--- title: "How selling plans work: Subscriptions docs | Chargezen" description: "What Shopify selling plans and plan groups are, how billing and delivery intervals differ, where a plan is offered, and how to add one from Shopify." url: "https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/selling-plans-explained" lang: "en" updated: "2026-10-18" --- Canonical URL: https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/selling-plans-explained # How selling plans work What Shopify selling plans and plan groups are, how billing and delivery intervals differ, where a plan is offered, and how to add one from Shopify. Last updated: 2026-10-18 Shopify sells subscriptions through **selling plans**. Chargezen creates and manages them for you, so you rarely touch them in Shopify. Knowing how they fit together helps you set up plans that show the right options, bill at the right time and import cleanly. You manage them in **Subscriptions → Catalog → Subscription Plans**. ## Plan groups and plans * **A plan** in Chargezen is a Shopify selling plan group. It has a name, the products it applies to and a delivery profile. * **Selling plans** are the options inside it, like "Every 2 weeks" and "Every month". Each one has its own billing rules, delivery rules, discount and trial. * On the product page, customers see the group's **Plan selector title** and pick one selling plan by its **Plan selector label**. ## Billing interval vs delivery interval The billing interval is how often the customer pays. The delivery interval is how often an order ships. When they match, customers pay for each delivery. When billing is a longer multiple of delivery, the customer pays up front for several deliveries. That's a [prepaid plan](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/prepaid-plans). ## Where a plan is offered Every plan has four channels, all on to start: * **Online Store**: product pages, cart and checkout. * **Portal**: plans customers can choose in the Squircle Launcher portal. * **Contract import**: creating and importing subscription contracts. * **Subscription management**: changing products and plans on a subscription from the admin. Hidden from the Online Store Turning off Online Store detaches the plan's products from it in Shopify, so no storefront offers it. Existing subscriptions keep billing. ## Add a plan from the Shopify admin You can also create a simple plan while editing a product in Shopify. 1 #### Open the product in Shopify In the purchase options section of a product or variant, open the **Subscriptions** action from Chargezen. 2 #### Name it **Title** is what customers see on product pages (for example "Subscribe and save"). **Internal description** is for your reference only. 3 #### Set the discount Turn on **Offer discount** and choose **Percentage off**, **Amount off** or **Fixed price**. 4 #### Add delivery options For each **Option**, set the **Delivery frequency** and **Delivery interval** (weeks, months or years). Use **Remove option** to drop one. 5 #### Save Choose **Save**. You'll see "Subscription plan created". ## Plans and imports Imported and hand-made contracts need a plan with the **Contract import** channel on. Recharge App sync matches each subscription to an active plan with the same billing and delivery frequency, so create those plans before you import. ## Troubleshooting ### An import says the plan isn't available for contract import Open the plan, turn on the **Contract import** channel, save, and run the import again. Or choose another plan. ### A plan doesn't appear in the customer portal Customers can only switch to plans with the **Portal** channel on. ### Shopify says no purchase option is selected Select a product or product variant in Shopify, then open the Subscriptions action again. ## Related * [Shopify subscriptions](https://chargezen.com/subscriptions/shopify-subscriptions): built for Shopify checkout, Shop Pay and customer accounts. * Glossary: [subscription frequency](https://chargezen.com/glossary/subscription-frequency), [subscribe and save](https://chargezen.com/glossary/subscribe-and-save), [prepaid subscription](https://chargezen.com/glossary/prepaid-subscription). ### Related Articles [ #### Create subscription plans Every field in the plan editor ](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/create-product)[ #### Prepaid plans Bill once for several deliveries ](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/prepaid-plans)[ #### Migrate subscriptions Plans you need before importing ](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/migration) Was this page helpful? Need more help? [Contact support](https://chargezen.com/docs/checkoutos/troubleshooting/support)