Skip, swap and reschedule: Subscriptions docs

When a subscriber emails or calls with a change, your team can make it in a few clicks. Open Subscriptions → Manage → Contracts and choose the subscription. Everything on this page happens on that subscription's detail page. Subscribers can make most of the same changes themselves in the customer portal.

Editing needs the manage subscriptions permission. Paused, canceled and expired subscriptions can't be edited until you resume or reactivate them.

Skip an order

Skip the next order

Under Upcoming orders, choose Skip next order. The dialog explains that no payment is collected and no order is created for that cycle, and the next charge moves to the following scheduled date. Choose Skip this order.

Or skip a later order

Open Future billing cycles and choose Review future orders. Find the cycle and choose Skip this order. Use Load more cycles to see further ahead. Shopify supports edits within the next year.

Undo a skip

Skipped charges are listed under Schedule and skipped charges → Skipped charges. Choose Restore charge, or Restore this order on a future cycle. Restoring may bring the next charge date forward. No payment is collected right away.

If the skipped order had a one-time item on it, the item stays with that order and is only charged if you restore the order.

Move the next charge date

Open Reschedule

Next to Next billing date (or Next renewal on a prepaid subscription), choose Reschedule. If no date is set, the button says Set charge date.

Pick the new date

Enter the New charge date. The earliest choice is tomorrow in your workspace time zone, and charges run at your billing hour on that date.

Decide about one-time items

If the next order has one-time items and the new date lands on a later order, choose Move them to the new date or Leave them off the new order. Items left off aren't charged.

Save

Choose Reschedule charge, then review the refreshed schedule.

Change how often orders ship

Next to Frequency, choose Edit frequency. Set Deliver every and the Delivery interval (Days, Weeks, Months or Years), then choose Save frequency. For prepaid subscriptions, the dialog also has Charge every and Charge interval, so you can set delivery and charging separately.

Changing the frequency keeps the next charge date. To move that date too, use Reschedule.

Swap products or change quantity

Edit product on a product line opens Edit recurring product. Pick a different variant, change the quantity or set a new unit price, then choose Save changes.
Manage products opens Manage recurring products, where you can review the whole list, add or remove products, choose a Selling plan for new products, tick Apply selected plan to all recurring products, or pick a Subscription bundle. With a bundle, the total quantity must match the bundle size.
Remove takes a product off future recurring orders. It only shows when the subscription has more than one product.
Properties lets you edit the line item properties saved with future orders. Keep any values your fulfillment apps rely on.

Charge the next order now

Choose Order now (next to the billing date) or Process order now (under Upcoming orders). The Charge next order now dialog shows the customer, products, subtotal, payment method and the date it was scheduled for. Choose Charge now. The card on file is charged, the order is created, and the next charge date moves forward once payment succeeds. Keep the window open while it confirms.

Changes on hold

If you've changed an upcoming order just for that order, changes to every order are on hold until that order is charged. To make an every-order change sooner, reset those orders under Upcoming orders with Reset order changes.

Troubleshooting

The edit buttons are grayed out

Either the subscription is paused, canceled or expired (resume or reactivate it first), an upcoming order has its own changes (see the hold notice above), or your account doesn't have permission to manage subscriptions.

Process order now is disabled

A payment already exists for this charge. Use Review payments to see it before trying again.

I changed the frequency but the next date stayed the same

That's expected. The frequency sets later orders; use Reschedule to move the next one.

I can't save a bundle change

The total quantity of the products has to match the selected bundle size.

Customer portal: how subscribers skip, swap and reschedule on their own.
Glossary: skip delivery, product swap, subscription frequency.

Skip, swap and reschedule