Auto Debit Cron Stopped Since Dst

[evolvewh]

Not sure if this is a bug, a configuration issue on my part or what but I have noticed that cron is running and every task seems to work except for auto debit. I did wait one extra hour as well. It last worked on Saturday with no issues.

 

There is nothing in the error logs and the payment gateway works when I manually process the invoice. I'm using Stripe.

 

Anyone else seen this?

[evolvewh]

I've now got this working for 2 days in a row and I'm pretty certain this is the fix.

 

For anyone using cPanel and having issues, you may want to try this format for your cron command:

 

*/5 * * * *

/usr/local/bin/php /home/your_cpanel_username/public_html/index.php cron/?cron_key=your_cron_key

 

If you update the cron key from the admin area of Blesta, you'll need to update this command too.

 

Hope this helps others out as well.

 

If it works for others, maybe this link could be updated: https://docs.blesta.com/display/user/System+%3E+Automation

 

Also, I don't want to add clutter but it may be helpful to have a link within Blesta's admin to point users to this documentation.

[Paul]

So the auto debit task appears to be stuck running under Settings > Company > Automation?

 

The best way to debug this is to enable error reporting in your config file. Temporarily disable cron from automatically running (right before auto debit would normally run), and then run the cron manually under Settings > System > Automation after auto debit is scheduled to run. Any errors should be output to your browser.

 

To enable error reporting, edit /config/blesta.php and change

 

Configure::errorReporting(0);

 

to

 

Configure::errorReporting(-1);

[evolvewh]

It says it ran this morning but it did nothing. There should have been invoices paid.

 

Task Last Ran: Nov 03, 2015 9:00:02 AM

 

I will debug it with the steps you listed and report back. Thank you.

[Paul]

It sounds like the cron tasks are completing. What version of Blesta are you running? There was a bug in an older version that caused the auto-debit status to appear enabled when it was not. Re-saving it / toggling it off and back on, and re-saving the payment account for auto debit would correct it in those cases.

[evolvewh]

I'm using v3.6 right now.

 

If that was still the case, I'd have to re toggle that setting for every client, right? Like I said, this just started happening since Sunday after DST. I upgrade to 3.6 the day it came out.

[Paul]

Did you run /admin/upgrade after uploading the files to upgrade your database?

[evolvewh]

I did run the /admin/upgrade/ after I uploaded the new files and I received no error messages.

[evolvewh]

The cron ran today for auto debit. I ran it manually yesterday and I'm guessing that was enough to fix it. That was the only thing that changed so I'll keep an eye on it and report back here if it acts up again.

 

Thanks.

[Paul]

The cron ran today for auto debit. I ran it manually yesterday and I'm guessing that was enough to fix it. That was the only thing that changed so I'll keep an eye on it and report back here if it acts up again.

 

Thanks.

 

Just following up on this, everything still working properly with your auto debit cron?

[evolvewh]

Just following up on this, everything still working properly with your auto debit cron?

I appreciate the follow up. For the most part, it's good but I did have one that should have ran today and it didn't. I've got more due over the next few days and I will make sure I'm at my computer to turn on error reporting in case it acts up again.

 

I'm now running 3.6.1 and the upgrade went through with no issues.

 

Thanks!

[evolvewh]

 

So the auto debit task appears to be stuck running under Settings > Company > Automation?

 

The best way to debug this is to enable error reporting in your config file. Temporarily disable cron from automatically running (right before auto debit would normally run), and then run the cron manually under Settings > System > Automation after auto debit is scheduled to run. Any errors should be output to your browser.

 

To enable error reporting, edit /config/blesta.php and change

 

Configure::errorReporting(0);

 

to

 

Configure::errorReporting(-1);

 

 

Paul,

 

I'm not sure what you mean by disabling it. Do I remove the cron from cPanel or do I disable Auto Debit under Settings -->> Company -->> Automation and then manually run cron? I disabled it under Settings -->> Company -->> Automation, ran cron manually from Settings -->> System -->> Automation and it didn't run Auto Debits. My settings are to charge the card 1 day in advance of the due date.

 

Update: I don't understand this but here's what happened:

 

I put all of my settings back to normal and it ran as it should.

 

I tried to manually run the cron about an hour before the normal scheduled time and it didn't process the invoice.

 

At this point, I'd say that we'll leave this one alone. It's strange but not worth wasting time. I'll certainly report it again if I notice it acting up on a regular basis.

 

Thanks,

 

DL

[Tyson]

I'm not sure what you mean by disabling it.

 

Disabling the cron for a particular task can be done either by 1) disabling the entire cron from your control panel such that the cron no longer automatically runs, or 2) disabling a specific cron task under the [settings] -> [Automation] page before it's scheduled to be run. In the latter case, when the cron runs automatically, it will not run the task you disabled. At this point, re-enable that task under [settings] -> [Automation] and immediately run the cron manually to view it's output.

 

 

I tried to manually run the cron about an hour before the normal scheduled time and it didn't process the invoice.

 

Running the cron an hour before the task is scheduled to run will not run the task. This is because it is not time to run the task yet per your Automation settings.

 

 

I disabled it under Settings -->> Company -->> Automation, ran cron manually from Settings -->> System -->> Automation and it didn't run Auto Debits.

 

 

If you disable the automation task, it cannot be run manually or automatically because it is disabled.

 

Tasks run only if they are enabled, and only when they're scheduled to run. The exception to this is if the task failed to run at its scheduled time. Depending on the task, it may be run the next time the cron runs or it will have to wait until the next time it is scheduled to run.

[evolvewh]

Disabling the cron for a particular task can be done either by 1) disabling the entire cron from your control panel such that the cron no longer automatically runs, or 2) disabling a specific cron task under the [settings] -> [Automation] page before it's scheduled to be run. In the latter case, when the cron runs automatically, it will not run the task you disabled. At this point, re-enable that task under [settings] -> [Automation] and immediately run the cron manually to view it's output.

 

 

 

Running the cron an hour before the task is scheduled to run will not run the task. This is because it is not time to run the task yet per your Automation settings.

 

 

 

 

If you disable the automation task, it cannot be run manually or automatically because it is disabled.

 

Tasks run only if they are enabled, and only when they're scheduled to run. The exception to this is if the task failed to run at its scheduled time. Depending on the task, it may be run the next time the cron runs or it will have to wait until the next time it is scheduled to run.

Thanks for the full explanation and I feel kind of dumb now! I'll go through this again tomorrow morning and see what happens.

 

Thanks.

[evolvewh]

Sorry if this is running on for too long but I can't seem to get any error report. I enabled error reporting in the config file, disabled the cron right before it should run, re enabled it and ran it manually. This is what I get:

 

Attempting to run all tasks for Evolve Web Hosting, LLC.
All tasks have been completed.
Attempting to run all system tasks.
All system tasks have been completed.

 

I have it set to run at 9am every morning and it actually said it did (I was running it manually after because I wasn't at the computer at 9am).

 

I've attached screenshots of my settings so it should have processed 3 invoices this morning.

 

 

Should I open a support ticket with you guys and let you take a look at it?

 

 

[Tyson]

The system doesn't think there are any invoices to be auto-debited.

 

Error reporting would only show you php errors if something had gone wrong with a task running. You can usually tell if something had gone wrong with the task if it starts running but does not complete successfully.

[evolvewh]

Since there are invoices that should be auto-debited today, what do I do from here, other than manually process them?

[Paul]

Since there are invoices that should be auto-debited today, what do I do from here, other than manually process them?

 

That's what I would suggest, if the auto debit task already ran today as it won't run again until tomorrow. For some reason, Blesta doesn't think those should be auto debited. I would double check that a payment account is selected for auto debit, that auto debit is enabled for the client, and that the invoices are due in accordance with the setting for auto debit days. You can open a ticket with us if you'd like me to login and take a look and see if anything is out of ordinary.

[evolvewh]

It doesn't make any sense because I have a client who had an invoice due yesterday and one due today. Yesterday, the first invoice was auto-debited. Today, the 2nd invoice didn't get auto-debited.

 

Auto Debit is enabled for everyone and their cards are up to date (not expired).

 

Thanks for your patience in trying to figure this out. I'll manually process them today and see what happens from there.

[Michael]

It doesn't make any sense because I have a client who had an invoice due yesterday and one due today. Yesterday, the first invoice was auto-debited. Today, the 2nd invoice didn't get auto-debited.

 

Auto Debit is enabled for everyone and their cards are up to date (not expired).

 

Thanks for your patience in trying to figure this out. I'll manually process them today and see what happens from there.

 

As stated above they might be enabled but it might not have been stored in the database clicking the card's bullet point and saving fixes it and it might run tomorrow.

[evolvewh]

As stated above they might be enabled but it might not have been stored in the database clicking the card's bullet point and saving fixes it and it might run tomorrow.

Agreed and I've done that but why did one invoice auto debit yesterday for a client and their next invoice today did not auto debit? That's the part that really makes no sense. Same client, same card and same payment gateway. Even the same module (domain renewals).

[evolvewh]

I ended up deleting the cron job from cPanel, updated the cron key and then re entered the cron job into cPanel. This appears to have fixed the issue.

 

Thanks.

[evolvewh]

Just when I thought it was working properly, it didn't run yesterday.

[evolvewh]

Disabling the cron for a particular task can be done either by 1) disabling the entire cron from your control panel such that the cron no longer automatically runs, or 2) disabling a specific cron task under the [settings] -> [Automation] page before it's scheduled to be run. In the latter case, when the cron runs automatically, it will not run the task you disabled. At this point, re-enable that task under [settings] -> [Automation] and immediately run the cron manually to view it's output.

 

 

I just tried #2

 

Guess I wasn't fast enough to make the changes and run it manually. I'll have to open a support ticket for this.

[evolvewh]

I think I have finally figured this out.

 

I looked in the settings table and it was never updating the cron_key when I changed that through the admin UI. I manually edited it through phpMyAdmin and auto debit worked perfectly this morning.

 

On a side note, database_version (3.6.0-b1 but I don't run betas on my live site) has not updated like it should and exchange_rates_auto_update was the same way.

 

I can guarantee that I ran the auto update script successfully.

[Tyson]

On a side note, database_version (3.6.0-b1 but I don't run betas on my live site) has not updated like it should and exchange_rates_auto_update was the same way.

 

The database_version may not be the same as the version shown in the footer of the admin UI. The database_version of '3.6.0-b1' is the latest version. Don't change this value or you won't be able to upgrade.

The exchange_rates_auto_update setting from the `settings` table is not the value you would want to look at for your cron as the value from the `company_settings` table is used instead.

 

Be careful making modifications to the database if you're unsure how it will affect the system.

 

I'm not sure why the cron key would fail to update from the UI. Are you using the PHPIDS plugin by chance? If so, you might try disabling it and then trying to save the cron key to see if it works then.