The Failed Payment Flow is a dunning sequence that automatically emails subscribers whose card or payment method fails during renewal. It gives them time and reminders to update their payment information before losing access. Set Stripe’s payment-retry window to at least match the Outpost flow duration. Stripe holds the subscription open during retries and applies a successful retry retroactively, so the two windows need to overlap. Stripe also keeps trying the card on file during the retry window and can send its own dunning emails. You can use Outpost’s flow alongside Stripe’s emails or instead of them — Outpost’s flow generally recovers more subscriptions in our testing.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
How it works
When a subscriber’s payment fails during renewal:Subscription is extended
The subscriber keeps access during the entire flow duration, giving them time to fix the issue.
Dunning emails begin
Outpost sends a series of up to 5 emails across the flow duration encouraging the subscriber to update their payment method. Emails are not evenly distributed across the full duration. They start after a short initial wait, then follow at regular intervals, leaving a gap at the end. With all 5 steps enabled over 7 days, emails go out at roughly days 1.2, 2.3, 3.5, 4.7, and 5.8. If you disable some steps, the remaining ones automatically redistribute with wider spacing.
Subscriber updates payment
If the subscriber updates their payment method and the renewal succeeds, the remaining emails are cancelled automatically. A “thank you” email is sent (if you have it turned on), which is configured in the Retention and Renewal tab of the Basic Autoresponder.
Flow ends
The flow ends and the subscription expires:
- The flow duration expires without a successful payment update and the Stripe period for retry ends, or
- You explicitly cancel the member’s subscription in Stripe, or
- You disable the retention flow
This flow does not apply to subscribers who manually turned off auto-renewal. It only targets genuine payment failures (expired card, insufficient funds, cancelled card, etc.).
Requirements
The Failed Payment Flow requires an active Stripe billing integration. If your site doesn’t have Stripe billing set up, the flow cannot be enabled and you’ll see a message directing you to configure Stripe.The Big Off/On Button
Like the Basic Autoresponder, the Failed Payment Flow has its own master toggle. When turned off, no dunning emails will be sent to subscribers with failed payments.Statistics
The statistics panel shows lifetime performance data:| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Total emails sent | Total number of dunning emails sent across all steps |
| Total open rate | Overall open rate for all dunning emails |
| Overall number of subscriptions with failed payments | How many subscriptions entered this flow |
| Overall number of subscriptions saved | How many subscribers successfully updated their payment |
| Overall save rate | Percentage of failed subscriptions recovered |
| Revenue recovered | Total revenue from recovered subscriptions (first payment only) |
The 5-step sequence
The flow contains 5 pre-built email steps displayed as a visual timeline. Each step shows:- Subject line — Click to edit the email content
- Stats — Emails sent, open rate, and “Updated” rate (percentage who updated their payment after this email)
- Toggle — Enable or disable individual steps
- Preview — Click the eye icon to see how the email will look
- Edit — Click the pencil icon to modify the subject and body
| Step | Default Subject | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billing issue | First gentle notification that payment failed |
| 2 | Can you help with this billing issue? | Follow-up request for action |
| 3 | Need help? | Offer of assistance |
| 4 | Final notice to update payment information | Urgent warning |
| 5 | We’re sorry! | Last chance before subscription expires |
Each email contains a special button that links directly to the subscriber’s payment update page. Do not edit the links on these buttons — they are auto-generated and work specifically for each subscriber’s failed payment. They will not work in preview mode, but they do work in the actual emails.
Settings
Click the “edit” link next to the flow heading, or click on the day badges at the start or end of the timeline to open the Settings modal:| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Start | How long after the subscription was supposed to renew before the first dunning email is sent. Options: Immediately, 1–10 days. Default: Immediately (0 days). |
| Duration | How long the entire flow lasts. Emails are distributed within this window using the spacing formula. Options: Immediately, 1–10 days. The subscriber’s access is extended for this duration. Default: 7 days. |
Editing email content
Click any subject line or the pencil icon to edit a dunning email:- Subject — The email subject line
- Body — Rich text editor for the email content
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the subscriber's access while the flow is running?
What happens to the subscriber's access while the flow is running?
The subscriber keeps full access to paid content during the entire flow duration. Their subscription is extended for the number of days Stripe is set to retry the card. If they don’t update payment by the end, the subscription expires and paid access stops.
Can I add more than 5 email steps?
Can I add more than 5 email steps?
No. The Failed Payment Flow is a fixed 5-step sequence. You can enable or disable individual steps, and you can edit the subject and body of each email, but you cannot add or remove steps.
What if the subscriber updates their payment after step 2?
What if the subscriber updates their payment after step 2?
The remaining emails (steps 3, 4, and 5) are automatically cancelled. The subscriber receives a “thank you” email via the Failed Payment Flow Thank You action in the Retention and Renewal tab of the Basic Autoresponder (if you have that turned on). You can customize that email just like any other autoresponder action.
What's a good Start and Duration setting?
What's a good Start and Duration setting?
Most publishers use “Immediately” for Start and “7 days” for Duration. This gives subscribers a week to update their payment while receiving 5 emails spread across that week. Shorter durations create more urgency; longer durations give more time but risk the subscriber forgetting.
How do I track the revenue this feature recovers?
How do I track the revenue this feature recovers?
The statistics panel at the top of the page shows Revenue recovered (first payment only) — the total amount collected from subscribers who updated their payment method through this flow.
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