Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about Churn Buster setup, campaigns, recovery experience, Cancel Flows, measurement, and account management.
Getting started
What are the setup steps to get Churn Buster live on my account?
Connect your billing platform, verify your sending domain (DKIM and Return Path), and review your campaign with our team. Campaigns start with the first failed payment after you go live.
Which billing platforms and subscription apps does Churn Buster integrate with?
Churn Buster integrates with Stripe, Braintree, Recharge, Loop, Skio, Stay.ai, Ordergroove, Smartrr, Seal, Rivo, Awtomic, Inveterate, Checkout Champ, Subbly, Conjured, Orb, Prive (Recurly), and Shopify via custom app. Any other platform can connect through the Custom API.
Can I use Churn Buster if my platform isn't on the integrations list?
Yes, through the Custom API. Your developer sends Churn Buster four event types (charge failed, charge succeeded, subscription cancelled, payment method updated) and Churn Buster handles everything downstream.
How do I set up DNS records (DKIM and SPF) to authenticate my Churn Buster sending domain?
Add the DKIM and Return Path records shown in your Churn Buster Settings to your DNS provider, then verify. Deliverability requires authentication. Emails send from your own domain on dedicated transactional infrastructure.
What should my billing platform's retry and failed payment settings be while Churn Buster runs recovery?
It depends on your platform. As a rule, Churn Buster owns customer outreach, so native failed payment emails turn off to prevent duplicate messages. Each platform setup guide lists the exact settings.
How do I know my Churn Buster campaigns are live and sending?
Your dashboard shows every campaign the moment a payment fails, including each scheduled email and retry. If you have successfully connected to Churn Buster, and no campaigns appear yet, no payments have failed since you went live.
Campaigns and retries
What is the retry and email schedule for Churn Buster campaigns?
Standard campaigns run 3-4 weeks, with retries and emails scheduled independently on cadences tuned across 1,000+ accounts since 2013. You can see specific schedules on any campaign details page in your dashboard.
How do Churn Buster's retries work alongside my billing platform's own retry schedule?
On many platforms, Churn Buster controls retry timing directly and adapts it to each decline code. On platforms that own their retry schedule, Churn Buster coordinates email and SMS outreach around the platform's retries.
Can Churn Buster campaigns be segmented by plan, product, or billing amount?
Yes. Campaigns segment by error type, plan, customer tenure, order value, or product, each with its own messaging and offers, and you can A/B test variants. Our team sets up segmentation with you.
Can I edit the dunning email templates Churn Buster sends?
Yes, every email is editable in the campaign editor: copy, branding, senders, and dynamic content through snippets. Emails send from your domain.
Is it safe to retry failed payments more aggressively?
Usually not. Churn Buster's retry logic is designed around card-network retry rules, adapting retry timing and skipping do-not-retry declines instead of pushing every failed payment harder.
Does Churn Buster send pre-dunning reminders before a payment fails?
We haven't for years. Automatic card updaters now resolve most expiring cards silently, so warning every customer ahead of a failure alerts people to a problem that will never reach them. Churn Buster waits for a verified failure.
Why is a customer still getting Churn Buster emails after updating their card?
A campaign ends on a successful payment, not on a card update. If the next retry hasn't fired yet, or it continues to fail, the customer stays in the campaign until the charge clears.
Why do charge attempts continue after a customer cancels their subscription?
Churn Buster stops its campaign the moment a customer cancels. Some billing platforms keep retrying open invoices on their own schedule. Your platform setup guide covers the setting that prevents this.
How does Churn Buster handle a customer with multiple failing subscriptions?
One campaign per customer: a customer with two failed subscriptions gets one recovery conversation. On Stripe, Collections can also sweep up additional past-due invoices when a payment succeeds.
Can I pause Churn Buster campaigns temporarily and reactivate later?
Yes. Message our team and we'll pause outreach while keeping your account connected, so campaigns can restart without re-onboarding.
Payment recovery experience
Where does the Churn Buster card update link take my customers, and do they have to log in?
On most platforms, to a branded capture page with no login required. The customer updates their card in one step; on Stripe and Braintree, Churn Buster charges the new card immediately and saves it as the default payment method.
How does Churn Buster secure payment update pages?
Churn Buster signs capture links with customer-specific HMAC keys, supports eligible processor authentication flows, and sends card details directly to your payment processor.
Does Churn Buster send SMS as part of recovery campaigns?
Yes. Every plan includes SMS Nudge as a transactional message, with no separate opt-in flow needed when you collect consent at checkout. US accounts complete A2P 10DLC carrier registration first, which our team walks you through.
How can my customers unsubscribe from Churn Buster campaign emails?
Churn Buster emails are transactional. They resolve a billing problem on an active subscription, so they stop automatically when the payment recovers or the subscription deactivates. Our team can also stop any campaign on request.
Can I translate my Churn Buster dunning emails and payment pages?
Yes. Edit emails into any language in the campaign editor, and our team updates the text on your capture pages to match.
How does Churn Buster handle multiple currencies?
Campaigns show each invoice in its native currency. Dashboard totals consolidate to USD at current exchange rates.
Cancel Flows
What is Churn Buster Cancel Flows and how does it work?
Cancel Flows replaces a one-click cancel with a short flow that can offer skips, pauses, discounts, or plan changes, and gathers structured cancel reasons. It installs as a snippet on your customer portal on supported platforms.
Does the Churn Buster cancel flow replace my platform's native cancel flow?
Yes. Once you install and verify the snippet, customers who click cancel enter the Churn Buster flow instead of the platform's native one. If customers still see the native flow, the snippet isn't firing.
Can Churn Buster Cancel Flows support one-click cancellation for compliance?
Yes. The click-to-cancel option adds a "Cancel my subscription now" link on the first step, with editable wording, and you can scope it to specific states for regulated-locations compliance. Save offers still display.
Analytics and measurement
How does Churn Buster measure and attribute recovered payments?
Every failed payment resolves to one of four outcomes: card update, successful retry, cancellation, or passive churn. Churn Buster counts a recovery only when a payment succeeds.
How do I compare recovery performance before and after switching to Churn Buster?
Use Rolling Analysis, which measures completed cohorts only: every campaign in the window has resolved. Exclude the transition period, since in-progress campaigns make any tool's early numbers look worse than reality.
Why did my recovery rate change this month?
Recovery rates swing naturally month to month. Before assuming a regression, check for a surge in new signups, recent promotions, and your charge error mix. With consistent handling of failed payments, most variance is caused by underlying customer cohort changes. Our team can walk through your data with you.
Account management
How do I add another brand or store to my Churn Buster account?
Each store or brand runs as its own account, with its own campaigns and analytics. Message our team and we'll set up the additional store.
How do I cancel my Churn Buster account?
Message our team in chat or email and we'll take care of it. If you're moving to another tool, you can keep the free Measure connection so your recovery baseline stays visible while you test.