📝 Overview
This guide explains how payment behaviour differs between recurring membership payments and non-recurring payments (such as single class purchases, day passes, and pack purchases). Understanding this distinction can help you interpret what you see in your dashboard and take the right action when a payment fails.
The key difference is that recurring membership payments are automatically retried if they fail, while non-recurring payments are not.
🔄 Recurring Membership Payments
Recurring membership payments are scheduled charges that are collected on a regular billing cycle (such as monthly or weekly). These payments are tied to an active membership on the customer's profile.
Click the arrow to learn more about recurring payment behaviour
Click the arrow to learn more about recurring payment behaviour
What happens when a recurring payment succeeds
The payment is confirmed, the membership remains active, and the customer can continue to register for and attend events as normal.
What happens when a recurring payment fails (Stripe)
If the payment was processed through Stripe, the system will automatically retry the payment. During the retry period, the customer's membership remains active and they can still attend pre-booked events.
Retrying payments appear under To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices. Once the retry limit you have configured is reached, the payment moves to To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments and the membership becomes unusable.
💡 For step-by-step instructions on resolving retrying payments, see the guide here.
What happens when a recurring payment fails (GoCardless)
GoCardless payments are not automatically retried. When a GoCardless payment fails, it appears under To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments and you will need to retry it manually.
💡 For step-by-step instructions on resolving failed GoCardless payments, see the guide here.
What happens when the first recurring payment fails
If the very first payment on a recurring membership fails, the system will automatically remove the customer from any classes they registered for. This applies only to the first payment. For subsequent payments, existing registrations remain active.
💡 For more detail on this behavior, see the guide on what happens when a payment fails here.
🛒 Non-Recurring Payments (Single Purchases)
Non-recurring payments are one-time charges made at checkout for a single purchase. These include single class or appointment purchases, day passes, pack purchases, course registrations paid per session, and store purchases.
Click the arrow to learn more about non-recurring payment behaviour
Click the arrow to learn more about non-recurring payment behaviour
What happens when a non-recurring payment succeeds
The payment is confirmed, the product or registration is added to the customer's profile, and everything proceeds as normal.
What happens when a non-recurring payment fails
If a non-recurring payment fails at checkout, the purchase is not completed. No product or registration is delivered to the customer. The customer will see an error message during checkout.
Non-recurring payments are not automatically retried. 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.
What you may see in your dashboard
Failed non-recurring payments may appear in your To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments section. If you see these entries, the purchase was not completed and no product was delivered. You can void these entries, or contact the customer to arrange a new purchase.
If you see a non-recurring payment displayed 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.
📋 Quick Comparison
The table below provides a side-by-side comparison of how recurring and non-recurring payments behave when they fail.
Click the arrow to view the comparison table
Click the arrow to view the comparison table
Behaviour | Recurring Membership | Non-Recurring (Single Purchase) |
Automatic retries (Stripe) | Yes - the system retries automatically | No - the payment is not retried |
Automatic retries (GoCardless) | No - must be retried manually | No - the payment is not retried |
What happens if payment fails | Membership remains active during retries; becomes unusable after retry limit is reached | Purchase is not completed; no product or registration is delivered |
What the customer sees | Customer receives notifications about the failed payment and reminders to update their payment method | Customer sees an error message at checkout |
Where to find in dashboard | To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices (retrying) or To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments (failed) | To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments (if recorded) |
How to resolve | Retry, void, change payment method, or cancel membership | Void the entry, or ask the customer to go through checkout again |
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.
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Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
How do I know if a payment is recurring or non-recurring?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Check the customer's profile under the Memberships tab. If the purchase is tied to an active recurring membership with a regular billing cycle, it is a recurring payment. Single class purchases, day passes, pack purchases, and store purchases are non-recurring.
Why is a non-recurring payment showing as "Retrying" in my dashboard?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Non-recurring payments do not retry. If you see one displayed as "Retrying", 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. Going forward, failed non-recurring payments should no longer appear with a "Retrying" status.
If a non-recurring payment fails, does the customer still get the product?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
No. If a non-recurring payment fails at checkout, the purchase is not completed and no product, registration, or credit is delivered to the customer.
Can I manually retry a non-recurring payment?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Non-recurring payments are processed at checkout and are not designed to be retried in the same way as recurring membership payments. If the payment failed, the customer will need to go through the checkout process again to complete the purchase.
Does the "failed payment attempts" limit apply to non-recurring payments?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
No. The "Number of failed payment attempts before a membership is unusable" setting in your Customer Settings applies only to recurring membership payments. Non-recurring payment failures do not count toward this limit.