Where does the word "dunning" come from?

From the English verb "to dun", to press someone for payment. In subscriptions it means the automated retry-and-remind process for failed payments.

How many retries are typical?

Three to five retries, two to three days apart, work for most subscription businesses.

Is dunning the same as debt collection?

No. Dunning happens inside the customer relationship and usually ends with the next successful charge. Debt collection is an escalation after the relationship has ended.

What's the difference between dunning and involuntary churn?

Involuntary churn is the problem, subscriptions lost to failed payments. Dunning is the process that prevents it.

What is dunning?

By Alexander KohoutPublished 2 October 2026Updated 7 October 2026

How does dunning work?

A dunning process has three parts:

Retries: the payment is attempted again a set number of times, a set number of days apart.
Communication: after each failed attempt the customer is told, with a way to update their payment method.
A final action: what happens once every retry has failed. The order is skipped, the subscription is paused, or it’s cancelled.

Example (made-up numbers): a monthly subscription bills on March 1 and the card is declined. With 3 retries, 3 days apart, the payment is attempted again on March 4, 7 and 10, and the customer gets an email after each failure. They update their card on March 5, so the retry on March 7 goes through. Without dunning, the order would have stayed unpaid.

Why does dunning matter for subscriptions?

Every renewal is a charge the customer doesn’t actively make. Cards expire, limits are reached and banks block payments without the customer noticing. These subscribers didn’t decide to leave. A good dunning process wins many of them back with nothing more than time and a clear message, which makes it one of the cheapest retention levers a subscription business has.

A rule of thumb follows from that: check how many failed payments you recover before you spend more on finding new subscribers. That revenue is already yours, and getting it costs no ad spend and no discount.

How does Zubs handle dunning?

Dunning is built into Zubs: retries on your schedule, an email to the customer at every attempt and a final action that can keep the subscription. Your team gets alerts and can charge again by hand, and Klaviyo can send its own message for each stage. More on the dunning feature page.

Bottom line

Dunning turns a declined payment from an ending into a delay. Retry over a few days, tell the customer each time, and end with an action that keeps the door open.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the word "dunning" come from?: From the English verb "to dun", to press someone for payment. In subscriptions it means the automated retry-and-remind process for failed payments.
How many retries are typical?: Three to five retries, two to three days apart, work for most subscription businesses.
Is dunning the same as debt collection?: No. Dunning happens inside the customer relationship and usually ends with the next successful charge. Debt collection is an escalation after the relationship has ended.
What's the difference between dunning and involuntary churn?: Involuntary churn is the problem, subscriptions lost to failed payments. Dunning is the process that prevents it.