How do you set up prepaid or fixed-date subscription plans on Shopify?

What can a subscription plan offer?

The basics every subscription needs: the products it covers, how often they’re delivered, such as every 2 weeks or every month, and the saving for subscribing, as a percentage or a fixed amount. A store can run several plans side by side. A coffee roaster might sell its beans monthly at 10% off and its espresso blend every 2 weeks at a fixed saving. Pick frequencies that match how fast the product is used. Deliveries that come too often pile up, and ones that come too late break the habit. Both are common reasons to cancel.

On top of that, each plan can add the billing model your product needs.

How does prepaid billing work?

With prepaid, customers pay for several deliveries upfront, for example every 6 months for monthly deliveries. You get the cash earlier and a longer commitment, and you can reward that with a better price. Prepaid also suits gifts: someone can give six months of coffee in one purchase.

How do fixed billing days work?

A billing anchor bills every subscriber on the same day, however late they signed up: a weekday such as every Monday, a day of the month such as the 1st, or a day of the year. That is the basis for a monthly drop, a weekly menu or a fixed delivery round, because your team packs once for everyone.

A cutoff decides what happens to people who sign up just before that day. Instead of being charged at checkout and again a few days later, they join the following cycle. You set the cutoff as a number of days before the anchor or as a fixed deadline, such as “order by the 3rd”.

Can you give new subscribers an introductory offer?

Yes. An introductory discount adds an extra saving to the first recurring orders, on top of the regular subscription discount. You can limit it to a Shopify customer segment, for example to leave out people who have subscribed before, so the offer brings in new subscribers instead of rewarding returning ones. That protects your loyal subscribers too: if cancelling and signing up again earns a better price than staying, some of them will do exactly that.

Can each plan work differently?

Yes. A plan can have its own rules in the customer portal, so the monthly plan allows skipping while the weekly premium box doesn’t. A plan can also be limited to selected Shopify Markets, so each market gets its own currency and price.

How does it fit with the rest of Zubs?

Plans are what the Subscribe & Save widget and cart offer sell. Build-a-box boxes are sold on a plan too, and a fixed billing day suits a weekly menu. Sequential Flows change a plan’s subscriptions at set order numbers, for example from a starter kit to the full size. Because plans are Shopify selling plans, they work in Shopify’s checkout without a separate payment page.

Set it up in the help center: create a subscription plan.

Who is it for?

Every Zubs store starts with a plan. Prepaid suits gifts and discounts for a longer commitment. Fixed billing days suit editions, drops, weekly menus and delivery rounds. Introductory discounts suit trial offers, and market limits suit stores that sell in several currencies.