Customer Emails
Vatly sends the billing emails
As Merchant of Record, Vatly is the seller on your customer's invoice. That makes Vatly responsible for the billing communication with your customers, so you don't need to build receipts, payment reminders or refund confirmations yourself.
Vatly sends these emails automatically. Use webhooks to keep your own application in sync, for example to grant or revoke access. Anything about your product itself, such as onboarding or usage emails, stays with you.
What your customers see
Every customer email:
- Shows your storefront name and logo in the header
- Is sent by Vatly, and states that the sale is made by Vatly
- Points billing and payment questions to Vatly support
- Is written in English
Set your storefront name and logo in the Vatly dashboard under Settings » Branding. Until you set a name, customers see a placeholder name in their emails.
Purchases and invoices
| When it is sent | |
|---|---|
| Receipt | After every successful payment: a one-off purchase, the first payment of a subscription, and every renewal. It lists the items, any discount and the VAT, and links to the invoice. |
| Invoice link | When a customer opens an expired invoice link and requests a new one. |
Each order gets one receipt. The receipt links to the invoice in the customer portal instead of attaching a PDF.
Subscriptions
| When it is sent | |
|---|---|
| Upcoming renewal | Ahead of the renewal of a subscription billed less often than monthly, or of its first charge after a free trial. It shows the amount, the date and how to cancel. |
| Payment initiated | When Vatly starts a recurring payment, such as a renewal. It shows the amount, the payment method and the expected charge date. |
| Cancellation confirmation | When the customer cancels their subscription in the customer portal. It confirms until when they keep access. |
| Cancellation notice | When you cancel a subscription through the API, or Vatly cancels it on your behalf. It tells the customer when their access ends. |
The upcoming renewal email goes out 7 days ahead for plans billed up to every 3 months, 14 days ahead for plans up to every 6 months, and 30 days ahead for longer plans. Monthly and shorter plans don't get one. If the renewal changes after the email went out, for example because you scheduled a plan change, the customer gets an updated email.
Payment methods
| When it is sent | |
|---|---|
| Card expiring | When the card used for a subscription is about to expire. It asks the customer to update their payment method. |
| Recurring payment setup failed | When a recurring payment could not be set up because the customer's first payment never completed. It asks the customer to set up their payment method again. |
| Payment method update link | When a customer opens an expired payment method update link and requests a new one. |
Failed payments
When a recurring payment fails, Vatly starts a payment recovery process for the subscription. The customer receives:
- A Payment failed email straight away.
- A series of reminders while Vatly retries the payment. The reminders become more urgent as the process continues, ending with a final notice.
- If the payment still fails, a Service canceled email. Vatly cancels the subscriptions that use the failed payment method.
When the payment method can't be charged at all, for example because the card is no longer valid, Vatly does not retry. Instead, the customer receives reminders to update their payment method.
As soon as a retry succeeds or the customer adds a working payment method, the reminders stop and the customer receives the usual receipt.
Follow the process on your side with the order.payment_failed and order.paid webhooks. See Handling failed subscription payments.
Refunds
| When it is sent | |
|---|---|
| Refund processed | When a refund is completed, whether you created it through the API or the dashboard. It lists the refunded items and the total. |
Customer portal
| When it is sent | |
|---|---|
| Sign-in link | When a customer requests a sign-in link on the customer portal login page. |
Customer portal sessions created through the API return a URL and do not send an email.
Test mode
Emails for test mode orders are never delivered to a real inbox. Vatly still renders and saves them, so you can review what your customer would receive. Open an order in the dashboard and find its emails under Emails.
Customization
You can't turn off these emails. Most of them are required for Vatly to bill your customers correctly, such as the receipt and the invoice.
Additional email branding is on the roadmap. Vote for it to let us know it matters to you.