Merchant docs

Run subscriptions without guesswork.

Step-by-step guidance for setting up Conscription, publishing subscription options, managing bundles, handling renewals, and helping customers make changes themselves.

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Try: test order, portal link, failed payment, billing

13 guides available

First sale path Launch product subscriptions Create a program -> Assign products -> Publish the selector Bundle path Publish a recurring bundle Create a bundle -> Add the block -> Run a test cart Support path Resolve a customer issue Send a portal link -> Check ownership -> Review recovery state

Setup Get Conscription ready for your store Install the app, approve billing, and complete the setup checks before you publish subscription options. 4 steps Setup Run your first subscription test order Confirm the storefront selector, cart, checkout, and contract creation all work before you go live. 5 steps Programs Create a subscription program A program is the group of plans customers can choose from on a product page. 6 steps Products Add subscription options from a product Use Shopify's purchase options card when you want to create or edit plans directly from a product or variant. 4 steps Storefront Show the subscribe option on product pages The product page selector lets customers choose between one-time purchase and subscription frequencies. 5 steps Bundles Create a fixed subscription bundle Bundles group several products into one recurring subscription without relying on Shopify's native bundle product limits. 5 steps Customers Let customers manage subscriptions Customers use secure portal links under your shop domain to view and change their subscriptions. 4 steps Customers Send a secure portal link to a customer Use expiring portal links when a customer needs help with skip, pause, cancellation, or plan changes. 5 steps Renewals Monitor renewals and failed payments Renewals run in the background; the dashboard and contracts area show what needs attention. 5 steps Renewals Handle payment recovery after a failed renewal When a renewal fails, use the contract state and supported recovery actions instead of retrying blindly. 5 steps Billing Understand app billing and plan limits Shopify bills the Conscription app fee separately from the product subscriptions your customers buy. 5 steps Troubleshooting Fix common setup issues Most setup problems come from missing theme blocks, stale Shopify sync state, or missing permissions. 5 steps Account Before you uninstall Uninstalling removes Conscription's ability to manage app-owned subscription contracts. 4 steps

Setup

Get Conscription ready for your store

Install the app, approve billing, and complete the setup checks before you publish subscription options.

Where: Shopify admin > Apps > Conscription
Outcome: A shop that is safe to test with subscriptions.

Install Conscription from the Shopify App Store and approve the requested app permissions.
Open Apps > Conscription in your Shopify admin.
Complete the setup checklist on the dashboard, including billing, storefront block, app proxy, and webhook checks.
Keep the app installed while you have active subscriptions. Uninstalling can stop Conscription from managing those contracts.

Setup

Run your first subscription test order

Confirm the storefront selector, cart, checkout, and contract creation all work before you go live.

Where: Online store product page and Conscription > Contracts
Outcome: A verified end-to-end subscription flow before launch.

Open a product assigned to an active subscription program on your storefront.
Choose a subscription frequency, add the product to cart, and confirm the cart keeps the subscription selection.
Complete a test checkout using a supported payment method for subscriptions on your store.
Open Conscription > Contracts and confirm the new contract appears with the expected cadence, customer, and product lines.
If the contract is missing, check the product assignment, selling plan selection, and store subscription eligibility before inviting customers to buy.

Programs

Create a subscription program

A program is the group of plans customers can choose from on a product page.

Where: Conscription > Programs
Outcome: A reusable set of subscription frequencies and discounts.

Go to Conscription > Programs and select Create program.
Name the program in merchant-facing language, for example Coffee subscription or Refill plan.
Add the billing frequencies you want to offer, such as every month or every 6 months.
Choose an optional discount. Percentage, fixed amount, and fixed price discounts are supported where Shopify accepts them.
Assign products or variants to the program, then save.
Check the program status. If Shopify reports a sync problem, use the repair centre before sending customers to checkout.

Products

Add subscription options from a product

Use Shopify's purchase options card when you want to create or edit plans directly from a product or variant.

Where: Shopify product or variant page
Outcome: A product or variant connected to a Conscription selling plan.

In Shopify admin, open the product or variant you want to sell as a subscription.
Find the purchase options card and choose the Conscription action.
Create a new subscription option or edit an existing Conscription option.
Save the option. Shopify controls the product or variant assignment; Conscription keeps the local program and selling plan records in sync.

Storefront

Show the subscribe option on product pages

The product page selector lets customers choose between one-time purchase and subscription frequencies.

Where: Online Store > Themes > Customize
Outcome: A storefront selector that writes the right selling plan to cart.

Open Online Store > Themes > Customize.
Open the product template used by the products in your subscription program.
Add the Conscription product subscription selector app block near the product form.
Save the theme and preview a product assigned to a subscription program.
Choose Buy once to confirm the selling plan is cleared, then choose a subscription frequency and add the product to cart.

Bundles

Create a fixed subscription bundle

Bundles group several products into one recurring subscription without relying on Shopify's native bundle product limits.

Where: Conscription > Bundles
Outcome: A grouped subscription bundle that renews together.

Go to Conscription > Bundles and select Create bundle.
Choose the products that should renew together and set the shared cadence.
Publish the bundle and add the bundle builder app block to the right storefront page.
Run a test cart add. Each component should be added as its own subscription line with the same private bundle identity.
After checkout, Conscription groups the matching contract lines so the bundle can be managed as one subscription.

Customers

Let customers manage subscriptions

Customers use secure portal links under your shop domain to view and change their subscriptions.

Where: Conscription > Settings and Contracts
Outcome: A secure portal link customers can use without a separate login.

Open Conscription > Settings and confirm the customer portal is enabled.
Use the portal link email action from a customer or contract when a customer needs access.
Customers can view subscriptions, cancel, skip the next order, pause, resume, change frequency, and change quantity where the contract supports it.
Portal links expire and can be revoked. Do not publish fixed portal links on your storefront.

Customers

Send a secure portal link to a customer

Use expiring portal links when a customer needs help with skip, pause, cancellation, or plan changes.

Where: Conscription > Contracts or customer support flow
Outcome: A customer lands in the right subscription portal without a separate password flow.

Open the customer or contract record you want to support.
Send a fresh portal link from Conscription instead of reusing an old email or sharing a fixed URL.
Confirm the customer is using the same email address that owns the subscription contract.
Ask the customer to open the most recent link directly from the email if an older link has expired.
If access still fails, review ownership and portal status before changing subscription data on the customer's behalf.

Renewals

Monitor renewals and failed payments

Renewals run in the background; the dashboard and contracts area show what needs attention.

Where: Conscription > Contracts and Worker health
Outcome: A clear view of renewals, failed payments, and retry actions.

Open Conscription > Contracts to see active, paused, cancelled, and failed subscriptions.
Use Worker health to confirm the renewal worker has run recently.
For a failed payment, open the contract and review the failure state before retrying.
Use manual retry only when the last failure is ready to retry. Conscription uses idempotency keys to avoid duplicate renewal orders.
If Shopify challenges a payment, send the customer through the supported payment recovery flow rather than collecting card details yourself.

Renewals

Handle payment recovery after a failed renewal

When a renewal fails, use the contract state and supported recovery actions instead of retrying blindly.

Where: Conscription > Contracts
Outcome: A clearer recovery path that avoids duplicate retries and unsupported card handling.

Open the affected contract and review the latest billing attempt status before taking action.
Check whether the failure is awaiting customer action, ready for manual retry, or still processing.
If the customer needs to update payment details, use the supported payment recovery or update-email flow from Shopify.
Retry only when the contract state shows the previous failed attempt is safe to retry.
After recovery, confirm the latest billing attempt and renewal order state before closing the support case.

Billing

Understand app billing and plan limits

Shopify bills the Conscription app fee separately from the product subscriptions your customers buy.

Where: Conscription > Settings > Billing
Outcome: Predictable app billing without interrupting customer subscriptions.

Open Conscription > Settings > Billing to review your current app plan.
Plan limits are based on monthly subscription revenue or active subscribers, whichever limit is reached first.
Conscription does not take a percentage of subscription orders. Customer payments still go through Shopify and your payment provider.
If your store exceeds a plan limit for two consecutive billing cycles, creation of new programs and bundles can be locked until you upgrade.
Existing customer subscriptions, renewals, and portal access continue even when you are over the plan limit.

Troubleshooting

Fix common setup issues

Most setup problems come from missing theme blocks, stale Shopify sync state, or missing permissions.

Where: Conscription dashboard and Repair centre
Outcome: A focused fix path before contacting support.

If a product does not show subscription options, confirm it is assigned to an active program and that the app block is on the product template.
If checkout does not create a subscription contract, confirm the line was added with a selling plan and the store is eligible for Shopify subscriptions.
If a program shows a sync warning, open the repair centre and run the recommended read or repair action.
If customers cannot access the portal, send a fresh portal link and confirm they are using the same customer email that owns the contract.
If payment recovery is unavailable, use the email recovery option. Some Shopify payment update URL flows depend on Shopify payment method support.

Account

Before you uninstall

Uninstalling removes Conscription's ability to manage app-owned subscription contracts.

Where: Shopify admin > Apps
Outcome: A safer uninstall or migration plan for active subscribers.

Export or record the subscription data you need before uninstalling.
Cancel, pause, or migrate active subscriptions before removing the app.
Tell customers if their recurring orders will stop or move to another system.
After uninstall, Conscription cleans local app data through Shopify webhooks and keeps only the minimum records needed for legal, security, and accounting purposes.

Common questions

Short answers before you contact support.

Yes. The product page selector keeps Buy once available and only adds a selling plan when the customer chooses a subscription frequency.

No. Shopify's native bundle products cannot be sold with selling plans. Conscription models subscription bundles as grouped subscription lines that renew together.

Conscription never collects raw card details. Payment recovery uses Shopify-supported customer payment update flows or an email recovery flow where available.

Changes to selling plans affect new purchases. Existing contracts need explicit contract updates before their cadence, price, or lines change.

Still stuck?

Send the shop, product, and contract details.

Include your myshopify.com domain, the product or contract you are working on, what you expected to happen, and what Shopify or Conscription showed instead.

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