Dunning management: recover failed subscription payments politely

Dunning is the structured follow-up that happens when a payment fails or an invoice goes overdue. Done well, it recovers revenue without damaging the relationship.

Why it matters

Many cancellations are accidental: an expired card, an insufficient balance, a bank declining an unfamiliar charge. A calm sequence of reminders recovers a meaningful share of these without anyone selling anything.

A simple dunning schedule

1. Day 0: payment failed. Retry automatically and send a short notice with a payment link.
2. Day 3: second retry and a friendly reminder.
3. Day 7: final retry, and warn about what happens next.
4. Day 10 to 14: pause access or mark the subscription past due, according to your policy.

Adjust the timing to your product. A tool people use daily can be stricter than an annual contract.

Write messages people act on

• State the amount, the invoice number and the reason it failed.
• Include one clear action: pay now or update details.
• Avoid threatening language; most failures are innocent.
• Tell customers what will happen and when.

Know when to go manual

For large accounts, a personal email or call after the first failure beats any template. Automation should handle the volume so people can handle the exceptions.

In Knock, overdue invoices surface in your workspace with their history, and Pip can draft reminders for you to review.