craft_digital
Hub00Start here01Front-End Operations02Delivery & Onboarding03Growth, Renewal & Client Health04SOW Standard Terms06Roles (RACI) & Tool / System Map07Offboarding & Payment Failure08Client Record / Account Brief09Customer Lifecycle Communications Map10Client Portal Requirements SpecDecisions builder
In this playbookConfirm these defaultsClient offboarding / cancellationPayment failure & collectionsReminder templates
Playbook 07Version 1 — June 2026

Offboarding & Payment Failure

The two operational SOPs for exits and billing problems

Clean exits and recovered payments. Every step logged. Service paused only as a last resort.

Scope
Covers the situations the journey playbooks don't: a client leaving, and a payment that fails or goes late. Both reference the SOW Standard Terms.
Owners
Clinton (commercial) · Derek (technical & data)

Working assumptions

Confirm these defaults

Add to the Decisions checklist

Dunning timeline days (Day 1 / 3 / 7 / 14) below are defaults. Service-pause threshold for unpaid managed-infrastructure (default: 14 days past due). Whether ACH returns get a longer grace window than card declines.

SOP 1

Client offboarding / cancellation

Trigger
A client cancels, declines to renew, or the relationship otherwise ends.
Owner
Clinton (commercial + relationship); Derek (technical + data).

Steps

  1. 1Acknowledge in writing. Confirm the effective end date per the SOW notice period (SOW Standard Terms 3.5). Be gracious regardless of the reason.
  2. 2Internal notice. Update the Client Record and Craft Brain status to Offboarding/Churned; notify the team; log the reason for leaving (capture the learning — this feeds the health/save-play system).
  3. 3Final billing. Confirm any final or prorated invoice per the SOW; stop the Stripe subscription effective the correct date; confirm no outstanding balance (see SOP 2 if there is).
  4. 4Data & assets handoff. Export and transfer the client's data, documentation, and any assets they own, per the agreed terms.
  5. 5Knowledge transfer. Provide documentation so the client (or a new vendor) can operate the system; offer paid transition support if they want it.
  6. 6Access revocation. After data handoff: revoke our access to their systems and disable their access to ours as appropriate.
  7. 7Decommission / archive. Archive the client Slack channel, archive the Craft Brain record, and store the final documents.
  8. 8Graceful exit. Send a thank-you, leave the door open, and request brief exit feedback. If the relationship ended well, ask whether they'd serve as a reference or testimonial.

Definition of done

Subscription stopped, final billing settled, access revoked both ways, record archived, and the reason for leaving logged.

Offboarding checklist

  • Cancellation acknowledged + end date confirmed (per notice period)
  • Craft Brain status updated; team notified; reason logged
  • Final/prorated invoice settled; Stripe subscription stopped
  • Client data + assets exported and handed over
  • Documentation / knowledge transfer delivered
  • Our access to their systems revoked
  • Their access to our systems disabled
  • Slack channel + Craft Brain record archived
  • Exit feedback requested; testimonial/reference asked if appropriate

SOP 2

Payment failure & collections

Trigger
A Stripe charge fails (card decline or ACH return) or an invoice goes past due.
Owner
Clinton (Derek kept informed, since service status may be affected).
Context
Build deposit/balance and the managed-infrastructure subscription all run through Stripe (funds settle to Mercury).

Important distinction

Build payments — work does not start (deposit) or continue/launch (balance) until paid. Pause the work, not a live system. Subscription payments — the system is live; follow the dunning ladder and only pause service as a last resort.

Dunning ladder (managed-infrastructure subscription)

  1. 1Day 0 (failure): Stripe auto-retry per settings; Clinton notified. Log the failure in the Client Record / Craft Brain.
  2. 2Day 1: friendly heads-up to the client (template below) with a link to update payment.
  3. 3Day 3: second reminder; offer an alternate method (ACH or card).
  4. 4Day 7: firmer notice; state that continued non-payment may pause managed-infrastructure service per the terms.
  5. 5Day 14: final notice; escalate to Clinton; decide on service pause.
  6. 6Service pause: if still unpaid past the pause threshold (default 14 days), pause managed-infrastructure per the SOW. Communicate clearly and state exactly what "paused" means (monitoring and support suspended; system access per terms).
  7. 7Resolution: on payment, restore service promptly. If unrecoverable, move to SOP 1 (Offboarding).

Per the SOW

Billing obligations stand regardless of build status — a client-caused build delay does not excuse a missed subscription payment.

Definition of done

Invoice paid and service restored, or service paused / offboarding initiated, with every step logged.

Templates

Reminder templates

Day 1 — friendly

“Hi {{NAME}} — quick heads-up, this month's payment didn't go through (these things happen). You can update it here: {{Stripe link}}. Let me know if you need anything.”

Day 7 — firmer

“Hi {{NAME}} — following up on the outstanding payment for {{system}}. To avoid any interruption to your service, please update payment here: {{Stripe link}}. Happy to jump on a quick call if easier.”

Day 14 — final

“Hi {{NAME}} — we still haven't been able to process payment for {{system}}. Per our agreement, service will be paused on {{date}} if it remains unpaid. Please update here: {{Stripe link}} or reach out today so we can sort it out.”