Recover failed subscription payments with a dunning plan
A retry schedule, card-update emails, and in-app notices that cut involuntary churn without alienating customers.
The prompt
Help me build a dunning plan to recover failed subscription payments.
Billing system and payment processor: [e.g. Stripe Billing, Chargebee, in-house]
Billing mix: [monthly vs annual, card vs invoice, consumer vs business]
Current failed payment rate and recovery rate: [DATA or "unknown"]
Common decline reasons: [expired card, insufficient funds, bank declines, authentication needed]
What happens today when payment fails: [DESCRIBE]
Grace period we can afford: [e.g. 14 days before downgrade]
Create:
1. Prevention: card updater services, expiry reminders before the card fails, backup payment methods, and authentication handling (such as 3-D Secure for European cards).
2. A retry schedule by decline type (soft vs hard declines), with smart timing rather than fixed daily retries.
3. A customer communication sequence: email, in-app banner, and for B2B a note to the billing contact and account owner. Give subject lines and copy for each, under 100 words, friendly and non-accusatory, with a one-click update link.
4. Account states: grace period, read-only or limited access, downgrade or cancellation, and data retention after cancellation.
5. Handoffs: when invoice customers go to accounts receivable, and when a CSM should step in for large accounts.
6. Metrics: failed payment rate, recovery rate by step, involuntary churn as a share of total churn, and revenue recovered.
7. Accounting notes: how to treat failed payments and write-offs in revenue and ARR reporting, flagged for my accountant to confirm.
Do not invent recovery rate benchmarks; label any examples as illustrative.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- e.g. Stripe Billing, Chargebee, in-house
- monthly vs annual, card vs invoice, consumer vs business
- DATA or "unknown"
- DESCRIBE
- e.g. 14 days before downgrade
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
Related prompts
- Prepare a progress billing pay application with retainageA schedule of values and monthly pay application that matches work in place, handles retainage and stored materials, and avoids rejection.
- Write a credit memo for a commercial loan requestA structured credit memo covering the borrower, repayment capacity, collateral, risks, and a clear recommendation for the credit committee.
- Cost and price a multi-day tour packageA tour costing sheet with fixed and per-person costs, break-even group size, markup, and a sellable inclusions list.
- Check whether a design project will finish within its feeA fee-burn check comparing fee spent with percent complete by phase, with an estimate at completion and recovery options.