notifications about retries and failed payments. As a business, you will need to monitor the To-Dos section or Dashboard widget to stay up to date with any open invoices or failed payments.
📊 Helpful Reports & Tools
Several areas of the Business Dashboard can help you track and manage payment health. Here is a summary of where to find key payment information.
Click the arrow to view available reports and tools
Click the arrow to view available reports and tools
To-dos ➜ Failed Payments – View and resolve payments that have failed and are no longer being retried.
To-dos ➜ Offline Payments – View pending offline payments that are awaiting manual confirmation.
To-dos ➜ Open Invoices – View invoices that are open, including Stripe payments currently being retried.
Billing/Revenue ➜ Upcoming Billing – View scheduled future payments. Use the Retrying filter and the No Method indicator to stay ahead of potential issues.
Billing/Revenue ➜ Pending – View payments that have been initiated but not yet confirmed by the payment processor.
Reports ➜ Invoices – View all invoices with their current status (Paid, Pending, Pending Offline, Failed, or Open).
💡For a full overview of payments, billing, and revenue tools, see the here.
❓ 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 get registered for a class even though their payment failed?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
When a customer purchases a membership, the payment is initiated but may not be confirmed right away. During this time, the membership is active and the customer can register for events. If the payment then fails, the customer may already have active registrations. For first-time recurring membership payments, the system now automatically removes class registrations if the payment fails.
Will the customer still be able to attend classes after their payment fails?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Existing registrations made before the membership becomes unusable will remain active, and the customer may still attend those events. This does not apply to first payment failures, where registrations are automatically removed.
However, they will not be able to register for new events once the membership is blocked. If the first payment on a recurring membership fails, class registrations are now removed automatically.
Does the system automatically retry failed payments?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
For Stripe payments, the system automatically retries the payment every 24 hours until it reaches the maximum number of retries set in your Customer Settings.
For GoCardless payments, the system does not auto-retry. You will need to manually retry GoCardless payments from the Failed Payments section.
How will I know if a customer’s payment has failed?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Failed payments will appear in the To-Dos section of your Dashboard and in the left-hand navigation menu.
You can also view them under Billing/Revenue ➜ Failed. Currently, automated notifications about failed payments are sent to the customer. As a business, you should check the To-Dos section regularly to stay aware of any payment issues.
Can I prevent customers from registering if they have unpaid balances?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. The Number of failed payment attempts before a membership is unusable setting in Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers controls how many times a Stripe payment can fail before the membership is automatically blocked.
For offline payments, you can manually block a membership once the payment is considered overdue.
Does the failed payment blocking setting work with GoCardless?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
The automatic membership blocking based on the number of failed payment attempts setting is designed for Stripe payments. GoCardless payments are handled differently and need to be managed manually from the Failed Payments section.
What if the customer updates their payment method after a failure?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
If the customer updates their payment details, you can retry the failed payment using the new method. Go to To-dos ➜ Failed Payments, click Actions next to the relevant payment, and select Retry or Change payment method.
Note that any class registrations that were removed due to a first-payment failure will not be automatically re-added and would need to be recreated by the customer.