Failed payments are an unfortunate reality for any business that uses recurring billing.
Helcim provides tools to help you recover those payments and minimize disruptions to your revenue stream. This article will guide you through how to manage failed payments within Helcim Recurring.
In this article
Understanding failed recurring payments
A failed payment means that a scheduled recurring payment could not be processed. There are various reasons why this might happen, including:
Insufficient funds
Expired credit card
Incorrect payment details
Bank issues
It's crucial to address failed payments promptly to avoid losing revenue and potentially disrupting service for your customers.
Preventing failed recurring payments
Helcim provides settings to help prevent failed payments before they occur.
To access these settings:
Go to All Tools > Recurring.
Click the gear icon in the top-right corner, then select Dunning Management from the menu.
Within the Dunning Management settings, you’ll find the following toggles.
Prevent failed payments
By turning on this toggle, you’ll see the following options to enable.
Send reminder emails: Automatically notify customers a few days before their subscription renews. You can customize the email message by clicking Edit Template.
Request updated card details: Automatically ask customers for updated card information 30 days before their card expires. You can also customize this email by clicking Edit Template.
Request new payment information
By turning on this toggle, you’ll see an option to send an email to request new payment information after a missed payment.
Select Edit Template to customize the email
Adjust the number of days after the missed payment to send the email
Choose to set your subscription status to cancelled, paused, or due if the customer misses a payment
Retrying failed recurring payments
Helcim also provides options for retrying failed payments within the Dunning Management settings page.
To access these settings:
Go to All Tools > Recurring.
Click the gear icon in the top-right corner, then select Dunning Management from the menu.
You can choose from the following automatic retry schedule.
Credit Cards
Speed: Retries at 3, 5, and 7 days after the due date.
Success: Retries at 7, 14, and 21 days after the due date.
Custom: Set your own retry intervals.
ACH
ACH payments only allow up to one retry.
Speed: Retries at 7 days after the due date.
Success: Retries at 14 days after the due date.
Custom: Set your own retry interval.
| ACH plans are only retried if the failure was due to insufficient funds. Other issues will not trigger retries. |
Next steps
By proactively managing and preventing failed payments, you can improve your cash flow and customer retention.
To learn more about managing your recurring payment plans and subscriptions, including editing plans and handling payments, see our Manage recurring payment plans article.
For information on managing customer credit cards, such as updating card details or processing refunds, please refer to the Managing customer credit cards article.
FAQ
How will I know if a payment has failed?
You will be sent an email notification if you've turned on 'Transaction Declined' emails in your email settings. You can adjust these settings within All Tools > Settings > Email Settings.
Can I set up automatic reminders to customers about expired cards?
Yes, Helcim has a setting to automatically request updated card information from customers before their card expires.
What should I do if a customer consistently has failed payments?
If a customer repeatedly has failed payments, it's best to communicate with them directly to resolve the issue, which could include updating their payment method or discussing alternative payment arrangements.