What happens when a charge fails on a Recurring donation plan in Fundraise Up?

In Fundraise Up, recurring plans that encounter a failed charge will be put into a "retrying" status. But what happens next, and can the failed charge be retried?

If a charge on a recurring donation plan fails, for example due to an issue with the donor's credit card, the plan will be placed into a "retrying" status. This means that the system will attempt to process the payment again at a later time, usually within a few days. Here’s more information about installment retries.

By default, Fundraise Up uses machine learning to determine when to set a recurring plan's status to "failed" after charge attempts have been made. This default setting is designed to balance the opportunity to recover a recurring plan with avoiding potential fees for charge failures. While the machine learning option is configured by default, you can also select from seven other conditions:

• After 1 unpaid installment
• After 2 unpaid installments
• After 3 unpaid installments
• After 4 unpaid installments
• After 5 unpaid installments
• After 6 unpaid installments
• Never

When a recurring plan is in "retrying" status, it will attempt to process the next installment. If an installment fails, it will not be charged again in the future. This means that only the next scheduled payment will be charged, and the missed payment will be skipped. The donor will not be charged for the missed payment at a later date.

If a donor insists on making up the failed payment, we suggest recommending that they make a one-time donation for the same amount.