Skip to main content

Fix a domain or mailbox setup stuck by an unpaid invoice

Your purchased domain or mailboxes never finish setting up because the Stripe subscription was not paid. Pay the blocking invoice from the Pay invoice banner in the domain modal.

TL;DR

Open the domain in Settings → Buy domains & emails, then click Pay invoice in the red banner to open the Stripe invoice page and pay it. Setup resumes automatically within a few minutes, and the domain or mailboxes leave the Ordered state. You must be a team admin to pay.

Symptoms

  • A red banner with a Pay invoice button appears when you open a purchased domain.

  • Your domain or its mailboxes stay in Ordered and never become active.

  • The purchased mailboxes never appear in Sending settings, well past the usual 2 to 4 hour setup window.

  • Your card was declined at checkout, or you closed the bank verification (3D Secure) window before confirming.

  • A renewal payment failed and your card was retried several times without success.

  • As a non-admin team member, the banner tells you an admin must complete the payment and shows no button.

Environment

  • Applies to domains and mailboxes purchased through lemlist.

  • Paying the invoice requires the admin role in your lemlist team.

  • The banner does not appear in the first 15 minutes after a purchase, because a subscription is briefly unconfirmed during normal checkout.

Step-by-Step Fix

  1. Click your profile in the bottom-left corner, then select Settings.

  2. In the left-hand menu, click Buy domains & emails.

  3. Find the domain that is not completing setup, then click Settings on the right side of that domain row.

    ✅ Verify: a red banner appears at the top of the domain window with a Pay invoice button.

  4. Click Pay invoice. The Stripe invoice page opens in a new tab.

  5. Complete the payment on the Stripe page, using a different card if the original card was declined.

    ✅ Verify: the Stripe page confirms the invoice is paid.

  6. Return to lemlist and wait a few minutes, then refresh the page.

End state: the red banner disappears, and the domain or its mailboxes leave the Ordered state and continue setup automatically. Setup does not restart the instant the invoice is paid, because lemlist picks up the paid subscription on its next scheduled check.

Confirm It's Fixed

✓ The red banner no longer appears when you open the domain.

✓ The domain and its mailboxes no longer show Ordered.

✓ The purchased mailboxes appear in Settings → Sending settings.

✓ The invoice shows as paid in Settings → Plans & Billing.

Why It Happens

A domain or mailbox order only starts setting up once its subscription is paid, so a declined card, an unconfirmed bank verification, or an exhausted renewal retry leaves the order waiting indefinitely. Keep a valid card on file and complete any bank verification prompt during checkout to prevent this.

Alternatives

  • If you are not an admin, ask a team admin to open the same domain window and pay the invoice.

  • If the same card is declined again, update your payment method in Settings → Plans & Billing before retrying.

Escalate If Unresolved

  • If the banner remains after payment, share your domain name, the invoice number from the Stripe page, and the time you paid.

  • If no banner appears but your domain is still stuck, share your domain name, the purchase date, and a screenshot of the domain window.

Did this answer your question?