Dunning and failed payment recovery

Dunning that wins back failed subscription payments

Dunning collects a subscription payment that failed. When a renewal fails, Two Minute Billing tries the backup cards, retries only the declines worth retrying, and emails the customer a one-click payment link. Involuntary churn stops costing you subscribers.

Start for freeRecover failed payments guide
After a failed renewal charge and a failed backup card, Corvid Analytics gets a payment link by email, pays, and the $249.00 invoice is recovered.After a failed renewal charge and a failed backup card, Corvid Analytics gets a payment link by email, pays, and the $249.00 invoice is recovered.

Recover failed payments with backup cards, retries and a pay link

A customer whose card fails did not decide to leave. Each recovered invoice keeps that subscriber and every renewal after it.

Backup cards in the same attempt

The default card, then up to two backup cards, before any retry has to wait.

Retries land at 10:00 local time

Adaptive timing aims each day-based retry at 10:00 where the card was issued.

Pay from the email

Each dunning email has a link to pay the invoice or change the card.

A stolen card is never retried

A decline that must never be retried, such as a card reported lost or stolen, stops at once.

Prevention

Prevent failed payments with backup cards and card-expiry emails

A retry is the second-best outcome. These keep the first charge from failing at all.

  • Backup cardsEvery saved card that is not the default is a backup, unless you or the customer take it out of collection.
  • Card-expiry emailsCustomers hear before a card lapses. Only cards that pay a live subscription get the email.
  • Charge when a card is addedSaving a working card pays what is owed at once, not at the next retry.
PaymentsCard updates in the customer portal
The customer portal: the primary payment method, the next payment, and the invoices to pay or download

Smart retries

Smart decline handling, by the reason the bank gave

Not every decline deserves a retry. Smart mode reads why the payment was declined and acts on it. Adaptive timing is optional, and off until you turn it on.

Recover failed payments guide
Decline handling
  • TemporaryInsufficient funds, a network error

    Retried on the schedule

  • Customer must actExpired card, cancelled mandate

    Invoice paused, customer reminded until they update

  • Never retryCard reported lost or stolen

    Stopped at once

Adaptive retry timing
Network problem
Within hours
Insufficient funds
Next likely payday: the 1st, the 15th or month-end
Generic decline
A few days apart

How it works

One failed renewal on the default payment retry schedule

On a default schedule. Every day, email and final outcome is yours to change.

A retry schedule from the due date to day 7. The payment is recovered on day 3: $79.00 paid.A retry schedule from the due date to day 7. The payment is recovered on day 3: $79.00 paid.

Retry, pause, stop or write off each invoice in the retry queue

Retries lists every invoice being chased, with the attempts, the decline reason and the card. The count next to it is your backlog.

  • Retry nowWhen the customer says the card works again, without waiting for the schedule.
  • PauseWhile they sort it out with their bank. The invoice stays owed.
  • StopEnd the chase for this invoice.
  • Write offRecord it as bad debt when you have given up.
Failed cards on repeat orders
The Retries list: each unpaid invoice with its amount, attempts, whether the failure is soft or hard, the decline reason and the card

Your rules

Set the retry schedule, the emails and what happens when dunning ends

When the retries run out, the invoice and the subscription each get the outcome you set.

  • The invoiceLeave it owed, void it, or write it off as bad debt with the reason kept.
  • The subscriptionCancel it, or keep it running while you sort it out with the customer.
  • The scheduleSet the retry days and the dunning period per business, under Settings → Dunning.
  • The emailsEdit the wording of each reminder, and send it from your own domain.
Emails and branding
Dunning settings: smart or fixed decline handling, the retry schedule and the final outcome for the invoice and the subscription

Money you can trace, cards you never hold

How we keep billing safe

  • An append-only ledger

    Balances come from double-entry records. A correction is a new entry, so every figure traces back to the rows behind it.

  • PCI DSS SAQ-A scope

    Card numbers go from the browser straight to your payment gateway. They never reach our servers or yours.

  • An audit log

    Who changed what, from the dashboard or the API, with the values before and after.

Dunning and payment recovery questions

Dunning is the process of collecting a payment that failed: retrying the charge, reminding the customer, and deciding what happens when the retries run out. Here it runs on its own, on the schedule you set.

More of the product

Subscriptions
Plans, add-ons, trials, upgrades and proration, in every currency.
Invoicing
Invoices and credit notes on schedule, with tax and branded PDFs.
Payments
Your own gateway accounts. Cards, wallets and bank debits.
Integrations
12 payment gateways, HubSpot, FirstPromoter and webhooks to your own tools.
Tax
VAT, GST and US sales tax on every invoice, with inclusive prices.
Checkout and portal
Hosted checkout, buy links, a pricing page and a self-serve portal.
Reporting
MRR, churn and cohorts. Click a figure to see the records behind it.
Billy
Ask about your billing. Every figure is checked, and changes wait for your click.

Recover your first failed payment

Sign up free, subscribe a test customer with a declining test card, and see the retry scheduled and the email your customer gets.

Start for free See pricing