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Invoices & failed payments ​

The Billing history card on the billing page is the audit log for everything that has ever been charged, refunded, or attempted against your subscription.

Billing history table

Reading the history table ​

Each row is one payment attempt. Columns:

  • Date — when the attempt ran. For successful charges this is the charge timestamp; for retries it's the retry timestamp.
  • Plan — which plan ID was charged (matches the plan ID at the time, not the current one).
  • Invoice — auto-generated invoice number, only present for approved rows.
  • Amount — in USD.
  • Status — Approved (green check) or Declined (red alert).

Hover any row and two action icons appear on the right:

  • Download (only on approved rows) — saves a plain-text invoice file.
  • Refund (admin only, only on approved rows) — opens the refund modal.

On mobile, the table collapses into cards with the same actions surfaced as buttons.

Downloading an invoice ​

Click the download icon. A INV-xxxx.txt file downloads with:

INVOICE: INV-2026-001234
Date: 2026-06-15
Plan: growth
Amount: $79.00
Status: approved
Auth code: ABCD1234
Ref: rrn_9876543210

This is intentionally a simple text file rather than a PDF — machine-parseable for accounting imports and unambiguous for record-keeping. GCM does not currently produce VAT/GST/sales-tax-formatted invoices. If your jurisdiction requires those, contact us — we can issue manual tax invoices on a per-charge basis.

What gets stored ​

The payment_history table holds every row you see. Fields recorded:

  • plan_id, amount, currency — what was charged.
  • status — approved or declined.
  • gateway_auth_code — the authorization code from the bank (for support escalations).
  • gateway_reference — the gateway's retrieval reference number (RRN) for reconciliation.
  • gateway_response_code — ISO response code, useful when contacting your bank about a decline.
  • card_last4, payment_method — what was charged.
  • created_at — timestamp.

We retain payment history indefinitely. There's no purge job for subscription billing rows.

When a charge fails (dunning) ​

If a monthly renewal charge declines, GCM enters a dunning sequence — a structured retry-and-notify loop. The schedule is:

DayWhat happens
Day 0Renewal charge runs, declines. Subscription status flips to past_due. billing_retry_count set to 1. billing_retry_at set to today + 3 days. Decline email sent.
Day 3First retry runs. If it succeeds, status returns to active and the cycle resets. If it declines, billing_retry_count advances to 2, billing_retry_at set to today + 4 days (so day 7 total). Decline email sent.
Day 7Second retry runs. If it succeeds, status returns to active. If it declines, billing_retry_count advances to 3 and the subscription is canceled. Cancellation email sent.
After day 7Subscription status is canceled or expired. You can re-subscribe at any time from the billing page — no penalty, no data loss.

During the past-due window your access to the platform is not blocked — you can still log in, view members, run reports, take attendance. Only the Add member button and a few other write-paths show a "subscription past due" tooltip. The platform doesn't go dark on you while we wait for the card issue to clear.

TIP

The fastest way out of past-due is to update the card on file (if the card was the problem) and then click Pay now on the current-plan card. This charges immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled retry.

Decline reasons ​

The decline email and the row in billing history both surface the gateway's reason code. The common ones:

  • Insufficient funds (51) — bank declined for balance. Update the card or use a different one.
  • Expired card (54) — update the card.
  • Do not honor (05) — bank-side block, often anti-fraud. Call your card issuer.
  • Invalid CVV (82) — re-enter the card with the correct CVV.
  • Pickup card (04) — bank wants you to call them; could be lost/stolen flagged.
  • Restricted card (62) — issuer-side restriction; call the bank.

If you can't tell what's going on, forward the decline email to support@geniuschurchmanager.com and we'll help interpret the code.

Refunds ​

Admins can refund any approved row. The refund modal supports two modes:

Gateway refund — sends the refund through the original gateway (PowerTranz or Genius Checkout). Money goes back to the same card. Takes 3-10 business days depending on the issuing bank. This is the default for any refund issued within 6 months of the original charge.

Manual refund — for older charges or when the original gateway isn't accessible, you can mark a refund as manual and record what payment method you used (check, bank transfer, store credit). This creates a refund record for audit but doesn't actually move money — you're recording an off-platform refund.

To refund:

  1. Hover the row in billing history.
  2. Click the refund icon (looks like a circular arrow).
  3. The modal opens pre-filled with the original amount.
  4. Adjust the amount (partial refunds are allowed) and pick a refund type.
  5. Add a reason — this is logged for audit.
  6. Confirm. A toast confirms the refund was processed.

A new row appears in billing history representing the refund (negative amount). The original row is left intact for traceability.

WARNING

Subscription refunds are different from giving (donation) refunds. A subscription refund moves money back to your church from GCM; a donation refund moves money back to a donor from your church. The flows aren't connected — refunding here doesn't touch the giving module.

Bouncing back from cancellation ​

If you let the dunning sequence run to completion and your subscription is now canceled, you can re-subscribe anytime. The flow:

  1. Go to Billing.
  2. Pick a plan tile (status will be Expired on the current-plan card).
  3. Click Subscribe (label changes when canceled).
  4. You're redirected to the hosted checkout. Enter a card (or use the saved one if the token is still valid).
  5. After payment succeeds, status flips to active, billing cycle resets to today + 1 month, and all features are restored.

Your data was never touched during the past-due → canceled transition. Members, attendance, giving, reports — everything is exactly where you left it.

Common questions ​

Can I disable dunning and have charges fail silently? No. Dunning is mandatory — it's how we make sure churches don't lose service unintentionally. If you want auto-renew off, cancel at period end instead.

Why didn't I get a decline email? Check that your admin email is correct and that GCM emails aren't being marked as spam. Decline emails come from billing@geniuschurchmanager.com — whitelist that domain.

Next steps ​