Billing and failed payments

Subrise charges each subscription on its next billing date, using the payment method the customer saved at checkout. Shopify processes the payment and creates the order. This page explains when charges run, what happens when one fails, and how to fix it.

When renewals are charged

Subrise runs renewals on the billing days and at the billing time you set in Settings > Billing. Until you save a schedule there, renewals run once a day, every day.

At each run, Subrise charges every active subscription whose next billing date is that day or earlier. So if a subscription's date falls on a day you don't bill, it's charged at the next billing day.

The rhythm of a subscription doesn't drift. If a monthly subscription is due on the 3rd and you only bill on the 5th, it's charged on the 5th and its next date is still the 3rd of the following month.

See Billing settings to set your schedule.

See every charge

• Payment history on a subscription lists each charge with its date, amount and status: Paid with a link to the order, or Failed with the reason.
• The Failed charges view on the Subscriptions list lists every subscription with an unpaid failed charge, its error and the next retry date.
• The Failed billing report lists failed charges for a date range, and you can schedule it by email.

Successful renewal orders get your order tags, such as Repeat Subscription, so you can find them in Shopify.

Failed payments

A charge can fail because a card is declined or expired, or because a product is out of stock. When that happens, Subrise:

1. Emails the customer the Failed billing attempt email.
2. Adds the Failed Billing tag to the customer in Shopify.
3. Emails you, if you've turned on Billing failed in Admin notifications.
4. Sends the event to your integrations, such as Shopify Flow, Klaviyo and webhooks.
5. Schedules a retry.

Retries

By default Subrise retries a failed charge 3 times, 1 day apart. Each retry happens at your next billing run on or after the retry date. The subscription's row shows Failed with the date and Retry with the next attempt.

When a retry succeeds, the subscription carries on as normal and the Failed Billing tag is removed.

After the last retry

If the last retry fails too, Subrise cancels the subscription by default. You can choose to pause it instead. With the defaults, that's the original charge plus 3 retries, so the fourth failure cancels the subscription.

Change the number of retries, the time between them and what happens after the last one in Billing settings.

Help a customer fix their card

Most failed charges are an expired or replaced card. To fix one:

1. Open the subscription and click Manage next to Payment method.
2. If the customer has another saved card, choose it under Charge this subscription to and click Save.
3. Otherwise, click Send update link. Shopify emails the customer a secure link to update their card. Only the customer can enter card details.
4. Once the card is updated, go to Upcoming orders and click Run billing now to charge straight away, or wait for the next retry.

Run billing now is refused if the subscription was already charged today, including a charge that failed. You then see "It can be charged again tomorrow." If the card was fixed on the day a charge failed, run billing the next day or wait for the next retry.

Customers can also change their card themselves in the customer portal.

Out-of-stock products

By default, renewals follow each product's inventory settings in Shopify. If a product that doesn't allow overselling is out of stock, the charge fails and goes through the same retries as a declined card.

To charge renewals even when products are out of stock, turn on Allow billing without inventory in Billing settings. To protect add-ons, use add-on inventory holds.

What customers get

• Upcoming subscription order: a reminder before each renewal, 7 days ahead by default.
• Failed billing attempt: when a charge fails.
• Shopify's card update email, when you or the customer ask for one.

Edit or turn off Subrise's emails in Email notifications.