A subscription plan sets which products shoppers can subscribe to, the subscription options they choose from (how often orders go out and how they pay) and any subscriber discount. Build one from scratch, or start from a preset that fills in the billing settings for you.
Start a new plan
In Shopify admin, go to Apps → Appstle Subscription → Subscription Plans.
Click Create New Plan.
Click Start from scratch, or click one of the presets under Start from a preset.
Create New Plan is at the top right of the Subscription plans page.
The Create New Plan menu: start from scratch or pick a preset.
Each preset fills in the plan's first subscription option. You can change anything before you save.
Preset | What it sets up |
Monthly — pay as you go | Billed monthly, 10% off every order. |
Fixed calendar billing | Everyone billed on the same dates each year. |
Same day every month | First order paid at sign-up; renewals on the 1st. |
Free trial | 14-day trial: the trial order is free, then billed monthly. |
Prepaid — pay upfront | 3 months paid upfront, delivered monthly. |
Gift subscription | 3 months paid upfront, delivered monthly. No renewal. |
Minimum quantity | At least 2 of this product per delivery, billed monthly. |
Under More ways to sell, Build-A-Box opens the Build-A-Box page, where you set up boxes that customers fill with products they choose. If your store doesn't have Appstle Memberships yet, you also see Memberships with perks, which opens the Appstle Memberships listing on the Shopify App Store.
Set up the plan
A new plan has three parts: Plan name, Products and Subscription options.
A plan started from scratch, before you add products and options.
In Plan name, enter a name shoppers will recognize. It becomes the plan's name in Shopify and can show in your widget and emails.
Click Add products → Browse products.
Select the products or variants shoppers can subscribe to, then click Add to plan.
Under Subscription options, click Add option. If you started from a preset, its option is already there, so click Edit on it instead.
In Billing & frequency, choose How customers pay and how often orders go out.
Click Next to go through the other steps you need, such as the option's name and discount.
Click Done.
Click Save in the bar at the top of the page.
How customers pay
Each subscription option uses one of four billing types, which you pick under How customers pay:
Billing type | How customers are charged |
Pay as you go | Customers pay for each delivery separately. |
Prepaid, auto renew | Customers pay for several deliveries at once, and the payment renews. |
Prepaid, one time | Customers pay once at checkout for a set number of deliveries. It doesn't renew. |
Prepaid, separate orders | Customers pay for several deliveries at once, and each delivery is created as its own Shopify order. |
Prepaid, separate orders isn't included in every Appstle plan. For details and trial rules, see Subscriptions - Plan Types.
Things to know
You can't save a plan until it has at least one subscription option. You can save it without products, but shoppers can't subscribe until you add some.
Editing a saved option mostly affects new subscriptions: current subscribers keep their price, billing dates and option name. Some changes do reach them, such as a price change or reward set to start at a later order. The option editor tells you which, step by step.
Deleting a plan doesn't cancel its subscriptions: they keep billing at their own price. But price changes and rewards set to start at a later order stop, and those subscribers can't switch to the same frequency on another plan, even one you re-create. To stop offering a plan, click Turn off on its row of the Subscription plans page instead.
If shoppers don't see your options
The subscription widget is off. The Subscription plans page then shows a Subscription widget card marked Disabled. Click Enable. If the widget still doesn't show on your product pages, see How to Enable the Subscription Widget on Your Theme.
The product isn't in the plan. Open the plan and check that the product is listed under Products.
The plan is turned off. The Subscription plans page marks it Inactive. Click Turn on on its row, then click Turn on plan.
The option is limited by customer tags. If an option's Who can see step is set to Only customers with required tags, only logged-in customers with one of those tags see it, so you won't see it as a guest. If it's set to Exclude customers with these tags, customers with any of those tags don't see it. See How to Control Subscription Visibility Using Customer Tags.
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