When a rental invoice stays Open or Overdue even though it was expected to be paid, a payment has failed: card declined, insufficient funds, ACSS mandate revoked, or simply a pre-authorized payment still processing. This article helps you diagnose the cause and take the right actions.

Common questions

Why is the customer's invoice Open when they have a payment method on file? Stripe attempted the charge and it failed: expired card, insufficient funds, revoked mandate, or another decline code. Check the invoice's Recent activity for the precise code.
The customer pays by pre-authorized debit. The invoice has been pending for several days. Is that normal? Yes, up to 5 business days for confirmation. PAD is slower than card. See the Pre-authorized debit (ACSS / PAD) article.
Stripe says the invoice is paid, but Stortech says Open. Why? The Stripe webhook may have failed or is still processing. Look up recent Inngest runs; if the webhook failed, contact support for a replay.
The customer's gate access is blocked after a payment failure. How do I re-enable it? Once payment succeeds, access is re-enabled automatically, as long as no other rental invoice is unpaid for this customer.
How do I retry a failed payment? Stripe retries automatically based on your configuration. To force a retry, ask the customer to pay manually via their portal, or click Retry payment from the invoice record if available.
The customer says they paid twice. What now? Check the Stripe dashboard: if the invoice was paid twice, issue a refund via the Refund button on the invoice. If the payments were applied to different invoices, contact support.

Who this article is for

Diagnosing failed payments requires access to invoices and payment methods. All roles can view. Issuing a refund, editing the payment method, or unblocking access requires the Owner or Manager role.

How an automatic payment cycle works

For a rental with autopay:

On the renewal date, Stripe generates an invoice for rent.
Stripe immediately attempts the charge on the customer's default payment method.
Success: the invoice moves to Paid, the customer receives a receipt, access is restored if suspended.
Failure: the invoice stays Open, a failure timestamp is recorded, the customer receives a failure email, access may be suspended, and Stripe may retry based on your Stripe Connect account configuration.

The failure timestamp on the invoice triggers:

the grace period for late fees;
gate access suspension based on the configured provider.

Diagnose an invoice that isn't Paid

Step 1: Identify the invoice

Open the customer record.
Go to the Invoices section.
Find the relevant invoice (number, amount, date) and open its record.

Step 2: Check the local status

On the invoice record:

Status in the Summary section (Open, Overdue, Paid).
Recent activity shows payment attempts and their results.
Payments lists the applied payments (card, PAD, offline).

Step 3: Check the payment method

If the invoice is Open after a failure:

Go to the customer record, Payment method section.
Check that there's a default payment method (card or PAD) and that it's valid.
If the card has expired or the PAD has been revoked, the record may show no default method.

Step 4: Check in Stripe

For cases where Stortech says Open but the customer swears they paid:

Check the matching Invoice object in the Stripe dashboard of the connected account.
Check the precise decline code (card declined, insufficient funds, etc.).
For a PAD payment, the object may be in Processing for 1 to 5 business days; that's normal.

Step 5: Check gate access

On the rental record, go to the Activity tab.
If access was suspended, the history mentions it with the date.
Access will only be re-enabled automatically if all the customer's other rental invoices are paid.

Safe actions (no prior approval needed)

Explain the situation to the customer (PAD delay, card declined, etc.).
Ask the customer to update their payment method via their portal.
Resend the portal link if the customer can't sign in. See the Customer can't sign in article.
Wait for the next automatic Stripe retry.

Actions that require approval

Refund an already-paid invoice (Refund button on the record).
Cancel or archive an unpaid invoice, goes through support.
Waive an already-issued late fee. See the Late fees article.
Manually edit an invoice's amount or status, goes through support.
Reactivate gate access while unpaid invoices remain.

Common issues

Situation	What to check	What to do
Open invoice after a card failure. What now?	What's the payment method on the customer record? Is the card expired?	Ask the customer to update their card via their portal.
Open invoice with a recent PAD payment. Is that normal?	Allow 1 to 5 business days for PAD timing.	Wait for confirmation. See the Pre-authorized debit (ACSS / PAD) article.
Stripe shows Paid but Stortech says Open. What now?	Does Recent activity show the webhook arrival? Did the Inngest runs pass?	The webhook may have failed or is still processing. Contact support for a replay if needed.
Access wasn't re-enabled after payment. Why?	Are there no other unpaid rental invoices for this customer?	If all invoices are paid but access stays blocked, see the Customer can't get in (gate access) article.
The customer paid in cash or by cheque. How do I mark the invoice Paid manually?	For an offline payment, record the payment via the invoice record.	If in doubt, contact support to avoid a double payment.
The customer paid twice. What now?	Does the Stripe dashboard show both payments?	Issue a refund via the Refund button on the invoice (if the same invoice was paid twice) or via the Stripe dashboard (if payments hit different invoices).