# Reduce involuntary churn Involuntary churn occurs when a customer is unable to pay for their subscription or service due to issues with their payment method, such as expired cards or insufficient funds. This can lead to lost revenue and customer dissatisfaction. This topic describes how to manage the dunning process by creating automations that help reduce involuntary churn, such as customer notifications for declined payments, past due invoices, expired payment cards, and invoice retry configuration. ## Email notifications Use these email notifications to manage communication with customers while dunning invoices. Email notifications help inform customers of their payment status and prompt them to take action. You can also include invoice payment links the emails. These links open payment forms where customers can enter their card details and pay any outstanding amounts. ### Renewal invoice payment declined notifications Email customers when payment for a subscription renewal invoice is declined. This notification alerts customers to potential service loss and prompts them to check their payment card information. This process describes how to add a payment link to the email. details summary Create a transaction declined email notification 1. In the left navigation bar, press . 2. In the **Data and alerts** section, press **Email notifications**. 3. In the **Customer notifications** section, press **Billing events**, then select the **Renewal invoice payment declined** event. 4. Press **Create notification**. 5. In the **Notification name** field, enter a unique name for the notification. 6. In the **Labels** field, enter one or more labels to help categorize the notification. 7. Optionally, to specify additional conditions on when the notification is sent: 1. In the **Conditions** section, clear the **No conditions** checkbox. 2. In the **Filter** dropdown, select a filter. 3. In the **Operation** dropdown, select an operation. 4. In the **Value** field, enter or select values. 5. Optionally, to add another filter, press **Add filter**. 8. In the **Emails** section, press **Add email**. 9. In the **Title** field, enter a meaningful title. 10. In the **From** field, select your address. If your address is not listed, press **Add email address**. 11. In the **To** field, add a placeholder or an email address. 12. Optionally, to stay informed on all emails, press **Add BCC** and enter your email or a support email. 13. In the **Subject** field, enter a subject or placeholder. 14. In the **Email content** field, enter the content of the email. 15. Press **Add placeholder** to add placeholders to the email content, such as first name, last name, invoice number, and amount. 16. In the bottom of the email, press **Add placeholder**, then select **Invoice payment link**. When customers click the invoice payment link, they are redirected to a payment form where they can pay the invoice. 17. Optionally, to attach the invoice to the email, select the **Attach invoice** checkbox. 18. Press **Save notification**. ### Invoice past due notifications Email customers when an invoice is past due. This notification informs customers of their outstanding payments and prompts them to take action. This process describes how to add a payment link to the email. details summary Create an invoice past due email notification 1. In the left navigation bar, press . 2. In the **Data and alerts** section, press **Email notifications**. 3. In the **Customer notifications** section, press **Billing events**, then select the **Invoice past due** event. 4. Press **Create notification**. 5. In the **Notification name** field, enter a unique name for the notification. 6. In the **Labels** field, enter one or more labels to help categorize the notification. 7. Optionally, to specify additional conditions on when the notification is sent: 1. In the **Conditions** section, clear the **No conditions** checkbox. 2. In the **Filter** dropdown, select a filter. 3. In the **Operation** dropdown, select an operation. 4. In the **Value** field, enter or select values. 5. Optionally, to add another filter, press **Add filter**. 8. In the **Emails** section, press **Add email**. 9. In the **Title** field, enter a meaningful title. 10. In the **From** field, select your address. If your address is not listed, press **Add email address**. 11. In the **To** field, add a placeholder or an email address. 12. Optionally, to stay informed on all emails, press **Add BCC** and enter your email or a support email. 13. In the **Subject** field, enter a subject or placeholder. 14. In the **Email content** field, enter the content of the email. 15. Press **Add placeholder** to add placeholders to the email content, such as first name, last name, invoice number, and amount. 16. At the end of the email content, press **Add placeholder**, then select **Invoice payment link**. In the bottom of the email, press **Add placeholder**, then select **Invoice payment link**. When customers click the invoice payment link, they are redirected to a payment form where they can pay the invoice. 17. Optionally, to attach the invoice to the email, select the **Attach invoice** checkbox. 18. Press **Save notification**. ### Expired payment card notifications Email customers when their payment card expires. This notification informs customers of their expired payment card and prompts them to update their card information to avoid service interruptions. details summary Create a payment card expired email notification 1. In the left navigation bar, press . 2. In the **Data and alerts** section, press **Email notifications**. 3. In the **Customer notifications** section, press **Billing events**, then select the **Payment card expired** event. 4. Press **Create notification**. 5. In the **Notification name** field, enter a unique name for the notification. 6. In the **Labels** field, enter one or more labels to help categorize the notification. 7. Optionally, to specify additional conditions on when the notification is sent: 1. In the **Conditions** section, clear the **No conditions** checkbox. 2. In the **Filter** dropdown, select a filter. 3. In the **Operation** dropdown, select an operation. 4. In the **Value** field, enter or select values. 5. Optionally, to add another filter, press **Add filter**. 8. In the **Emails** section, press **Add email**. 9. In the **Title** field, enter a meaningful title. 10. In the **From** field, select your address. If your address is not listed, press **Add email address**. 11. In the **To** field, add a placeholder or an email address. 12. Optionally, to stay informed on all emails, press **Add BCC** and enter your email or a support email. 13. In the **Subject** field, enter a subject or placeholder. 14. In the **Email content** field, enter the content of the email. 15. Press **Add placeholder** to add placeholders to the email content, such as first name, last name, card brand, and last 4 digits of the card. 16. Press **Save notification**. ## Schedule invoice retries Use invoice retries to automatically dun invoices by retrying failed payments when renewal invoice payments are declined. Define a schedule for retries at times when payments are more likely to be approved. The payment amount can be adjusted on each retry — either as a partial payment or with a discount. When a final retry attempt fails, you can configure the action to cancel the subscription and abandon the invoice. To create an invoice retry automation, see [Create a schedule invoice retry action](/docs/automations/action-types#create-a-schedule-invoice-retry-action). ## Guess card expiration dates Use the guess payment card expiration date automation to estimate the new expiration date of expired cards before payments decline and customers churn. When a payment card expires, this automation makes up to three attempts to guess the new expiration date. For each guess, it attempts a $1 authorization. If the authorization is successful, the customer's payment card is updated with the new expiration date and the $1 authorization is voided. This automation is useful because it can help recover payments without requiring customers to manually update their card information. To create this automation, see [Guess payment card expiration](/docs/automations/action-types#guess-payment-card-expiration). ## Account updater A service provided by card networks, such as Visa and MasterCard, that updates cardholder information, such as expiration dates, card numbers, and account numbers. Using account updater services can help prevent involuntary churn and reduce the need for customers to manually update their information. Contact your payment gateway to learn more and enable this service if it is available.