Lemon Squeezy dunning templates

Lemon Squeezy dunning emails that customers actually open.

Lemon Squeezy's built-in dunning emails come from its domain and read like billing spam. Here is a plain-text 3-email sequence you send from your own address, with copy-paste templates and the timing that recovers the most failed payments.

Quick answer

Send three plain-text dunning emails from your own address at T+0, T+48h, and T+120h after a Lemon Squeezy payment fails. Each one carries a fresh customer-portal update link. Stop the moment the payment recovers. Paired with Lemon Squeezy's automatic retries, this recovers 50-65% of failed payments.

The 3-email dunning sequence

Copy, paste, and swap in your product name, customer first name, and a fresh Lemon Squeezy portal link.

1T+0 (the day the payment fails)Reminder

Subject

your [product] payment didn't go through

Body

Hey [first name], Quick heads up: the renewal payment for [product] didn't go through, probably just an expired or replaced card. You can update it here in a few seconds: [update payment link] No rush, your account is still active. Let me know if anything's off. [your name]

2T+48h (two days later)Nudge

Subject

still can't process your [product] payment

Body

Hey [first name], Following up. We still haven't been able to process your payment for [product], so I wanted to make sure this didn't slip by. Here's a fresh link to update your card: [update payment link] If you meant to cancel, totally fine. Just reply and I'll take care of it. [your name]

3T+120h (day five, last attempt)Last call

Subject

last reminder before your [product] access pauses

Body

Hey [first name], Last one from me. If the payment for [product] doesn't go through in the next day or two, your access will pause automatically. Update your card here and you won't lose anything: [update payment link] If you'd rather leave it, no hard feelings. A one-line reply telling me why would genuinely help me improve [product]. Thanks for giving it a try either way, [your name]

FAQ

Does Lemon Squeezy already send dunning emails?
Yes, Lemon Squeezy retries failed charges and sends generic dunning emails from its own domain. The problem is they look like automated billing notices, so customers ignore them. A plain-text follow-up from your own address recovers another 20-25% on top of Lemon Squeezy's automatic retries.
When should each dunning email go out?
T+0 (the day the payment fails), T+48h, and T+120h. Three emails total. Start within 24 hours, because recovery rate drops the longer you wait. Stop the sequence the moment subscription_payment_success fires.
What link should the email point to?
A fresh Lemon Squeezy customer-portal link so the customer can update their card without leaving the Lemon Squeezy ecosystem. Generate a new link for each email rather than reusing an old one, since portal links can expire.
Should dunning emails be HTML or plain text?
Plain text from your real address. HTML billing templates read as 'payment processor spam' and get ignored or filtered. A plain-text note that looks like it came from a person gets opened and acted on, which is the entire point of dunning.
How does ChurnNote send Lemon Squeezy dunning emails?
ChurnNote listens for subscription_payment_failed, sends the 3-email plain-text sequence from your domain with fresh customer-portal links, and auto-stops when subscription_payment_success fires. Same flat $12/mo as the Stripe version.

Don't send these by hand.

ChurnNote sends the full sequence from your domain with fresh Lemon Squeezy portal links and stops automatically when the payment recovers. Flat $12/mo, same as Stripe.