If you install the PayWhirl customer portal into your theme and enable classic customer accounts in Shopify, your customers can easily manage their subscriptions when logged into your store. This creates a seamless experience, allowing customers to access everything under one account. Alternatively, if you’re using Shopify’s new customer accounts feature, we also offer a hosted version of the subscription portal.
This guide shows how to enable the subscription portal in your theme:
The following subscription editing features can be toggled on/off from the settings page in PayWhirl.
Customer Portal Features (as of Sept 2024)
Customers can add/remove/swap products from their subscriptions
Customers can change their billing frequency
Customers can add/remove discounts
Customers can cancel subscriptions
Customers can reactivate failed/canceled subscriptions
Customers can pause subscriptions
Customers can skip payments
Customers can make payments early
Customers can update their payment methods on file
Customers can update their shipping addresses
Customers can switch to local pickup or local delivery if enabled in your shop.
Customers can accept a discount to remain subscribed when attempting to cancel a subscription or can provide feedback about why they are canceling.
When logged in to your store, customers can add products to existing subscriptions directly from product pages.
For example, from the settings page in PayWhirl, you can disable customers' ability to cancel on their own so they must contact you before making changes, or their ability to add/remove discount codes on existing subscriptions.
When customers log into your website using their account credentials, they can click the subscription portal link to view their subscription details from the My Account page of your theme.
NOTE: The location of this link will vary depending on where you installed PayWhirl. If customers can't see the subscription link when logged in, please ensure you have completed the portal theme installation or contact our team. We'll make sure it's configured properly so customers can access their subscriptions in Shopify.
The main subscription view in the customer portal contains each customer's subscription details. Customers can view more information and manage a specific subscription by clicking Manage Subscription.
If enabled in the app settings, customers can edit their subscriptions, pause, cancel, and skip their next order from the subscription details page. They also can update their payment method and shipping address.
How customers edit their existing subscription product(s) on Shopify
Customers can add or remove products from their subscriptions if the functionality is enabled in PayWhirl's settings. There are three options when allowing customers to edit their subscriptions.
Disabled - If selected, customers cannot swap products on existing subscriptions from the customer portal. They will have to contact you to make changes.
Only to variants of the same product - If selected, customers can only change their subscription to variants of the same product(s) to which they are currently subscribed. It will not allow them to select variants of other products and will limit their choices to the variants of the same product(s) they have on their current subscription.
To any product/variant assigned to the current selling plan - If selected, customers will be able to add variants from ANY products that the selling plan is assigned to in Shopify. For example, If you have a selling plan assigned to multiple products, customers can switch to any other product variant with the same selling plan attached.
When customers click the EDIT button on a subscription, they will be taken to a view where they can add or remove additional products/variants based on the settings for swapping configured in the app.
Adding products to existing subscriptions from product page(s)
Customers can add products to their existing subscriptions if the option is enabled in PayWhirl's settings. To toggle this feature on, check the box labeled, "Allow adding products directly from the product page." This setting will add a button to the selling plan widget, allowing customers to add products directly to an existing subscription.
The button will only appear if they have an active subscription, matching at least one of the selling plans assigned to the selected product variant.
How customers edit their subscription billing schedule on Shopify
Also, if enabled in the app settings, customers can change their billing schedule from the edit page. Customers will be able to select from any of the selling plan frequencies that are configured in the related selling plan.
Additional notes on subscription purchases with Shopify Checkout
When customers go through the Shopify checkout with a subscription, they are required by Shopify to agree to the subscription terms. They will also see the frequency and an estimate of their recurring charges.
Shopify calculates the recurring total estimate and does not include tax, duties, or any applicable discounts. The checkbox is also a Shopify requirement and cannot be disabled.
Customers can enter any Shopify discount codes that apply to subscription products, which can be configured in Shopify. Discount codes applied at checkout will be in addition to any discounts you have configured in your PayWhirl selling plans.
Most of the subscription text on the checkout page can be customized from Shopify's language editor.
After checkout, you can display a link for customers to manage their subscriptions.
You can toggle the manage subscription link on/off from the PayWhirl settings page.
If you want customers to be able to log in and manage their own accounts, they will need to have a Shopify customer account. You can toggle this option in the Shopify Checkout settings to either optional or required to ensure customers can log in to your site and manage their subscriptions.
If you set accounts to required in Shopify, customers will have to register an account at checkout. This will ensure they can log into your website after purchases are made.
If you set accounts to optional in Shopify, customers can checkout as a guest. This means they might only have the necessary login credentials to access their subscriptions if they return and create an account at a later date.
If you allow customers to checkout as guests, we recommend sending out the account invite email from Shopify to ensure your subscribers can access their subscriptions if necessary.
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If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our support team. We're here to help!
Sincerely,
Team PayWhirl