Failed payments and retries
Updated · SMART Subscriptions (E-TRADE PARTNER)
When a renewal fails, SMART Subscriptions uses dunning in Settings. Payment retries are 0–10 (default 3), days between attempts 1–14 (default 7), and final action Cancel, Pause, or Skip (default Pause). Inventory retries default to 5 attempts, 1 day apart, final Skip. Errors a retry can't fix go straight to the final action. Activate matching templates under Emails, and confirm your gateway supports subscriptions.
SMART Subscriptions does this with plans, a product-page widget, and a native customer portal.
Try it freeRetries alone do not message the customer. Pair Settings with activated Emails, and keep the Subscription management page active so customers can switch to another saved payment method.
Dunning defaults
| Setting | Payment method failure | Not enough inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Retry attempts | 0–10 (default 3) | 0–10 (default 5) |
| Days between retries | 1–14 (default 7) | 1–14 (default 1) |
| Final action options | Cancel, Pause, Skip | Skip, Cancel, Pause |
| Default final action | Pause | Skip |
| Where to configure | Settings | Settings |
Checklist when renewals keep failing
- Open Settings and confirm payment and inventory retry counts, wait days, and final actions.
- Open Emails and activate billing failure, billing retry, final billing retry, and inventory failure templates you want customers to receive.
- Confirm the Subscription management page is active, so the customer can switch to another saved payment method. The portal can't add a new card.
- Confirm the store uses a gateway Shopify supports for subscriptions. See Payment gateways.
- Triage the Paused and Cancelled tabs under Subscriptions. Contracts stay Active while retries run. Use Home for MRR and active subscription count, not recovery triage.
Emails must be activated
Templates under Emails stay inactive until you activate them. Inactive templates do not send, even when dunning is running.
Zero payment retries means no retry loop; the final action path comes sooner. Use that only when you intentionally want aggressive cutover.
Recover failed renewals with clear retry rules
Configure dunning in [SMART Subscriptions](https://apps.shopify.com/smart-subscriptions), activate **Emails**, and keep recoverable contracts in the recovery path.
Install free on ShopifyFrequently asked questions
›What are the default payment failure retry settings?
Payment method failure defaults are 3 retry attempts, 7 days between attempts, and Pause as the final action. Retries are 0–10 and days are 1–14 in Settings.
›What are the default inventory failure settings?
Insufficient inventory defaults are 5 retry attempts, 1 day between attempts, and Skip as the final action.
›Do customers get failure emails automatically?
Only if you activate the relevant templates under Emails.
›Why might renewals fail even when the first checkout worked?
Renewals are charged later to the saved payment method. They can fail if the card expired or was declined, items are out of stock, or the gateway isn't one Shopify supports for subscriptions. See Payment gateways.