A selling plan group is the starting point for selling subscriptions on Shopify with PayWhirl. It controls the subscription purchase options customers can choose for a Shopify product, such as monthly delivery, weekly delivery, prepaid billing, a free trial, introductory pricing, specific billing dates, or more advanced schedules.
Each selling plan group contains one or more selling plans. Each selling plan controls the frequency, delivery interval, pricing adjustment, and customer-facing labels for that subscription option.
Use this guide when you need more control than the Quick Start flow provides, or when you want to edit an existing selling plan group.
Before You Start
Before you configure a selling plan group, make sure:
The PayWhirl Subscriptions app is installed in Shopify.
The products or variants you want to sell as subscriptions already exist in Shopify.
Your store uses a subscription-compatible payment gateway.
You have access to Shopify's theme editor, so you can add or verify that the PayWhirl Plan Selector app block is installed in the product template.
Keep in mind that changes to selling plans, product pricing, or shipping affect only new subscription purchases. Existing subscriptions keep the pricing and subscription terms from checkout unless you update those subscriptions separately.
Why a group instead of individual plans?
A selling plan group allows you to bundle related subscription purchase options for one or more products in your Shopify store. Once the selling plan group is attached to a product or variant, customers can choose those subscription options on the product page.
For example, one selling plan group might be called Subscribe and Save - Coffee and include three selling plans:
Monthly delivery
Delivery every 2 months
Delivery every 3 months
This lets customers choose the subscription frequency that works best for them while keeping related options organized in a single group.
Selling plan groups also let you control which subscription options appear to customers when they make changes to their subscription. This helps prevent customers from accidentally switching to products that were never intended for that subscription.
For example, you might create separate selling plan groups for:
Coffee subscriptions with a 15% discount
Snack box subscriptions with a 10% discount
VIP memberships with custom billing terms
Seasonal or limited-time subscription offers
Because products are attached to specific selling plan groups, customers managing their subscriptions in the customer portal can only switch to products that belong to the same group. This gives you more control over upgrade and swap behavior while keeping pricing, discounts, and fulfillment rules organized.
Create or Edit the Selling Plan Group
From Shopify admin, go to Apps.
Open PayWhirl Subscriptions.
Select Plans.
The Plans page shows your existing selling plan groups.
To create a selling plan group:
From the Plans page, click Create.
Enter a clear selling plan group name.
Optional: Click Show advanced settings if you need to separate the internal group name from the storefront Plan Selector title.
To edit an existing selling plan group, open it from the Plans list. The same fields are available when you edit a group.
The selling plan group name helps you identify the group in PayWhirl. Advanced settings let you adjust customer-facing display text separately, which is useful when your internal naming should be more detailed than the title customers see near the purchase buttons.
For example, the internal name might be Subscribe and Save - Coffee, while the Plan Selector title shown on the product page might be Deliver every. For non-physical products, memberships, or services, you may want to use a different title such as Bills every.
Add a Selling Plan to the group
A selling plan is the individual purchase option within the selling plan group. For example, one selling plan might be Subscribe and Save - delivered every month, while another might be Subscribe and Save - delivered every 3 months.
PayWhirl supports several selling plan types:
Ongoing subscription: A recurring subscription with common frequency and discount settings. This is often used for subscribe-and-save offers.
Free trial or introductory pricing: A plan that starts with a free or discounted first cycle, then changes to the regular recurring price later.
Prepaid: A subscription where the customer pays upfront for multiple deliveries. Prepaid plans can be configured to renew automatically.
Specific dates: A subscription that uses selected billing dates, billing days, or other fixed calendar-based schedules.
Custom/Advanced: A flexible option for billing anchors, cutoffs, minimum or maximum payments, prepaid deliveries, and other advanced rules.
For most basic subscribe-and-save setups, start with an ongoing subscription.
Configure a basic ongoing subscription
To configure a basic ongoing selling plan:
Choose the selling plan type.
Enter the Full Name.
Enter the Subscription Selection Plan Label.
Choose the Deliver every frequency.
Choose the payment discount or custom price setting.
Enter the adjustment value.
Optional: Add a description.
The plan options
Subscription plan name
This is the name of the selling plan that can appear in the cart, during checkout, and sometimes on product pages, depending on your theme. It is usually helpful to include the billing frequency, such as Monthly subscription or Delivery every 3 months.
Subscription Selection Plan Label
This is the label customers see on the product page when choosing a subscription option in the PayWhirl Plan Selector. Keep it short and customer-friendly. If there is a discount, include it here so the value is clear.
Examples:
Monthly - Save 15%
Every 2 months - Save 10%
3-month prepaid
Deliver every
This controls how often the selling plan bills customers and how often Shopify subscription orders are generated. For example, a plan set to deliver every 1 month creates a monthly subscription schedule. A plan set to deliver every 2 months creates an every-other-month schedule.
All subscription payments create orders in Shopify, even when the subscription is for a non-physical product such as a membership, rental, or digital service.
Description
Use the description field when the customer needs extra context about the subscription option, such as what is included, when the subscription renews, or what happens after an introductory offer and more.
Decide on Pricing
The payment discount or custom price setting controls how the selling plan price is calculated from the Shopify product or variant price.
Common options include:
None: Keeps the product or variant price the same for the subscription option.
Fixed amount discount: Discounts the product by a fixed amount.
Percentage discount: Discounts the product by a percentage.
Manual price: Sets a specific price for the selling plan.
For a typical subscribe-and-save offer, merchants often use a fixed amount or percentage discount to encourage recurring purchases. For example, you might offer monthly subscribers 10% or 15% off the standard product price.
These are just example numbers and can vary grately depending on the type of subscription you are using. We recommend using a price and discount structure that matches your product margins, fulfillment costs, and subscription strategy.
Add More Selling Plans
Add more selling plans when customers should be able to choose between multiple subscription options, such as monthly, every 2 months, and every 3 months.
To add another option:
Click Insert selling plan between existing plans, or click Add selling plan at the bottom of the selling plan group.
Configure the new plan's name, label, frequency, and pricing.
Save the selling plan group.
Keep labels short and easy to compare. For example:
1 month
2 months
3 months
Attach Products
After you create the selling plan group, attach it to the products or variants that should offer subscriptions.
To attach products from PayWhirl:
Open the selling plan group.
Click Add products.
Use the Collection dropdown or Filter products field to find products.
Click Add for individual products, or use bulk actions to update several products at once.
You can also manage subscription purchase options from Shopify product and variant pages. This is helpful when you want to attach a selling plan group to a single product or make only certain variants available as subscriptions.
Note: If only some variants should offer subscriptions, attach the selling plan group directly to those variants. Do not attach the subscription option to the full product and then try to remove it from individual variants.
For more details, see How to attach a subscription to a Shopify Product.
Show the Plan on the Product Page
The selling plan group must be attached to a product, and the PayWhirl Plan Selector app block must be present in your theme before customers can choose the subscription option on the storefront.
To add or verify the Plan Selector:
In Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes.
Click Customize for the theme you want to edit.
Open the product template where subscriptions should appear.
Add or select the PayWhirl Plan Selector app block.
Place it near the product purchase options, usually close to the quantity selector, buy buttons, or add-to-cart button.
Save the theme changes.
The exact placement and styling can vary by theme. If the Plan Selector does not appear, review the product attachment, variant attachment, app block placement, and theme installation settings. Still having issues? Contact our support, and our theme experts can take a look
For theme setup, see Shopify theme installation and troubleshooting guide.
For style and display settings, see How to customize the PayWhirl subscription plan selector in Shopify.
Test the Selling Plan
Before promoting subscriptions to customers, we always recommend testing the checkout.
Use the test order to confirm:
The subscription option appears on the product page.
The correct selling plan labels and discount appear.
The correct product or variants offer subscriptions.
Shopify checkout shows subscription terms and recurring billing details.
The order creates a subscription in PayWhirl.
The subscription schedule, price, and next billing details match the selling plan setup.
The customer can manage the subscription from the Customer Accounts Extension or the customer portal experience your store uses.
If a test order does not match your setup, review:
The selling plan group settings
Product and variant attachment
PayWhirl Plan Selector placement
Theme installation
Payment gateway eligibility
Customer account or portal settings
Related Guides
Need Help?
If you have questions about your selling plan setup or want help confirming everything before launch, reach out to PayWhirl support. We’re happy to help review the configuration and make sure your subscription options are ready for customers.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
Sincerely,
The PayWhirl Team