SimplePractice Card Declined: What to Check Next
By George Ruan • October 7, 2026
Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.
A declined card is the card issuer’s decision, and SimplePractice can’t tell you the private reason. Stop repeat attempts, ask the client to update the card through the Client Portal or call their bank, and collect the open balance once a working card is saved. Before that, check that AutoPay or a teammate won’t charge the same balance separately.
Sections
Right after a decline
Confirm the attempt actually failed and that no other payment for the same invoice went through, by card or recorded as cash or check.
Read the decline reason. In its card-decline guide, SimplePractice explains that a generic decline doesn’t reveal the cause and that the bank won’t share it with the practice; the cardholder has to ask the issuer.
Pause further attempts until the cardholder has fixed the problem or added a different card.
Ask the client to add a new card themselves from the Client Portal. That keeps card numbers out of email; we tell practices not to forward card details to us either, because they go straight into SimplePractice.
In the practices we work with, a decline is usually handled at the next session: the clinician mentions the unpaid balance, the client gets a new card on file, and collection resumes from there. Sometimes the client’s bank is already replacing the card, and the balance waits until the new one is on file.
Check AutoPay before charging again
SimplePractice’s AutoPay guide says a failed automatic payment is retried on three consecutive nights, after which AutoPay is turned off for that client. So after a decline, AutoPay may be retrying or may already be off. Check the client’s actual setting before a manual charge, and decide who will collect the balance: the automation or a person, not both.
When the card won’t save at all
A related support question: “I’ve tried multiple times to add a card and it won’t let me save it.” Saving a card runs through SimplePractice’s Online Payments, which has to be turned on for the account. On a brand-new account that is the usual cause. If the practice is already processing cards and only certain cards fail, it is a payments issue for SimplePractice support; in the meantime the client can add the card from their own portal.
What the decline reason suggests
Expired or incorrect details: the client updates the card in the portal.
Insufficient funds: offer another payment method or a payment arrangement under the practice’s policy, without assumptions about the client’s finances.
Generic decline or “do not honor”: the client calls the issuer before anyone tries again.
FSA or HSA card declined: SimplePractice accepts these cards, but the issuer can still decline a charge; the cardholder resolves it with the card’s administrator.
If the client can’t pay the balance now
Practices often ask us to hold charges for a few days while the client decides between paying in full and paying over time, with a date after which the normal charge runs. If the client already has a credit on file, apply it first and charge the card only for the difference. Record an outside payment as External Card, Cash or Check only when the money was actually received; SimplePractice’s client-billing guide explains that recording a payment this way does not charge a card.
For installment plans, see Therapy Payment Plans: Separate Old Debt From New Visits. If you haven’t added your biller to SimplePractice yet, start with Add Bomi as Your Biller in SimplePractice.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Why won’t SimplePractice tell me why the card was declined?
The issuing bank makes the decision and keeps the detailed reason private. Only the cardholder can get it, by calling the number on the back of the card.
Should I keep trying the same card?
No. Pause, let the client fix the card or add a new one, then make one attempt. Check AutoPay first so the system doesn’t retry at the same time.
Can a client email me their new card number?
Avoid it. Ask the client to enter the card in the SimplePractice Client Portal, or have staff enter it directly into SimplePractice. Card numbers don’t belong in email or notes.
Sources
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