There may be times when a client's payment doesn't go through. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as insufficient funds, an expired credit card, or a purchase from a location the client's card company doesn't recognize.
Failed payment types
According to Stripe, most failed payments fall under either declined payments or blocked payments. See the table below for more information on these types of failed payments.
Type of failed payment | What it is | Steps for you to take |
Declined payment | A declined payment usually occurs because your client's payment issuer denies the charge. If the issuer provided Stripe with a reason, you can see it listed as a decline code in your Stripe Dashboard. | Contact your client directly to coordinate retrying the payment. |
Blocked payment | Certain failed payments might be prevented by Stripe because of a possible fraudulent payment. | If you recognize a blocked payment as legitimate, you can lift the block by locating the payment in your Stripe Dashboard and clicking Add to allow list. After you add the payment to your allow list, manually retry the payment. |
How a failed payment appears in Dubsado
When a payment fails, it shows on the invoice in the client's project with a status of Unpaid or Overdue, depending on timing. Both you and your client receive an email about the failed payment.
If the failed payment was an automatic payment, you also get a notification in Updates that reads "An automatic payment has failed for the project [project] with [client]." Selecting it opens the invoice in the project. If you'd like your client nudged to retry on their own, you can turn on automated payment reminders.
What happens to autopay
If the failed payment was an automatic payment, it cancels the client's autopay enrollment. You and your client both receive an Autopay Cancelled email, and the client can re-enroll in autopay to resume automatic payments.