How to manage recurring subscription orders using the Recharge subscriptions app

How to set up a rotating item subscription on Shopify.

May 14, 2024

Recharge is a 3rd party app that integrates directly with your sales channel to offer customers simple checkout options for recurring subscription-based orders and allows merchants easy ways of managing those subscriptions.

See Getting started with Recharge

Note: Recharge offers multiple checkout platform options to best suit your business needs. Available features and troubleshooting steps may differ depending on your platform type.

How to set up a rotating item subscription on Shopify.

Below, is an example of how to configure a monthly subscription for a coffee shop who offers a new flavor each month.

1) Create subscription product in Shopify

• Title: Coffee Subscription - New Flavor sent Each Month

  SKU: 01-JAN

2) Recharge subscription setup

Download and install Recharge Subscriptions App for Shopify. For further information on how Recharge Subscriptions can update existing and future SKUs, click here.

Add Shopify subscription product to Recharge as "Subscription Only".

• Shopify Administration > App > Recharge > Products
• Click "Add Products"
• Select "Coffee Subscription - New Flavor sent Each Month"
• Select "Subscription Only"
• Click Save

3) Create items in SKULabs

Create items that will be shipped each month. Do this in the sales channel and sync to SKULabs or manually create directly in SKULabs.

• Item 1
  Name: Jamaican Coffee - 32 oz
  SKU: JAMAICANCOFFEE

• Item 2
  Name: Columbian Coffee - 32 oz
  SKU: COLUMBIANCOFFEE

• Create a coffee flavor item for each of the 12 months

4) Create a kit in SKULabs for each subscription month

Create kits that include the coffee flavor item and any additional items necessary for each of the months.

• Kit 1
  Name: 01-JAN Coffee - Jamaican Coffee - 32 oz
  SKU: 01-JAN
  Add existing item: SKU: JAMAICANCOFFEE
  Add any additional items desired: SKU: COFFEEBASKET

• Kit 2
  Name: 02-FEB Coffee - Jamaican Coffee - 32 oz
  SKU: 02-FEB
  Add existing item: SKU: JAMAICANCOFFEE
  Add any additional items desired: SKU: COFFEEBASKET

• Create a kit for each of the 12 months

5) Monthly updates required in Shopify & SKULabs

When Recharge Subscriptions creates a new order for the monthly subscription it needs to be notified of any changes in coffee flavors. Do this by changing the SKU on the subscription product in Shopify.

In Shopify administration

• Edit the subscription item Coffee Subscription - New Flavor sent Each Month
• Change the SKU from 01-JAN to 02-FEB
• Click Save

In SKULabs

• Run a listing sync to apply the SKU change