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Collections

Dunning

The automated sequence of retries and reminders that recovers a failed recurring payment before the subscription is lost.

Dunning is what happens after a recurring payment fails: a schedule of retries, a sequence of emails, an in-product notice, and finally a decision about access.

It exists because involuntary churn is a payments failure, not a customer decision, and the customer usually does not know it happened. Recovery rates of 60% to 75% are achievable on a well-run ladder.

The design choices are retry timing, message tone and cadence, how long access continues, and when to stop. Retrying a hard decline twenty times achieves nothing except card network fees and a customer who now knows you are broken. See smart retries.

Related terms

  • Smart retries Scheduling payment retries based on the decline reason, the card type and local timing rather than at fixed intervals.
  • Involuntary churn Customers lost because a payment failed rather than because they chose to leave. Usually the cheapest churn to recover.
  • Account updater A card network service that supplies updated card details when a stored card is reissued, expired or replaced.
  • Collections The process of recovering invoices that are past due, from reminders through to escalation and write-off.