Troubleshooting
First checks
Escalation
Troubleshooting: Failed Payment
Use this guide when a customer payment, POS payment, subscription payment, Paystack/payment provider transaction, receipt, or billing update fails.
Payment issues need careful handling because retrying too quickly can create duplicate attempts or confusion about whether money was deducted. Always collect the payment reference, amount, payer, method, timestamp, and provider message.
First Checks
- Confirm the amount, currency, payer, payment method, invoice or sale number, and timestamp.
- Check whether the provider shows successful, failed, pending, reversed, abandoned, or timed out.
- Check whether AWRA shows paid, unpaid, partially paid, pending, failed, or needs review.
- Do not retry until you know whether funds were deducted.
- Check receipt, invoice, POS shift, or billing status after provider confirmation.
- Escalate with payment evidence if provider and AWRA do not match.
Payment Issue Types
| Issue | Likely Cause | What To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Payment declined | Provider, card, mobile money, bank, or payer issue. | Read provider message and ask payer to confirm method. |
| Deducted but not updated | Provider confirmation delayed or sync issue. | Do not retry. Collect reference and contact support. |
| Receipt missing | Payment not linked, email missing, or receipt generation pending. | Check payment status and customer contact details. |
| Wrong invoice paid | Payment recorded against wrong record. | Contact finance/admin before correcting. |
| Subscription still inactive | Billing payment not confirmed or entitlement update pending. | Contact billing support with reference. |
Common Mistakes
- Retrying while provider status is pending.
- Recording manual payment without a valid reference.
- Marking an invoice paid before confirmation.
- Mixing customer payments with subscription billing payments.
- Escalating without payer name, amount, reference, or timestamp.
If money was deducted: Do not retry immediately. Capture the reference, screenshot if allowed, amount, timestamp, payer, and provider message.
Support escalation
Open support guide
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Capture the module, record number, branch or warehouse, user, visible message, and what you expected to happen before contacting support.