In this SimpleGym support article we'll cover: 

  • Why customer's payments typically get declined or fail in SimpleGym.
  • What gym owners can do to prevent payment declines. 
  • If a failed payment occurs on a membership plan, how to re-run the failed payment.


Why Do My Customer's Payments Get Declined:

Your members credit or debit card can be declined for a variety of reasons. These include:

  • Invalid Address: Typically, something is wrong with the billing details that have been entered. Confirm that the address matches exactly as it’s displayed in the customer’s bank statement. It should be the address the bank has on file, where statements are sent. If the customer has moved recently, try both addresses, as sometimes banks are slow to update new addresses. Also, consider trying alternative abbreviations (typing out “street” vs. “st.)

  • Name Mismatch: Typically the name does not exactly match what is displayed on the customer’s card.

  • Card Issuer Decline: The customer’s bank or credit card issuer has declined the charge, so have the customer contact their card issuer to clear up the issue.

  • Insufficient Funds: The customer’s bank or credit card issuer should be contacted to resolve the issue.

  • Charge Frequency: If the card has been tried too many times in a short period of time, it will automatically fail for the security of the customer. So, make sure that you’re entering card details as accurately as possible before retrying a card.


If A Recurring Payment is Declined, How Do I Re-Run The Failed Transaction?

If a recurring payment fails, you will receive an email notification that the payment has failed. Typically, it's best to clear up the reason for the failure before re-running the transaction. You then have the ability to manually re-run the failed transaction.


When ready to re-run the failed transaction(s) you'll run it as a one-time transaction via our Retail page. Here's the steps:

  • Navigate To The Retail Payments Tab
    • Log in to your SimpleGym Account.
    • Click ‘Payments’
    • Then Click the 'Retail Payments' tab.
  • Select Buyer: Select an existing Gym Member from the dropdown, or 'Guest Checkout' 
    • Note: Selecting an existing Gym Member's name from the dropdown will use the credit or debit card saved on file for that Member. Selecting 'Guest Checkout' will prompt you to enter the billing details for the Buyer.
  • Items: Add items to the order.
    • Click '+'
    • Type the Item Name and/or Description.
      • Note: This Name / Description will appear on the customer's receipt. In this instance, typically type in whatever your gym's membership plan is named with a note that indicates it is a retry of a failed payment. For example, "Monthly Membership Plan, Retry of 12/1 Failed Payment".
    • Type the Price
    • Click '+' to add any additional items.
  • Tax %: Type in the applicable sales tax percentage for your gym.
    • If your gym doesn't collect tax on memberships, simply set this to "0.0%".
      • Note: Sales Tax rates are set by your gym's state and local government rates. See: Sales Tax Rate Calculator to determine your gym's applicable sales tax rate.
  • Checkout: Click 'Checkout'.
  • Confirm: Click 'Confirm'.

This will run a one-time charge to that Member's account, and the member's existing membership plan will continue uninterrupted, and will bill normally according to it's set schedule.