Integration Guide

Get PaymentRescue up and running in under 2 minutes. No code changes required.

How It Works


  ┌─────────────┐     invoice.payment_failed     ┌──────────────────┐
  │             │ ──────────────────────────────> │                  │
  │   Stripe    │                                │  PaymentRescue   │
  │             │ <───────────────────────────── │                  │
  └─────────────┘     billing_portal.session      └────────┬─────────┘
        │                                                  │
        │  payment_intent.succeeded                        │  Dunning Emails
        │                                                  │  (3-step sequence)
        ▼                                                  ▼
  ┌─────────────┐                                 ┌──────────────────┐
  │  Customer   │ <────────────────────────────── │   Email Inbox    │
  │  pays with  │     "Update Payment" link       │   (Resend API)   │
  │  new card   │                                 └──────────────────┘
  └─────────────┘
        │
        │  Webhook: payment succeeded
        ▼
  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  PaymentRescue marks invoice as RECOVERED, stops email sequence │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step-by-Step Setup

Create an Account

Connect Stripe

Click "Connect Stripe" in the dashboard. You'll be redirected to Stripe's OAuth flow where you authorize PaymentRescue to access your account.

Stripe Sends Webhook Events

Once connected, Stripe automatically sends us invoice.payment_failed events. Here's what the webhook payload looks like:

// Stripe webhook event: invoice.payment_failed
{
  "id": "evt_1234567890",
  "type": "invoice.payment_failed",
  "data": {
    "object": {
      "id": "in_1234567890",
      "customer": "cus_ABC123",
      "amount_due": 9900,
      "currency": "usd",
      "attempt_count": 1,
      "next_payment_attempt": 1711324800,
      "customer_email": "customer@example.com",
      "customer_name": "Jane Smith"
    }
  }
}

PaymentRescue Processes the Event

We store the failed payment, create a secure payment update link via Stripe, and queue the first dunning email.

// Internal flow (simplified)
async function handleFailedPayment(event) {
  // 1. Store the failed invoice
  await db.failedPayments.create({
    invoiceId: event.data.object.id,
    customerId: event.data.object.customer,
    amount: event.data.object.amount_due,
    email: event.data.object.customer_email,
  });

  // 2. Create Stripe billing portal session
  const session = await stripe.billingPortal.sessions
    .create({
      customer: event.data.object.customer,
      return_url: "https://yourapp.com/billing",
    });

  // 3. Queue first dunning email
  await emailQueue.add("send-dunning", {
    step: 1,
    to: event.data.object.customer_email,
    updateUrl: session.url,
    amount: event.data.object.amount_due,
  });
}

Dunning Sequence Runs Automatically

The 3-step email sequence fires on days 0, 3, and 7. Each email includes a one-click payment update link. If the customer pays at any step, the sequence stops automatically.

// Dunning schedule
const DUNNING_SEQUENCE = [
  { step: 1, delay: "0 days",  tone: "friendly"  },
  { step: 2, delay: "3 days",  tone: "urgent"    },
  { step: 3, delay: "7 days",  tone: "final"     },
];

// Email is automatically skipped if:
// - Payment was recovered
// - Customer updated payment method
// - Invoice was voided or marked uncollectible

Monitor Results in Dashboard

Track recovery rates, email performance, and revenue saved in real-time. Export data to CSV for reporting.

Stripe Events We Listen To

PaymentRescue automatically processes these Stripe webhook events:

Event	Action
invoice.payment_failed	Start dunning sequence, create recovery link
invoice.payment_succeeded	Mark as recovered, stop email sequence
customer.subscription.deleted	Mark as churned, log final status
payment_method.attached	Trigger immediate retry of failed invoice
invoice.voided	Cancel dunning sequence

Technical FAQ

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