If a payment fails
A failed renewal keeps your paid access during Stripe's retry window. Update your card from the billing page before the retries run out.
Britt Espinosa
Last Update 15 days ago
When a renewal charge does not go through, Stripe retries it over the following days. Your paid access stays in place for the whole retry window, so there is time to fix the card before anything changes.
How you find out
Two things happen. Your plan card on Plan & billing shows a red banner:
We could not renew your plan. Your paid access remains available during Stripe's retry period. Update your payment method to avoid losing access when retries end.
And one email goes out, with the subject Billing update: Payment issue. It opens with Payment issue for your CircuitSim workspace. Details are below., gives the Amount owed, and carries a View invoice or receipt link to the hosted invoice. It closes with If you have questions, reply to this email or visit the billing settings panel.
CircuitSim sends that email once per failed invoice. Any further reminders during the retry window come from Stripe.
What to do
- Open Plan & billing in your account settings.
- Press Update payment method on the plan card.
- Enter a working card on the Stripe form and save it.
Stripe picks up the new card on the next retry. You can also settle the invoice directly: find the row in Invoices & receipts with the status Due and use the Pay link in its Document column.
Common causes
- The card expired since the last renewal
- The bank declined the charge, often on a card with a foreign transaction block
- The address on file no longer matches the card
- The account had insufficient funds on the day
Any of these clears once a working card is on file.
If the retries run out
Access to paid features ends when Stripe gives up on the invoice and moves the subscription out of its retry state. At that point your account behaves as Basic. Your circuits and custom components are untouched, including anything above the Basic limits, and the limits apply the next time you create something. Plan limits explained covers exactly what changes.
Buying a plan again through the pricing page restores paid access.
If the charge was on a group license
Group license charges follow a different path. When a NET-30 invoice passes its due date, the Group licenses section on your billing page flags it and offers Pay invoice. Leaving it unpaid suspends the license, and every seat holder loses access until the invoice is settled, at which point access comes back immediately. If you hold a seat rather than owning the group, ask the group owner to settle it.
Messages you might see
Could not open the payment-method update. Please try again. and Could not load your subscription. point at a temporary problem reaching Stripe. Reload the billing page and try again. If the banner is still on your plan card an hour after you saved a new card, contact support with the invoice date.