Dunning 101: Understanding Dunning windows
Optimize subscription dunning windows to maximize failed payment recovery. Learn benchmark window lengths for monthly and annual plans, leverage Intelligent Retries, and decouple product access using webhooks to protect revenue.
Retain • Dunning 101
Understanding Dunning windows
The window length determines the amount of time Recurly has to retry payment information and customers have to input new information. Extend this to the recommended range so that retries and emails have maximum time to work.
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Understanding Dunning windows
What is the dunning window?
The dunning window is the number of days Recurly has to attempt to recover a failed payment; at the end of the cycle, the merchant can configure the subscription to either expire or remain active. During this window, Recurly uses static or Intelligent Retries to attempt payment during this during this window, and your Dunning email sequence is running in parallel. When the window closes with no recovery, the subscription lapses.
Intelligent Retries
ML-powered retries run automatically throughout the window. A longer window means more retry attempts — which is the primary driver of passive churn recovery on soft declines.
Dunning emails
Your email sequence runs in parallel, independently from retries. A longer window lets you space emails 4–5 days apart without compressing the cadence or overwhelming the subscriber.
Recommended window lengths
These benchmarks are sized to fit just inside each billing cycle — long enough to maximize retry attempts and email touchpoints, short enough to prevent a second invoice generating before the first one is resolved.
| Billing frequency | Recommended window | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 28 days | Sits just inside the 30-day billing cycle, giving retries maximum time without risking a duplicate invoice |
| Annual | 60 days | Annual subscribers represent high LTV — a short window here is one of the most costly mistakes in dunning setup |
| Quarterly | ~60 days | Long enough to maximize recovery attempts while preventing the "waterfall effect," where a new invoice is generated before the prior one is collected. |
| Weekly | 7 days | Match the billing frequency; one retry window per cycle keeps recovery and billing in sync |
You can decouple dunning status from product entitlement using Recurly webhooks — keep the full recovery window open while restricting access after a 3–5 day grace period. This lets you protect revenue without cutting off subscribers who may resolve their payment issue within days.
Annual and monthly subscribers have very different recovery profiles — and very different LTV at stake. Set a separate campaign with its own window length for each billing frequency. You'll configure this in the next page.
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