past_due, unpaid, canceled: where a failed payment leads
When a renewal payment fails, the subscription moves to past_due. What happens after the last retry depends on one setting you choose in Stripe.
past_due
The latest invoice couldn't be paid and retries are under way. If you leave subscriptions past_due after the last retry, Stripe keeps generating invoices and keeps charging per your retry settings (Stripe docs).
unpaid
Chosen setting “mark the subscription as unpaid”: after the maximum number of days of your retry schedule, the subscription becomes unpaid. Invoices keep being generated but stay in draft.
canceled
Chosen setting “cancel the subscription”: after the retry window, the subscription is canceled. The customer is gone unless they subscribe again. In a SaveMyMRR scan, these appear as MRR lost to failed payments.
Which one to pick
- Cancel keeps your MRR honest, but a customer whose card simply expired is lost for good.
- Unpaid keeps the subscription to reactivate, and stops access if your app checks the status.
- Past due keeps billing: fine for B2B where invoices get paid late, risky for consumer products.
Whatever you pick, the window between the first failure and the end of retries is the moment to reach the customer. That's the window SaveMyMRR works in: day 0 to day 7.