Customer accounts with the Recharge Checkout on Shopify

Customers are able to manage their subscriptions via the customer portal. Customers can either access their unique hashed links in the email notifications or log in to their account on the Shopify storefront and click the Manage Subscriptions link.

Recharge uses the customer email address to associate their customer portal page with their Shopify account. This guide provides an overview of how Shopify customer accounts work with Recharge and how your customers can access and manage their subscriptions.

How customer accounts work

For every customer that uses the Recharge Checkout, a customer portal is created in Recharge that allows customers to access and manage their subscriptions. The customer portal can be accessed using a unique, hashed link that is sent to the customer in their email notifications.

Customers can also access their customer portal by logging into their Shopify customer account. They can view their Shopify orders and an access link to manage their subscriptions. If a customer is having trouble logging in, they can prompt an email to be sent to their account email address with their unique, tokenized customer portal link. 

Customer account creation after checkout

When a new customer checks out with a subscription, Recharge creates a customer profile in Shopify with a record of the customer details and purchases.

After the checkout process is complete, you can opt to send an Account Activation notification from Shopify, which allows the customer to create a password and a registered account that is tied to the customer profile in Shopify. To enable this notification, click Settings in your merchant portal, select Notifications, and click the toggle for Send account invite after checkout to activate the notification. 

Once the customer registers a password, they can log in through the Shopify account page and access their Recharge customer portal by clicking the Manage Subscriptions link.

If an existing customer is logged into Shopify, Recharge will auto-populate their account information at the checkout. If an existing customer does not log in prior to checkout but uses the same email address on file in Shopify, the Recharge subscription purchase will automatically be associated with this account.

Login to Shopify to manage subscriptions

Customers can access your storefront login page and enter their Shopify account credentials. Once logged in, they will be able to see their Shopify orders and a Manage Subscriptions link, which will open their customer portal.

If your customer has a Shopify customer profile but has not yet registered their account, they can click on the link under the login form. This will prompt the customer to enter their email address, and they will receive an activation link and a temporary customer portal link via email.

You can edit what a customer can modify within their customer portal by clicking Settings and selecting Customer Portal in your merchant portal. See Customer portal controls for more information.

Update billing and email information

Customer portal 

Customers can update their billing information via their customer portal.

1. Access the Billing information tab in the customer portal. 
2. Click on the email and billing address section to update the email address and/or billing information. Click Update.
3. Click the Card on file section to update the card information. Click Update card. 

Merchant portal

You can edit a customer's billing information in the merchant portal. 

1. Click Customers and search and select the customer.
2. Select Billing information.
3. Click Update card to update the payment method, or click Edit under Billing information to update the customer's billing details, including their email address.

Update shipping information

Customer portal

Customers can update their shipping address via their customer portal. 

1. Access the Shipping addresses tab in the customer portal. 
2. Click on the shipping address you want to edit, add the updated information, and click Update shipping address. 

Merchant portal

You can update a customer's shipping address in your merchant portal. 

1. Click Customers and search and select the customer.
2. On the Subscription orders page, click See details next to the Address ID.
3. Click Edit under the Shipping Address, add the updated information, and click Save.

FAQ

How does Recharge determine if a customer has an account with Shopify?

Recharge uses the customer's email address at time of checkout to check your Shopify checkout records. If a customer profile exists in Shopify with that email but does not have an existing customer account, they will receive an account invite email. 

If an existing customer goes through the checkout and uses a different email address, they will also be invited to register an account in Shopify that will be listed under the different email address.

What is the difference between the account invite notification and the account access notification?

The account invite email is sent out to new Shopify customers following a checkout purchase. If a customer has an existing Shopify account with a registered password, they will not receive the account invite link in their email. 

The account access notification is sent to customers if they click Having issues managing your subscription? on the customer login page on your Shopify storefront. This will forward their custom customer portal link to their email with further instructions to register their Shopify account if they have yet to do so. 

Where can I edit the account invite notification?

In the event that a customer does not have an existing customer account in Shopify, Recharge will action Shopify to send out the account invitation email to your customer. This notification exists within Shopify and can be edited in your Notification settings in Shopify. 

Where can I edit the account access notification?

If you have the Get account access enabled in your Recharge notification settings, Recharge will send the notification. You can edit the Get account access template in the Notifications section in Recharge.

Can my customers log in during checkout?

No. However, customers can log in prior to checking out. 

If I access the customer's account in the Shopify Admin and modify the shipping address, will this update the address on upcoming subscriptions?

No, managing addresses within your Shopify Admin will not update your customer's subscription shipping address. Instead, the customer should open their customer portal and update the address associated with their subscription, or you can update this within the merchant portal in the merchant portal.

Troubleshooting

My customer cannot see their Manage Subscriptions link.

If a customer were to register with a different email and try to go to their manage subscriptions link on your store's page, they will receive an error notifying them that they currently do not have any subscriptions. Confirm with the customer which email address they are using and verify the email address on file in Recharge. If the customer is still experiencing issues, reach out to Recharge support.

I can't see the notifications in my settings - how can I edit the template?

If you are not seeing the Get account access notification or the Send account invite after checkout, reach out to Recharge support and a team member can enable these for you. 

My customer cannot find the account invite notification in their inbox.

Confirm if you have enabled the Send account invite after checkout in the Notifications section in Recharge. 

If enabled, check to see if the customer already has a registered Shopify account. This will be noted in their customer profile in Shopify.

If they have an existing account, the customer will not receive an account invite. The customer should try logging into their account on your Shopify storefront. In the event they are having trouble, they should use the Forgot password link to reset their password or use the Having issues managing your subscription? link. 

If the customer does not have a registered customer account, you can manually action the email to be resent by clicking Send account invite in their customer profile in Shopify.