Scripting Automated Dunning & Payment Retry Logic

For any subscription-based business running on WordPress, managing failed payments is not just a chore—it’s a critical component of revenue retention. Manually chasing down customers for overdue payments is inefficient, prone to errors, and scales poorly. This is where automated dunning and payment retry logic, powered by custom scripts or robust plugins, becomes indispensable.

What is Dunning and Why Automate It?

Dunning refers to the process of communicating with customers to collect payments for overdue invoices or failed transactions. In the context of subscriptions, this typically involves sending a series of reminder emails or notifications when a recurring payment fails. Automating this process means:

• Reduced Churn: Proactively recovering payments before subscriptions are cancelled.
• Improved Cash Flow: Ensuring a steady stream of revenue.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Gentle, automated reminders are less intrusive than manual follow-ups.
• Operational Efficiency: Freeing up your team from tedious manual tasks.

Scripting Your Dunning & Payment Retry Logic

Whether you’re a WordPress site owner with some development chops or a plugin developer looking to enhance your offerings, here’s how to approach scripting automated dunning:

1. Identifying Failed Payments

The first step is to detect when a payment fails. This can be achieved by:

• Payment Gateway Webhooks: Configure your payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) to send a webhook notification to your WordPress site upon a failed transaction.
• WooCommerce Order Statuses: Regularly query orders with statuses like ‘pending payment’ or ‘failed’ for subscription renewals.
• Custom Database Queries: If you’re managing subscriptions outside of standard WooCommerce, you might query your custom tables.

2. Implementing a Retry Schedule

Once a failed payment is identified, don’t give up after the first attempt. A common retry strategy involves a series of attempts over several days:

// Example: A basic retry schedule
$retry_schedule = [
    ['delay' => '+1 day', 'max_attempts' => 1],
    ['delay' => '+3 days', 'max_attempts' => 1],
    ['delay' => '+7 days', 'max_attempts' => 1],
];

// In your script, iterate through this schedule and attempt payment
// Store retry attempts and next retry time in custom meta for the subscription/order.

You’ll need to use WordPress’s wp_schedule_event() to schedule these retries reliably, leveraging WP-Cron.

3. Crafting Dunning Notifications

Parallel to payment retries, send automated, professional notifications. These emails should:

• Clearly state the payment failure and the subscription it relates to.
• Provide a direct link for the customer to update their payment method.
• Reassure them that their service is still active (for initial notifications).
• Include contact information for support.

Leverage WordPress’s built-in email functions (wp_mail()) or extend WooCommerce’s email templates for consistency.

4. Updating Subscription Statuses

Based on the outcome of your dunning efforts, your script must update the subscription status:

• Successful Retry: Set status back to ‘active’.
• Customer Updates Payment: Set status to ‘active’.
• Failed After All Retries: Move to ‘on-hold’, ‘pending cancellation’, or ‘cancelled’.

For WooCommerce Subscriptions, you’d use functions like $subscription->update_status('on-hold').

Considerations for Plugin Developers

If you’re building a dunning plugin for WordPress, focus on:

• Extensibility: Use hooks and filters to allow other developers to customize retry schedules, email content, and logic.
• User-Friendly Settings: Provide an intuitive interface for site owners to configure dunning rules, email templates, and retry counts without code.
• Robust Logging: Keep a detailed log of all payment attempts, notifications sent, and status changes for auditing and debugging.
• Compatibility: Ensure seamless integration with popular payment gateways and subscription management plugins like WooCommerce Subscriptions.

Conclusion

Automating dunning and payment retry logic is a game-changer for any WordPress business relying on recurring revenue. By carefully scripting these processes, you not only safeguard your revenue but also provide a smoother, more professional experience for your customers. Embrace automation to turn potential churn into retained loyalty.