Recover Failed Payments With a Smart Multi-Step Retry Sequence
When a subscription payment fails, run an intelligent retry-and-reminder sequence over several days to recover revenue before cancelling.
- 1
Trigger on Failure
Add a
Stripe Triggernode oninvoice.payment_failed. - 2
Send the First Reminder
Add a
Gmailnode letting the customer know politely and linking to update their card. - 3
Retry on a Schedule
Add
Waitnodes andStriperetry steps at day 1, 3 and 5, each followed by a reminder if still unpaid. - 4
Escalate Before Cancelling
On the final attempt, add a firmer email warning of imminent cancellation with a one-click fix link.
- 5
Activate and Test
Activate the workflow and simulate a failed payment. Confirm the sequence advances and stops once paid.
Frequently asked questions
Doesn't Stripe already retry?
Stripe's Smart Retries help, but layering your own reminders and messaging recovers noticeably more.
When should I finally cancel?
After the sequence exhausts, pause access rather than hard-cancelling so recovered customers can resume easily.
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