[Retention & lifecycle]() / [Use cases]() / [Payment recovery]() [How it works]() [What you get]() [Scope]() [Start a review]() [Retention & lifecycle]()[Subscribers]() # Recover failed subscription payments. A declined card gets the right next step (a retry, a new card or a person), and recovery stops the moment the invoice is paid. [Start with a retention review]() [How it works]() Failed Care Kit charges October · 50 failed - Temporary declinesFunds, bank holds **31**Retried - Needs a new cardExpired or replaced **14**Asked - Won’t work on a retryClosed account, lost card **5**To your team Recovery is measured against all 50 Every failed charge for the month, sorted by what it needs, and all of them counted. ## Sound familiar? - One failed-card email goes out, and nothing follows. - A customer who updated their card still gets the recovery emails. - Nobody knows how many failed charges were ever recoverable. These are customers who still wanted the next order, and lost it because a card expired. ## What changes. ShowTodayWith the engine Retries One fixed schedule for every failure The processor’s retries for temporary declines Cards that need replacing More retries that can’t work One clear card-update message Messages A dunning series that runs on after payment Recovery stops the moment they pay Reporting Recovered revenue Invoices recovered, out of every failure ## How it works. 6 steps, 4 stages. - AI**1** - Rules and automation**3** - Your team**2** - Approval 1. 1 Sort 1. Rules and automation ### Sort each failure Declines that can be retried are separated from ones that need a new card. - Stripe Billing - Recharge 2. 2 Retry 1. Rules and automation ### Let the processor retry Retries run on the processor’s policy, inside the limits you set. - Stripe Billing - Recharge 3. 3 Ask 1. Your team Approval ### Set the limits Your team decides how many retries, how long to wait and when a person steps in. 2. AI ### Write the card-update message A short note in your voice, naming the product at risk, with a secure link to update the card. 4. 4 Close 1. Rules and automation ### Stop on payment or cancel The case closes when the invoice is paid, or when the customer cancels. - Klaviyo 2. Your team ### Own what’s left Failures after the last retry go to one named person, with the history attached. Each outcome tunes the retry limits ## What you get. Real work, every week. Fernway Outfitters Dec 18 Your Care Kit is waiting on your card. Your card was declined on December 16, so we haven’t shipped your Care Kit yet. Update it and we’ll get it on its way. Care KitCanvas wash and wax bar · every 90 days Update card Stops the moment the invoice is paid The one message a customer gets when a card needs replacing. Recovery rules Failure Retries Then Temporary decline Processor’s policy Card-update message Expired or replaced card None Card-update message Won’t work on a retry None Your team The recovery policy your team signs off, by type of failure. ## How you’ll know it’s working. 1. Invoices recovered, of all that failed Counted against every failed invoice, including the ones that were never recoverable. 2. Days from failure to paid Shows whether recovery is quick enough to catch customers who still want the order. 3. Recovery beyond the processor’s own retries What our follow-up added over the native settings, after discounts and fees. Baselines agreed before we build. ## Works with what you have. Payments - Stripe Billing Commerce - Recharge - Stay - Shopify Email & SMS - Klaviyo Support - Gorgias We configure first Stripe’s retries and the recovery settings in Recharge or Stay handle a lot. We tune those first and measure what they recover. We build when Failures need different handling by decline type, or recovery messages keep going after the customer has paid. ## What a first build includes. Built in your accounts, around your team. Scope, fee and baseline agreed before we start. 1. 1 Design 2. 2 Build 3. 3 Run it, or hand it over [Start with a review]() [Scope this build]() ### We build - Sorting of failures into retryable and needs-action - Card-update messages with a secure link - Recovery that stops on payment or cancel - A recovery ledger that counts every failure ### We start from - Billing and subscription data - Past failed-payment history - Klaviyo and Stripe or subscription-platform access ### From your team Owner Head of lifecycle or retention, with finance Involves - Lifecycle - Finance - Customer service ## Questions teams ask. Is this the same as stopping people from canceling? No, and we keep them apart. A failed payment is usually a customer who still wants the order. A cancellation is a choice. They have different owners and different numbers, so we measure them separately. Doesn’t Stripe already retry failed payments? It does, and for many failures that’s enough. We start there and measure what it recovers. Our work covers what retries can’t fix, like a card that needs replacing, and making sure the new card reaches the subscription itself as well as the customer’s default. Who owns it once it’s running? You do. It’s built in your accounts, documented, with training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your head of lifecycle or retention, with finance. We can keep running it with you, or step back. How do we start? Usually with a retention review: two to four weeks, a fixed fee credited to the build, and a plan that’s yours. If the job is already clear, we can scope the build directly. ## Part of your retention engine. One of 12 use cases, in 6 parts. [See the whole retention engine]() 1. [Second orders **3**]() 2. [Subscribers **3**]() 3. [Contact that fits **1**]() 4. [Owners & loyalty **2**]() 5. [Lifecycle production **1**]() 6. [Proof & decisions **2**]() In subscribers - [**Subscriber control**Let subscribers skip, delay and swap without canceling]() - **Payment recovery**You’re here - [**Cancellation saves**Learn why subscribers cancel, and which saves last]() Works with - [**Retention proof**Prove which messages and discounts earn their cost]() See it at work - [**In Fernway’s ninety days**Day 61: a declined card became one clear message]() - [**Also in**Customer service & support]() - [**Also in**Finance & business intelligence]() ## Keep the orders they still want. Start with a retention review. [Start with a retention review]() [**Talk it through first**15 minutes]() We reply within one business day. --- Source: [https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/payment-recovery/]() [Contact Keating & Co](mailto:nelson@thekeating.co) · [Agent guidance](https://www.thekeating.co/llms.txt)