Introduction
In Perfect Gym, the integration with GoCardless allows for seamless automated payment processing. However, transactional issues or abandoned bank authorizations can occasionally occur. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to identify payment rejection reasons, manage automatic retries, and handle pending Instant Bank Pay transactions to ensure your financial data remains accurate.
In this article, you will learn how to interpret GoCardless refusal codes, manage the automatic retry mechanism, and configure settings to clear abandoned "Instant Bank Pay" baskets.
This article will be helpful for PG Champions, Accountants, and Support Agents.
Before you start
Ensure that your GoCardless integration is active in the System Settings and that you have the necessary permissions to access the Finance and Automation Center modules.
- To find more information on GoCardless, see this article.
Instruction
What are the most common issues while using GoCardless?
1. Handling Rejected Payments
Payment refusal is a common occurrence in digital processing. Understanding why a payment failed allows you to provide clear answers to your members and find alternative solutions (like updating their payment method).
Locating the Error: Navigate to PGM -> Finance -> Electronic Payments -> Direct debit to view the specific refusal reason provided by GoCardless.
Check GoCardless refusal codes to identify the issue - you can find them here.
Member Profile: You can also find these details under the Notes tab in the individual Member’s Profile.
Interpreting Codes: GoCardless provides specific refusal codes. It is recommended to cross-reference the error message found in PGM with the official GoCardless refusal code documentation to identify if the issue is due to "Insufficient Funds," "Mandate Cancelled," or "Invalid Account Details."
2. Automatic Retry Mechanism
When a payment fails due to insufficient funds, GoCardless utilizes "Success+ " (intelligent retries) to recover the payment.
Retry Logic: GoCardless typically performs three retries on optimal days to increase the likelihood of successful collection.
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Perfect Gym Status: * During the retry period, the member’s status remains "Waiting for payment".
If all retries fail, the status changes to "Debt".
Communication: Because the retry mechanism is handled entirely by GoCardless, Perfect Gym does not send automated communications specifically for each retry attempt. However, you can trigger a final notification via Automation Center using the event: "Online payment has been completed with errors".
3. Managing Abandoned Baskets (Instant Bank Pay)
When members join online via Instant Bank Pay but abandon the process before completion, the transaction may stay in a "Pending" state indefinitely. This can lead to an inflated number of debtors and incorrect contract tracking.
The Solution: You can set a timeout for these pending requests.
Configuration: Go to PGM -> Settings and locate the setting:
EPaymentProvider.GoCardless.CancelPendingInstantBankPaymentsAfterDays.-
How it works: Enter the number of days (x) after which Perfect Gym should automatically send a cancellation request to GoCardless.
After the set period, PG checks the transaction status.
If the transaction is successful or failed, it updates the status accordingly.
If it is still pending, PG will attempt to cancel the request to clear the member's account.
Hints
Data Sync: If a cancellation fails due to external reasons (e.g., loss of connection), the transaction may remain pending. Periodically review your Direct Debit reports to spot outliers.
Member Experience: Always check if a member has a valid mandate before manually re-triggering a payment, as a "Mandate Cancelled" error requires the member to re-authorize the bank connection.
Automation: Use the Automation Center to keep members informed immediately when their initial payment fails, so they can resolve the issue before the first GoCardless retryy.