Cancel a MemberPress subscription and send a Slack notification when a recurring payment fails

When a MemberPress recurring payment fails at the gateway, FlowMattic cancels that member’s subscription to stop future payments and posts a message about it in a Slack channel.

MemberPress

Slack

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3 steps Setup ~5 min Used on 2.4k sites Free to import

What this workflow does

Failed renewals leave a membership in an awkward state: the member may keep access while no money arrives, and nobody on the team hears about it until they check reports. This workflow takes a firm line. As soon as MemberPress records a failed recurring transaction, it cancels the subscription and tells your team in Slack.

The MemberPress trigger fires when a recurring transaction fails on the payment gateway. The transaction's data, including the member and subscription it belongs to, is passed on. A test with a known subscription shows the exact fields.

The MemberPress Cancel Subscription step then cancels a subscription and stops its future payments. It ships unmapped: after import, map the subscription ID from the failed transaction into it. Because the trigger and this step both come from MemberPress, the ID is available from the trigger data. The Slack Send Channel Message step posts to the channel you pick, and you write the message, mapping in details such as the member's email and the membership.

This cancels on the first failed payment. Some gateways retry a failed charge, so think about whether you want an immediate cancellation. Test on a staging subscription and check Task History for what each step returned.

Strict billing for a paid newsletter

A publisher cancels the subscription the moment a renewal fails, and the team sees a Slack message so someone can email the reader about updating their card.

Software licence memberships

A plugin seller using MemberPress for licences cancels failed renewals and alerts the support channel, which handles any customer who writes in.

Membership team awareness

A community manager gets a Slack post for every failed renewal, so they know which members just lost their subscription before those members ask.

How this workflow runs

What happens at each step once the workflow is on, and what you need before you import it.

Step 1Trigger
MemberPress Recurring Transaction Failed
Fires when a MemberPress recurring transaction fails on the payment gateway. The failed transaction's details, including the related subscription and member, become available to the next steps.
Step 2Action
MemberPress Cancel Subscription
Cancels a MemberPress subscription and stops its future payments. The step ships unmapped: map the subscription ID from the failed transaction, then test on a known subscription.
Step 3Action
Slack Send Channel Message
Sends a Slack post about the cancelled MemberPress subscription to a channel of your choice. The step ships unmapped: connect Slack, pick a channel, and write the message, mapping in the failed-transaction details a test run shows.

What you need

FlowMatticCore
MemberPress PluginPlugin
Slack AccountAccount

After importing, map your own data. To keep the template universal, not every step is pre-filled. Open each step in the builder and connect your accounts and fields (channels, lists, sheets, recipients) before you switch the workflow on.

Make it yours

Changes worth making after you import it.

Nothing in the template checks whether a later gateway retry succeeded, so the cancellation goes ahead regardless. If you'd rather wait for retries, delete the Cancel Subscription step and keep only the Slack alert.
Billing alerts often belong in a private channel; for that, replace the step with Slack's Send Private Channel Message action, or use Send Direct Message to reach only your finance contact.
Map the member's email into the Slack message, so whoever reads it can contact the member straight from the post.

Questions about this workflow

Does MemberPress cancel the subscription on the first failed payment?

Yes, as imported. Each failed recurring transaction starts a run that cancels the subscription it belongs to, with no wait for a gateway retry.

Where does the Cancel Subscription step get the subscription ID?

From the MemberPress trigger. The template leaves the step unmapped, so map the subscription ID from the failed transaction data after import and confirm it with a test.

Is the member told that their MemberPress subscription was cancelled?

Not by this workflow. It only cancels and posts to Slack. Add an Email step after the Slack step and map the member's email if you want to notify them.

Does the member lose access as soon as the MemberPress subscription is cancelled?

MemberPress decides that from the membership and subscription settings. The workflow only cancels the subscription, so test with a staging member to see how access changes.