Failed payments and renewals
How the monthly renewal charge is taken, what happens when it is declined, how long the automatic retry window lasts, and the exact point at which the assistant stops answering.
- Who
- Owners and admins
- Plan
- All paid plans
- Role
- Owner or Admin to change payment details. Every member can open Billing.
Before you start
- A paid subscription
- A card saved during checkout
A paid plan is a monthly subscription. Each month we charge the card you saved at checkout, and if that charge is declined we retry it on a fixed schedule before anything about your service changes. This article sets out the whole sequence: the charge, the retries, the emails, and the day the assistant stops answering.
How the monthly renewal works
Your subscription has a billing period of one month. On the day the period ends, a background job claims the renewal and charges the saved card. The date is on the billing page in the Subscription status tile, as Next charge on {date}. The charge is made shortly after that date, not at a guaranteed minute.
The amount is built from your plan, not from a price you type in. One renewal charge covers:
- The monthly price of the plan version you bought.
- Any dedicated numbers you rent through OMAI, as separate lines.
- A
VAT 18%line for shekel plans, when there is tax to show separately.
Each period can be charged once and only once: the renewal is claimed against the period itself, so a repeated sweep or a retried job cannot take the money twice. Every completed charge appears in Invoices on the same page — see Invoices and receipts.
When a charge fails
A declined renewal does not stop your service. The subscription moves to Past due and the assistant keeps answering while we retry. There are four attempts in total: the original charge and three retries, each scheduled relative to the attempt before it.
| When | What happens | Subscription status | What still works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 — the renewal is declined | The failure is recorded, the next attempt is scheduled for the following day, and we email you. | Past due | Everything, including AI answers. |
| 1 day later — second attempt | If it is declined, the next attempt is scheduled 3 days out. | Past due | Everything, including AI answers. |
| 3 days later — third attempt | If it is declined, the next attempt is scheduled 7 days out. | Past due | Everything, including AI answers. |
| 7 days later — fourth and final attempt | If it is declined, we stop charging for this period and email you that the assistant is paused. | Unpaid | The inbox, replies your team writes by hand, and exports. AI answers stop, and knowledge uploads and number purchases are blocked. |
| 14 days after that last attempt | Dedicated numbers rented through OMAI are released. | Unpaid | The same as above, on whichever numbers are still connected. |
| 30 days after that last attempt | The subscription is canceled and we email you. | Canceled | Sign-in and exports. Customer messages are still received and stored, but the inbox can no longer send replies. |
Two shortcuts through that ladder exist. If the card issuer answers with a final refusal — a closed, blocked or reported card — the subscription goes to Unpaid immediately instead of waiting out the retries, and when the issuer requires it the saved card is deleted from your account. And if there is no card stored at all, or the billing name and mobile number are missing, the renewal cannot be attempted: the subscription goes Past due and is retried once a day until the details are fixed.
What we email you
Billing emails go to the address you entered in Email for invoices (optional) at checkout. If you left it empty, they go to the account email of the oldest owner in the organization. Each email is sent once per event, so a retried job does not mail you twice.
| When it is sent | What it asks of you | |
|---|---|---|
| “A payment for your OMAI subscription did not go through” | After a decline that will be retried. | Nothing. It says we will retry automatically, and offers the billing page if you would rather change the card now. |
| “Your OMAI assistant is paused” | When the retries are exhausted, or a card is refused for good. | Settle the balance from the billing page. It states that messages still arrive and your team can keep replying. |
| “Your OMAI subscription has been canceled” | When 30 unpaid days pass, and also when a cancellation you scheduled takes effect. | Nothing. Your data stays and you can subscribe again whenever you want. |
What you see in the dashboard
While a payment is outstanding, Billing shows a red strip titled There’s a problem with your payment with an Update payment method button next to it. The same warning appears at the top of the dashboard home with an Update payment button. The Subscription status tile carries the badge — Past due, then Unpaid, then Canceled.
If your account has no card stored with us, the button is replaced by a line asking you to write to us and we change the details for you. That is expected on accounts that were set up with a payment link rather than a saved card.
Fix a failed payment
Step 1 Open Billing from the dashboard sidebar.
You should see: The Billing & plan page opens, with the payment-problem strip at the top if a charge is outstanding.
Step 2 Choose Update payment method.
- Only an owner or an admin can do this. Other roles can see the page but the action is refused.
You should see: The Almost there page opens with your billing details.
Step 3 Check Full name and Mobile number, tick the approval to save the card, and choose Continue to secure payment.
You should see: The payment provider’s secure page opens.
Step 4 Enter the new card details.
You should see: The card is put through a ₪1 verification and saved, and you land on Payment method updated. The next retry uses the new card.
Step 5 If the status already reads Unpaid, also pick your plan again under Available plans and complete the checkout.
- Once a period has been abandoned it is never retried. Updating the card alone does not restart it — the subscription has to be bought again.
You should see: A new paid period starts and the assistant resumes.
What a failed payment does not do
- Nothing is deleted. Your organization, conversations, knowledge base and team stay exactly as they are.
- Customer messages keep arriving and are stored, in every state, including after cancellation.
- Exporting your data keeps working, even when the subscription is canceled.
- Your WhatsApp connection is not disconnected by a billing failure. Numbers rented through OMAI are the exception, and only after 14 unpaid days.
Can I be charged twice for the same month?
The renewal is claimed against the billing period, and a period can only be claimed once, so a repeated attempt cannot take a second payment. If a charge is left in an unclear state after a network problem, we check it against the provider and either record the payment that happened or put the charge back in the retry queue.
Does the assistant stop the moment a payment fails?
No. Through the whole retry window the subscription is Past due and everything works. AI answers stop only when the fourth attempt has failed and the subscription becomes Unpaid.
What happens to customers who write while the assistant is paused?
Their messages arrive and are stored in the inbox as usual, and your team can reply by hand. The assistant does not answer them until the balance is settled.
I updated my card. Do I have to wait for the next retry?
While the subscription is Past due, yes — the outstanding charge is retried on its schedule with the new card. If the subscription already went Unpaid, choose your plan again from Available plans instead of waiting.
Why did my dedicated number disappear?
Numbers rented through OMAI are released after 14 days of an unpaid subscription. A released number goes back to the carrier, and we cannot promise the same number will be available again — see Buying a number.