Past-due payments and the grace period
What happens when a subscription charge fails, including the grace period, retrying on a new card, and the access gate.
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When a subscription charge fails, you don't lose access right away. You get a grace period to fix your card. This page explains exactly what happens, and how to get back to active.
What happens when a charge fails
- Stripe tries to charge your card and it's declined.
- Your subscription flips to past due, and a grace deadline is set.
- A red "Payment failed: action required" banner appears across the top of your dashboard, with the deadline date and a days-left countdown.
- You keep full access to the app until the deadline.
- If you don't fix it by the deadline, access is locked and you're sent to the Billing page to recover.
The grace window length is set by AutoDealer.io (the platform), not by you. It's the same for every dealer and isn't editable from your settings.
Fix it: retry on a new card
The fastest fix is to enter a working card. Saving it retries the failed charge on that card right away.
- Click Update payment method in the red banner (or go to Settings → Billing).
- On the Billing page you'll see a Payment failed notice and an Update payment method card.
- Enter a new card (or use Link).
- Click Save and retry.
- The new card becomes your default and the failed charge is retried on it right away. You'll see a confirmation that the payment method was updated.
You don't have to manually re-run the payment. Saving the card retries the charge for you. Once it goes through, your status flips back to active and the red banner disappears. If the new card is declined too, Stripe keeps retrying it on its automatic schedule.
How the grace deadline is calculated
- The deadline is set once, on the first failed charge of the cycle.
- It's that moment plus the grace window (first failure today + the grace days = your deadline).
- Retries that fail again do not shift the deadline; you don't get extra time by failing more.
- As soon as a charge succeeds, the deadline is cleared and you're back to active.
The grace deadline is anchored to your first failed payment, not the latest one. If you ignore the first failure for several days and only fix it near the date shown, you have less time than the full grace window. Act when you first see the banner.
The access gate: what you can still do
Your access depends on your subscription status:
| Status | Access |
|---|---|
| Active | Full access. |
| Past due, within grace | Full access. Red banner shown. |
| Past due, grace expired | Locked out. Sent to the Billing page to update your card. |
| Suspended | Locked out. Update billing (or contact support) to restore access. |
| Cancelled | Locked out. Resubscribe to restore access. |
Even when you're locked out, the Billing page and the sign-in / sign-out pages stay reachable, so you can always fix billing or sign out. The rest of the dashboard is blocked until your payment is current.
There's no Stripe customer-portal redirect in this flow by design. Everything (adding a card and triggering the retry) happens right on the Billing page. If something unusual still fails, contact AutoDealer.io support.
FAQ
How long is the grace period?
It's a fixed window set by AutoDealer.io and applies the same way to every dealer. The exact deadline date (and a days-left countdown) is shown in the red banner and on the Billing page. Go by what's displayed there.
Do I lose my data when I'm past due or suspended?
No. Your inventory, deals, customers, and history stay intact. Past-due and suspended only restrict access to the app; they don't delete anything. Fix your card to restore access.
I updated my card but I'm still showing past due. Why?
Saving the card retries the charge right away, and your status flips to active once it goes through. Refresh the Billing page after a minute. If you're still past due, the new card may have been declined too: try another card, or contact support.
If the Billing page says it couldn't switch your subscription to that payment method, nothing was charged and your subscription still bills your previous card. Try saving it again, or use a different card. If it keeps happening, contact support.
Will failing more times give me more time?
No. The deadline is locked in on your first failed charge of the cycle. Later failed retries don't extend it.
Who can update billing?
The Owner: click your name in the top-right and choose Billing and plan. That's where you add a card and recover from a failed payment. Anyone else at the dealership who lands on the Billing page sees why the account is locked and is asked to contact the owner; the plan, card and invoices are the owner's alone.
What's the difference between past due, suspended, and cancelled?
Past due means a charge failed but you're still inside the grace window (full access). Suspended and cancelled both lock you out. Suspended is recovered by getting billing current (enter a working card right on the Billing page); cancelled is recovered by resubscribing. In every locked state, the Billing page stays reachable so you can fix it.