What recurring payments are
A recurring payment charges a customer automatically on a set frequency for a given item, such as a monthly gift or a regular bill. Find them in the sidebar under Recurring payments (in the Finance group).Recurring payments and subscriptions both bill on a schedule, but they are different tools. A recurring payment is a single scheduled charge tied to one customer and item. A subscription enrolls customers into a reusable plan. Use recurring payments for one-off scheduled billing and subscriptions when you want a plan customers share.
Reading the list
Each row represents one scheduled recurring payment and shows the customer, the item, the frequency, the next charge date, the payment method, the amount, and the current status.In the nonprofit dashboard, the customer column is labeled Donor. It is the same field, just named to match giving terminology.
Managing a recurring payment
The Actions column on each row lets you manage that schedule, for example pausing or cancelling it. When there are no scheduled recurring payments, the screen shows “No recurring payments found.”When a recurring payment keeps failing
A recurring payment usually fails because the card on file expired, was replaced, or was declined by the bank. It will keep trying on schedule until something changes.- Find it. Filter the list by status, or check the All Payments or All Donations report, which includes failed payments
- Ask the customer to update their payment method. They can do it themselves in a minute by signing in and editing the recurring payment. For donors, send them Managing your recurring gifts
- Pause or cancel it if it keeps failing. Use the Actions column. Repeated failures on a bank account can lead to returned ACH payments, so it’s better to stop the schedule until the customer updates it