A merchant guide by Anchor Subscriptions
How to plan and set up subscriptions on Shopify
A subscription offer needs a clear product, payment schedule, and delivery promise. Use this guide to plan your store setup and test what happens after the first order. These steps cover launch planning; exact settings depend on your chosen app and store.
1. Choose a subscription model
Start with how customers use your product. Coffee bought regularly may suit subscribe and save. A bundle of several deliveries may suit prepaid billing. A box with product choices needs selection rules as well as a delivery schedule.
| Model | How it works | Key decision |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribe and save | Customers pay for recurring orders. | Which frequencies and savings will you offer? |
| Prepaid | One payment covers several deliveries. | Does the plan end or renew after the final delivery? |
| Build a box | Customers choose products in a recurring box. | Which products can they choose or change? |
Write down what the customer pays today, what they receive, and what happens next. A three-delivery prepaid plan, for example, must distinguish the next delivery from the next payment. See Shopify selling plans and prepaid offersor build-a-box subscriptions.
2. Set up products and selling plans
Follow the setup instructions for your chosen subscription app. Select the products, define the available schedules, and decide whether customers can buy once as well as subscribe. Check the subscription widget on your actual theme.
Shopify explains where purchase options appear and how to review the subscription policy in its subscription setup instructions. Review those settings alongside your app setup.
If you choose Anchor Subscriptions, ask about access and pricingand confirm your store requirements before scheduling the launch.
3. Check what customers can manage
Decide how customers will view their next order, skip a delivery, pause, cancel, or update payment details. Test these actions in your customer account setup. Explain any model-specific limits, including changes to deliveries already paid for.
A customer with excess product may need a skip. A customer taking a longer break may need a pause. Your support team should be able to see the result of the action and explain the next billing date. Review the customer subscription portal.
4. Test the complete purchase before launch
Use a test store or the testing method supported by your app and payment setup. Check the same path on desktop and mobile. Use representative products and variants, rather than only the simplest product in your catalog.
- Confirm the selected products, price, savings, and delivery frequency.
- Check that the cart and checkout keep the chosen subscription.
- Review the resulting order and subscription details.
- Test a customer change and inspect the next billing date.
- Check prepaid renewal rules or box changes if you offer those models.
- Review a renewal result and the process for a failed payment.
5. Review renewals and plan any migration
After launch, review successful and failed billing attempts separately. A scheduled renewal does not prove that payment was collected. Usesubscription reporting to identify records that need attention, then review payment recovery options.
If you already have subscribers, plan the switch before you change billing. Confirm source support, review subscriber records and dates, and coordinate the previous app so both systems do not charge the same subscription. Anchor currently supports Awtomic and Seal subscription CSV exports in itsmigration toolkit.
For help with your store, contact Anchor Subscriptions supportwith your store URL, subscription model, and current app if you use one.