How to Resubmit a Failed Subscription in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
WooCommerce Subscriptions are a fantastic way to offer recurring payments for products or services. But sometimes, payments fail. Don’t panic! Failed payments happen, and WooCommerce provides ways for both you and your customers to get subscriptions back on track. This guide will walk you through the process of resubmitting a failed WooCommerce subscription, whether you’re the store owner or the customer.
Imagine you’re running a coffee subscription service. A customer, Sarah, has been getting her favorite blend every month. This month, however, Sarah’s payment failed due to insufficient funds. This is a common scenario! Let’s see how we can get Sarah’s subscription reactivated.
Why Payments Fail in WooCommerce Subscriptions?
Understanding why payments fail in the first place helps you address the issue effectively. Common reasons include:
- Insufficient Funds: The most common culprit! The customer simply doesn’t have enough money in their account.
- Expired Card: The customer’s credit card has expired.
- Card Declined: The bank may have declined the transaction for various security reasons.
- Payment Gateway Issues: There might be a temporary problem with the payment gateway (e.g., Stripe, PayPal).
- Address Verification Failure (AVS): The billing address provided doesn’t match the address on file with the credit card company.
- Retry Payment (If available): Some stores allow you to retry the payment immediately. Look for a “Retry Payment” button or link. This attempts to process the payment again using your existing payment information.
- Update Payment Method: If the retry fails or if you know your card has expired, update your payment method. You’ll typically find a link or button to “Change Payment Method.” This will usually redirect you to the payment gateway (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) to securely update your card details.
- Using WooCommerce Subscriptions built-in retries: WooCommerce Subscriptions provides basic built-in retry functionality. You can configure the number of retries and the interval between them in the WooCommerce settings.
- Using plugins (Recommended): For more advanced features, consider using a plugin like “WooCommerce Subscriptions Automatic Retry” or similar plugins. These plugins offer greater control over the retry process, including:
- Customizable retry schedules.
- Email notifications to customers about failed payments and upcoming retries.
- The ability to set different retry schedules based on the payment gateway.
- How to Manually Retry a Payment:
- Go to WooCommerce > Subscriptions.
- Locate the failed subscription.
- Click on the subscription to view its details.
- In the “Subscription Actions” meta box, you might find an option to “Retry Payment” (depending on your payment gateway and any plugins you have installed).
- If the “Retry Payment” option is not available, you can manually process a payment through the customer’s account (requires having their payment details). Exercise extreme caution when handling customer payment information.
Resubmitting a Failed Subscription: For Customers
If you’re a customer and your WooCommerce subscription has failed, here’s what you can do:
1. Check Your Email: You should have received an email notification from the store about the failed payment. This email often contains instructions on how to update your payment method or retry the payment. Always check your spam folder!
2. Log in to Your Account: Navigate to the store’s website and log in Discover insights on How To Create A Woocommerce Plugin to your account.
3. Find Your Subscriptions: Look for a “My Account” or “Subscriptions” section. This might be in the main navigation or a sidebar.
4. Locate the Failed Subscription: You’ll see a list of your subscriptions. The failed one will usually be marked with a “Failed” or “On Hold” status.
5. Retry Payment or Update Payment Method:
Example: Let’s say Sarah logs into her account and sees her coffee subscription marked “On Hold.” She clicks on it and sees a button labeled “Change Payment Method.” She clicks this, is redirected to Stripe, updates her expired credit card, and returns to the store. Her subscription is automatically reactivated!
6. Contact Explore this article on How To Edit Woocommerce Cart Page the Store: If you’re still having trouble, don’t hesitate to contact the store directly. They can provide further assistance and troubleshoot the issue. Look for their “Contact Us” page.
Resubmitting a Failed Subscription: For Store Owners
As a store owner, you have several options for handling failed subscriptions:
1. Monitor Failed Payments: Regularly check your WooCommerce dashboard for failed subscriptions. The WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin usually provides Read more about How To Make Tags Searchable Woocommerce a list of subscriptions that require attention.
2. Automated Retry System: The best approach is to set up an automated retry system. This allows WooCommerce to automatically retry failed payments after a certain interval.
Why is automation important? Imagine you have 100 subscribers and 5 fail each month. Manually contacting each customer is time-consuming! Automation handles the retries, freeing you to focus on other aspects of your business.
3. Manual Retry (When Necessary): Sometimes, you might need to manually retry a failed payment. This is useful if the automated retries have failed, or if you’ve received updated payment information from the customer.
4. Update Payment Method (Admin): If a customer contacts you with updated payment information, you can manually update their payment method in the WooCommerce admin panel. This typically involves securely entering the new card details or updating their PayPal account. Again, prioritize security and follow PCI compliance guidelines.
5. Communicate with Customers: Proactive communication is key! Send automated emails to customers when their payment fails, explaining the situation and providing instructions on how to resolve it. Personalize these emails whenever possible to improve the customer experience.
6. Consider “Suspension” vs. “Cancellation”: If payments consistently fail despite multiple retries, consider automatically suspending (rather than immediately cancelling) the subscription. This gives the customer a final chance to update their payment method before the subscription is completely terminated.
Example: Setting up Automated Retries with Code (Advanced)
While using a dedicated plugin is generally recommended, you *can* implement basic retry logic using code. This is an advanced technique and requires PHP knowledge.
// Example: Automatically retry a failed subscription payment (Simplified) add_action( 'woocommerce_subscription_payment_failed', 'my_retry_failed_subscription_payment', 10, 2 );
function my_retry_failed_subscription_payment( $subscription, $last_order ) {
$retry_count = get_post_meta( $subscription->get_id(), ‘_retry_count’, true );
if ( empty( $retry_count ) ) {
$retry_count = 0;
}
if ( $retry_count < 3 ) { // Retry up to 3 times
$retry_count++;
update_post_meta( $subscription->get_id(), ‘_retry_count’, $retry_count );
// Schedule a new payment processing attempt in 24 hours (adjust as needed)
wp_schedule_single_event( time() + DAY_IN_SECONDS, ‘my_process_subscription_payment_retry’, array( $subscription->get_id() ) );
} else {
// Optionally cancel the subscription after 3 failed attempts
$subscription->update_status( ‘cancelled’, ‘Payment failed after multiple retries.’ );
}
}
// Hook to process the payment retry
add_action( ‘my_process_subscription_payment_retry’, ‘my_process_subscription_payment_retry_callback’ );
function my_process_subscription_payment_retry_callback( $subscription_id ) {
$subscription = wc_get_subscription( $subscription_id );
if ( $subscription ) {
$subscription->payment_complete(); // Attempt to process the payment again.
}
}
Important Notes:
* This is a very basic example and may require modifications to work correctly with your specific payment gateway and WooCommerce setup.
* Proper error handling and logging are essential.
* Using a dedicated plugin is highly recommended for managing subscription retries effectively.
* This code should be placed in your theme’s `functions.php` file or a custom plugin.
Conclusion
Resubmitting failed subscriptions in WooCommerce is crucial for maintaining a healthy recurring revenue stream. By understanding the reasons behind payment failures and implementing automated retry systems, you can minimize revenue loss and provide a positive experience for your customers. Whether you’re a customer updating your payment details or a store owner streamlining your subscription management, this guide provides the essential steps to get your subscriptions back on track.
