--- title: "Workflow automations: Subscriptions docs | Chargezen" description: "Run actions automatically when a subscription event happens: send emails and texts, swap products, add discounts, tag orders and more." url: "https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/workflows" lang: "en" updated: "2026-10-18" --- Canonical URL: https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/workflows # Workflow automations Run actions automatically when a subscription event happens: send emails and texts, swap products, add discounts, tag orders and more. Last updated: 2026-10-18 A workflow is a rule: when something happens to a subscription, and the subscription matches your conditions, Chargezen does what you asked, right away or after a delay. Use workflows to swap a starter kit for a refill, add a gift on the third order, tag orders for your warehouse or send a message at the right moment. Open **Subscriptions → Billing & automation → Workflow automations**. ## Create a workflow 1 #### Start Choose **Create workflow** and enter a **Workflow name** under **Workflow details**. Only your team sees it. 2 #### Pick one or more events Under **Events**, choose **\+ Add event**. The workflow runs when any of the chosen events happens. Under **When should this run?**, pick **Right away** or **After a delay** in minutes, hours or days, up to 30 days. 3 #### Add conditions if you need them Under **Conditions (optional)**, choose **\+ Add condition**. With two or more, pick **Run when**: **All of these conditions are true** or **At least one of these conditions is true**. Without conditions, the workflow runs every time. 4 #### Add actions Under **Actions**, choose **\+ Add action**. Actions run in order. Each one can run **Right away** or **After a delay**, counted from when the workflow runs. 5 #### Turn it on In the **Summary**, check the plain-language sentence, set **Status** to **Active** and choose **Save**. ## Events | Group | Choices | | --- | --- | | Subscription status | Subscription is created, Subscription is paused, Subscription is resumed, Subscription is reactivated, Subscription is cancelled, Subscription expires | | Billing | Upcoming renewal reminder, Subscription payment succeeds (first try), Subscription payment recovered (after a failed payment), Subscription payment failed (first attempt), Subscription payment failed (in dunning), Subscription payment failed (last attempt), Bank asks the customer to confirm a payment, Payment method needs attention, Product price change scheduled | | Orders and products | Renewal held for out-of-stock products, Upcoming order is skipped, Product is swapped | ## Conditions | Group | Choices | | --- | --- | | The event | Subscription came from checkout; Payment retries ended by (cancelling, pausing, skipping the order or keeping the subscription active); Churn risk is (High, Medium, Low); Customer was told about the change; Change wasn't made in Shopify's admin; It's the first failed payment; Payment method problem is (Can't be charged, Card expiring, Card expired). Each works only with the events it describes. | | Billing history | Paid billing cycles; Consecutive paid billing cycles | | Plan | Subscription has any of the selected plans; Subscription has any of the selected plan groups | | Product and variant | A product (or variant) with a matching title, using is equal to, is not equal to, contains, does not contain, starts with or ends with; all, any or none of the selected products (or variants) | | Customer | Customer has a tag; Customer doesn't have a tag; Orders placed by the customer; Amount spent by the customer; Customer has no active subscriptions | Conditions are checked when the workflow runs. A delayed run uses the workflow as it is at that time. ## Actions | Group | Choices | | --- | --- | | Notifications | Send email and Send text: pick a Template. It shows who it is sent to (the customer or your store team) and a link to edit the template. | | Subscription | Add discount and Remove discount (a Shopify discount code, such as WELCOME10); Add trial period (free orders, for created or reactivated subscriptions only); Change subscription plan (New plan) | | Products | Add one-time product; Add subscription product; Remove one-time product; Remove product from subscription; Swap product (Replacement product, Quantity, and Price: base price with no subscription discounts, or with the plan's discounts) | | Customer | Add tag to customer; Remove tag from customer | | Order | Add tag to order. Skipped for events that have no order. | ## Examples ### Starter kit to refill Event **Subscription payment succeeds (first try)**, condition **Paid billing cycles** at least 1 and **Subscription has any of the selected products** set to the starter kit, action **Swap product** to the refill (or **Change subscription plan** to the refill plan). ### A gift on the third order Event **Subscription payment succeeds (first try)**, condition **Paid billing cycles** at least 3, action **Add one-time product** with the gift. ## Default workflows Chargezen sends your subscription emails and texts through default workflows, marked **Default** in the list. You can change their conditions, add steps or set them to **Draft** to stop them, but you can't delete them. They include: * Welcome email and Welcome follow-up email * Tag checkout orders and Tag renewal orders * Renewal confirmation email and text * Upcoming charge email and Upcoming charge text * Card declined, Payment retry, Payment failed (cancelled, paused, final notice) and Payment recovered messages * Bank confirmation, Update payment method, Card expiring and Card expired emails and texts * Order delayed and Price change emails and texts * Paused, Resumed, Restarted, Cancelled, Skipped order and Product swapped emails and texts * Store alerts for order delayed, paused, resumed, restarted and cancellation ## The workflow list Search by name or event, and filter by type (**Notifications**, **Order tags**, **Other**) and status. Columns show **Runs when**, **Status**, **Last run** and **Errors**. Permission Anyone with Subscriptions access can view workflows. Creating or changing them needs the **Manage subscription flows** permission. ## Troubleshooting ### My workflow never runs Check the status is **Active**, then read the **Summary** sentence: a condition may never be true for the event you chose. Some event conditions only work with certain events, and the builder tells you which. ### The order tag wasn't added **Add tag to order** is skipped for events with no order, such as a pause or a skip. Use an event that creates an order. ### How do I stop a notification? Open the default workflow that sends it and set it to **Draft**. ## Related * [Subscription workflows](https://chargezen.com/subscriptions/workflows): what you can automate with Chargezen. * Glossary: [product swap](https://chargezen.com/glossary/product-swap), [one-time add-on](https://chargezen.com/glossary/one-time-add-on), [churn prediction](https://chargezen.com/glossary/churn-prediction). ### Related Articles [ #### Subscription notifications Edit the emails and texts workflows send ](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/notifications)[ #### Win back cancelled subscribers A workflow example for lapsed subscribers ](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/win-backs)[ #### Filters and segments Find the subscriptions a rule should cover ](https://chargezen.com/docs/subscriptions/segments) Was this page helpful? Need more help? [Contact support](https://chargezen.com/docs/checkoutos/troubleshooting/support)