Subscribe & save / recurring delivery
When to use: You sell consumable products that customers reorder regularly (coffee, skincare, pet food, supplements). How it works: Customers see a subscription option on the product page and can choose between one-time purchase and subscribe & save. They get a discount for subscribing, and products are delivered automatically on their chosen schedule.1
Create a subscription plan
Go to Plans → Create Subscription Plan. Set the billing frequency (e.g., every 1 month, every 2 weeks) and discount (e.g., 10% off).
2
Add products to the plan
Select which products are available for subscription. You can add individual products or entire collections.
3
Configure the widget
Go to Storefront → Widget and customize the subscription options displayed on product pages. Choose colors, button text, and how discounts are shown.
4
Add the widget to your theme
Open the Shopify theme editor and add the Subscription Widget app block to your product page template.
Prepaid subscriptions
When to use: You want to charge customers less frequently than you deliver (e.g., charge every 2 months, deliver monthly). How it works: Customers prepay for multiple deliveries at once. Shopify creates fulfillment orders at the delivery frequency, but billing happens at the longer prepaid interval. Example: A plant club that delivers a plant every month but charges every 2 months.1
Create a Prepaid or Advanced Prepaid plan
Go to Plans → Create Subscription Plan and set Plan Type to Prepaid or Advanced Prepaid.
2
Set frequencies
Configure:
- Fulfillment Frequency: Every 1 month (how often products ship)
- Billing Period: Every 2 months (how often customers are charged)
3
Set pricing
Set the product price to the prepaid amount (e.g., £20 for 2 deliveries at £10/month effective rate).
Shopify natively supports prepaid subscriptions where the billing period is a multiple of the fulfillment frequency. If you need to charge more frequently than you deliver (e.g., bill monthly, deliver every 2 months), see Bill monthly, deliver bimonthly for workarounds.
Membership or access subscriptions
When to use: You’re selling access to a service, club, or exclusive content rather than physical products (e.g., coffee club membership, premium access tier). How it works: Customers subscribe to a membership plan and receive recurring billing. You can configure whether they receive physical perks (e.g., a quarterly gift) or purely digital access.1
Create a membership plan
Go to Plans → Create Subscription Plan. Name it something like “Premium Membership” or “Coffee Club Access.”
2
Add membership products
Add products that represent the membership tier. For digital-only memberships, create a placeholder product with no inventory tracking.
3
Set billing frequency
Configure billing to match your membership cadence (e.g., monthly, quarterly, yearly).
4
Enable customer portal
Let members manage their memberships through the customer portal. Enable pause, cancel, and payment update features.
In-store subscription enrollment (POS)
When to use: You have a physical retail location and want staff to enroll customers in subscriptions at the register. How it works: Staff add products to the cart in Shopify POS and tap the Subscriptions tile to apply a subscription plan. The customer checks out with Shopify Payments, and the subscription contract is created.1
Enable Shopify Payments
Subscriptions at the register require Shopify Payments. Third-party payment gateways cannot process selling plans in POS.
2
Add the Subscriptions tile
In Shopify POS, go to Settings → Smart grid and add the Appfox Subscriptions tile to your layout.
3
Publish products to POS
Make sure your subscription-eligible products are published to the Point of Sale sales channel.
4
Train staff
Show staff how to tap the Subscriptions tile and select plans when customers want to subscribe.
Self-service customer portal
When to use: You want to reduce support volume by letting customers manage their subscriptions themselves (pause, cancel, change frequency, update payment, etc.). How it works: Customers log into their Shopify customer account and access the Manage Subscriptions page. You control which features are available (pause, cancel, product swap, change frequency, update payment, etc.).1
Enable the customer account extension
In Shopify admin, go to Settings → Customer accounts and enable the Appfox Subscriptions - Manage Subscriptions extension.
2
Configure features
In Appfox, go to Storefront → Customer portal and toggle the features you want to allow (pause, cancel, change frequency, update payment, etc.).
3
Customize branding
Use the Images & colors tab to match the portal to your brand.
4
Link to the portal
Add a link to the customer account login page in your store footer or header so customers can easily find it.
Quick checkout / one-click reorder
When to use: You want to let existing subscribers quickly reorder products or add new items to their subscription without going through full checkout. How it works: Appfox includes a Quick checkout feature that lets customers add products to their next subscription order with minimal friction. Setup: See Quick checkout for configuration steps. Learn more: Quick checkoutBackend subscription management (External API)
When to use: You’re building custom workflows, integrations, or admin tools that need programmatic access to subscription contracts (e.g., custom dashboards, mobile apps, third-party CRM sync). How it works: The Appfox Subscriptions External API is a REST API that lets you:- List, read, and search subscription contracts
- Pause, resume, and cancel subscriptions
- Update contract details (frequency, products, next billing date)
- Create and manage contracts programmatically
The External API is included for every store while Appfox Subscriptions is free for now.
Bundles and build-a-box
When to use: You want customers to build custom subscription boxes by choosing multiple products (e.g., coffee sampler box, snack box, beauty box). How it works: Appfox supports two types of product bundling:- Bundles: You create a fixed set of products sold together for one price. Customers subscribe to your curated product set.
- Build-a-box: Customers create custom subscription boxes by selecting products from your catalog. You set minimum/maximum product counts.
1
Choose your approach
- For curated product sets, go to Growth tools → Bundles and create a fixed bundle
- For customer-selected boxes, go to Build-a-box and configure the box options
2
Configure products and pricing
- Bundles: Select products and set the total bundle price
- Build-a-box: Set min/max product counts, discount, and selling plan group
3
Share with customers
- Bundles: Share the bundle discount code or link
- Build-a-box: Share the build-a-box page URL where customers select products
Tips for choosing the right approach
Start simple
If you’re new to subscriptions, start with a basic subscribe & save model. Add one or two products, set a simple discount, and enable the widget on product pages. You can expand to prepaid, memberships, or bundles later.Combine use cases
Many merchants use multiple approaches:- Offer subscribe & save on product pages (for online customers)
- Enable POS enrollment (for in-store customers)
- Provide a customer portal (for self-service management)
- Use the API (for custom backend workflows)
Enable the right features
Not every business needs every feature. Consider:- Do you want customers to be able to cancel, or only pause? (Disable cancel if you want to encourage pausing.)
- Do you want customers to swap products, or keep their original selection? (Disable product swap for curated boxes.)
Related resources
- Getting started — Complete the initial setup
- Subscription plans — Configure billing frequencies and discounts
- Dashboard — Manage active subscriptions
- Emails — Customize subscription notification emails
Need help choosing the right setup? Contact support@getappfox.com.