PayWhirl gives you flexible tools to manage subscriptions in Shopify, whether you need to make a small update for one customer or apply a larger change across many subscriptions.

For day-to-day support, PayWhirl provides tools to manage subscriptions one at a time when a customer reaches out with a specific request, like changing a product, updating a shipping address, adjusting quantity, pausing a subscription, or updating the billing schedule. For larger operational changes, like price updates, schedule changes, or shipping updates across many subscriptions, PayWhirl also includes bulk actions to help save time.

This guide focuses on how to manage individual subscriptions, but keep in mind for larger edits bulk actions may be the better option.

If you want a quick overview of upcoming and past subscription activity, start from the PayWhirl dashboard and scroll down to the Payment Calendar.

The Payment Calendar is a helpful starting point when you want to:

By default, the calendar shows both payments and fulfillment orders, with colors to help distinguish fulfilled and unfulfilled orders. You can use the toggle above the calendar to show only payments, only fulfillments, or both. Clicking on a color-coded box for a specific day will show more details about the charges and orders scheduled for that date.

To open the full subscriber list, go to the Subscriptions page in the PayWhirl app.

From there, you can:

Once you find the subscription you want to review, click the subscription number to open the subscription details page.

You can also reach the same subscription from Shopify by opening the customer record or related order and following the subscription link to PayWhirl.

The subscription details page is the main place to manage an individual subscription.

From this page, you can review:

This is usually the best place to start when a customer contacts you and asks for a specific change.

Click the Cancel button to cancel the subscription immediately and prevent it from billing again.

Use the Pause/Resume option near the top of the subscription details page to temporarily stop automatic billing.

If you resume the subscription before the next order date, it will keep the original billing cycle and continue as if it was never paused.

If you resume the subscription after the next order date, PayWhirl will bill the customer immediately and the billing cycle will shift to the new date. This can result in unexpected timing changes if the subscription has been paused for more than one billing cycle.

If a subscription was previously canceled due to nonpayment, you can reactivate it from the subscription details page.

Click Reactivate, then select the next billing date in the pop-up to restore the subscription.

If a customer needs a product-level change, use the pencil icon next to the subscription line item.

From there, you can:

This is useful when a customer wants a small account-specific change, such as switching a flavor, changing the number of items, or receiving a different product going forward.

To add another item, click Add in the line items section. Then click select to choose the item

After selecting the product, you can:

After saving, the item will appear on the subscription and can be edited again if needed.

If you change line items, keep in mind that PayWhirl does not automatically recalculate the recurring shipping amount.

To update shipping, click the pencil icon next to the shipping price and edit the recurring shipping fee. You can also set the shipping price to zero if you want to offer free shipping for that subscription.

Adjust the next scheduled action to adjust the date and time of the next billing. If there is no billing anchor set, this will adjust the billing cycle going forward.

To update the customer’s frequency or other recurring details, use the edit option next to the payment schedule.

From there, you can adjust:

This is helpful when a customer needs their recurring timing adjusted or when you need to make a one-off schedule change for a specific subscription.

Important - Changing the minimum or maximum fulfillments does not reset the customer’s processed installment count.

The installment count is based on the number of orders that have already been processed for that subscription. You can review the current installment count in the Overview section of the subscription details page.

If a customer wants their next order processed early, use the Charge Now option in the Payments section. This immediately bills the upcoming payment and generates the related Shopify order.

Keep in mind that billing an installment early also updates the customer’s next automatic billing date.

For example, if a subscription is set to bill monthly on February 1 and you charge it early, that February 1 installment will be processed right away. The next billing date will move to March 1. If you still want the subscription to bill again on February 1, you will need to manually adjust the payment schedule back afterward.

To change the shipping address for future orders, click Edit in the shipping address section and update the address as needed.

The updated address will apply to future orders created by that subscription.

Note: If the customer has multiple active subscriptions, editing the address on one subscription will not automatically update the others. In that case, you will need to update each active subscription separately.

Subscriptions with prepaid billing or anchor dates may have orders that are already paid but scheduled for fulfillment at a later date. PayWhirl gives you a couple of ways to manage these fulfillments, depending on what you need to do.

If you need to ship an order before its scheduled fulfillment date, you can fulfill the order directly in Shopify.

This is commonly used when:

To do this, open the order in Shopify and click the fulfill early option. Since the order has already been paid for, fulfilling it early will not impact the billing schedule.

If you need to move a scheduled fulfillment to a different date, this can be done from the subscription details page in PayWhirl.

This is commonly used for:

To reschedule, locate the scheduled order or upcoming payment in the subscription and update the next scheduled action or delivery timing as needed.

If you need to refund or cancel a specific order generated by a subscription, go to the Orders page in Shopify and locate the order you want to update.

You can also open the subscription in PayWhirl and use the Payments section on the subscription details page to open the related Shopify order.

Important - Refunding or canceling a subscription order in Shopify does not automatically cancel the subscription in PayWhirl.

If the customer also wants to stop future renewals, you will still need to cancel the subscription separately from the subscription details page in PayWhirl.

While individual edits are best for customer-specific requests, bulk actions are the better option when you need to apply the same change across many subscriptions.

Bulk actions are especially helpful for changes like:

From the Subscriptions page, you can filter the subscriptions you want to update, select them in bulk, and apply the action across the group.

For a full walkthrough, see: How to Perform Bulk Actions for Subscriptions on Shopify

If you install the PayWhirl customer portal in your theme, customers can manage their own subscriptions directly in Shopify. This can significantly improve customer support requests and reassure customers that they are in control of their subscription.

To do this, customers will need a Shopify customer account. If they do not already have one, you can send them an invite from the customer details page in Shopify.

This can help reduce support requests by allowing customers to manage common changes by themselves.

If you’re ever unsure about making a change or want a second set of eyes before updating subscriptions, our team is here to help.

Whether you’re handling a one-off customer request or planning a larger update across many subscriptions, feel free to reach out to PayWhirl support. We’re happy to help review your setup, walk through best practices, or make sure everything is configured the way you expect.

Sincerely,

The PayWhirl team