Overview
Prepaid subscriptions let your customers pay in advance for multiple upcoming orders while still receiving their products on a regular schedule. For example, a customer can pay every three months upfront but get their product delivered monthly.
Why offer prepaid subscriptions?
Prepaid subscriptions help boost customer retention and encourage longer-term commitments. For example, while a monthly subscription may cost $10 per order, a three-month prepaid subscription might be $27, and a six-month prepaid plan could be $48.
Customers save money by prepaying for several orders at once, and your business benefits from increased retention and predictable revenue.
How do prepaid subscriptions appear on the product page?
You can set up multiple prepaid options with different frequencies for a single product.
There’s no need to change the product’s base price—Subi automatically calculates the correct prepaid prices and displays them to your customers.
Customers can compare prepaid pricing per order against a standard one-time purchase. For example, if a product is $10 and a three-month prepaid plan offers a 10% discount, customers see the per-order price as $8.
Customers will also see the total prepaid price in the product’s price section.
How to create a prepaid subscription plan in Subi
Follow these steps to set up a prepaid subscription:
Go to the Subscription Plans tab.
Create a new subscription plan or select an existing one.
Click Add/Edit Selling Plan.
Set the order frequency (e.g., every 1 month).
Enable Prepaid.
In the Prepaid section, enter the number of orders to be billed upfront.
For example, setting “Bill every 3 orders” means customers pay for their next 3 deliveries in advance.Click Done, then Save your changes.
Example:
If you set the Order Frequency to every 1 month and the Prepaid option to bill every 3 deliveries, your customer will pay for three monthly deliveries up front. Every three months, they’ll be charged for the next set of three orders, which are delivered monthly.
Note: Editing a subscription plan does not change existing subscription contracts. Prepaid settings only apply to new subscriptions created after the update.
How do I modify prepaid settings for an existing subscription contract?
You can enable or disable prepaid billing for an existing subscription contract directly from your Subi panel:
Go to the Contracts tab in your Subi panel.
Find and select the subscription contract you want to change.
Click Edit.
In the opened modal, check or uncheck the Prepaid option:
To enable prepaid, check the Prepaid box, then select the number of deliveries you want billed as prepaid from the dropdown below.
To disable prepaid, simply uncheck the Prepaid box.
Click Save to apply your changes.
How do I manage prepaid subscription orders?
Prepaid subscription orders contain multiple fulfillments, scheduled according to the delivery frequency set in your selling plan.
For example, if you set Order Frequency to every 2 weeks and Prepaid to bill every 2 deliveries, your customer will pay every 4 weeks for two upcoming deliveries. Subi will generate an order containing two fulfillment sections.
Prepaid Order Management Example
Subscription Contract Example:
When a customer subscribes to a prepaid plan, the contract will show all the upcoming scheduled fulfillments.
Shopify Orders – First Prepaid Order:
The first fulfillment will appear as "Unfulfilled" in Shopify Orders, and future fulfillments are scheduled. The fulfillment status is also shown as "Unfulfilled."
Order Fulfillment Status Progression:
After you fulfill the first delivery, the order status will change to "Scheduled." When the next delivery is due (e.g., two weeks later), the next fulfillment becomes "Unfulfilled" and is ready to ship. This cycle continues until all fulfillments for that prepaid order are completed.
You can also fulfill upcoming deliveries early by clicking the Fulfill Early button for any scheduled fulfillment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can I offer multiple prepaid options for a single product?
A: Yes, you can create several prepaid frequencies and discounts for each product, giving customers more choices.
Q: Will changes to a prepaid plan affect current subscribers?
A: No. Changes only apply to new subscriptions created after you update the plan.
Q: How are fulfillments managed for prepaid orders?
A: Each prepaid order contains scheduled fulfillments that automatically update based on your delivery frequency and when you mark each one as fulfilled.
Need Help?
Feel free to contact our support team. We're here for you anytime:
Live Chat: Message us from within the Subi app or your Shopify Admin.
Email: Reach us at [email protected].