What is dunning?

Dunning is the automated process of retrying and recovering a subscription payment after the card is declined. Instead of cancelling the subscription the moment a charge fails, a dunning system re-attempts the payment on a set schedule and nudges the customer to fix their card — so a temporary card problem doesn't quietly end a paying subscription.

#How WallaB handles dunning

When a subscription charge fails, WallaB.AI retries it on a dunning ladder you configure — a list of day offsets from the failed charge (the default is day 1, then 3, 5, and 7). Each retry that fails sends the shopper a branded payment-notice email pointing to their portal; a retry that succeeds recovers the subscription automatically. If the whole ladder is exhausted, the subscription is marked failed and the shopper is told. The ladder in force is snapshotted when the failure first happens, so editing your settings never scrambles recoveries already in flight.

#Preventing the failure in the first place

WallaB also sends pre-dunning card-expiry warnings: a nightly check finds cards expiring within your warning window and emails the shopper before a charge ever fails. Alongside the warning (and the first dunning notice), Shopify sends its own secure "update payment method" link — the card form is hosted by Shopify, so card details never touch WallaB.AI.

Full setup lives in Dunning & card-expiry warnings. Dunning is how WallaB recovers involuntary churn — see Involuntary vs. voluntary churn.