Cut-off windows create an interval between the day a customer goes through the ReCharge checkout and when you bill your customers again for their recurring orders. Checkout orders submitted before the cut-off day will have the next order process on the upcoming order date. If a customer orders after the set cut-off day, then their next order will skip the next upcoming order date.
This is an advanced feature. For more information on rulesets and a video on the topic go to creating subscription rulesets.
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Before you start
- The cut-off window settings work exclusively with the specific charge day setting. You must have the skip function enabled and a specific day of month or week set for this feature to work.
- The cut-off window is based in Eastern Time. Any order placed at or after midnight Eastern Time 00:00 ET (UTC -4) of the cut-off day will skip the next upcoming order.
How cut-off windows work
By default, when specifying an order day in a ruleset, ReCharge will skip the next upcoming order day when setting the date of the second order. To read more about the skip feature, visit Charging on a specific day of the week or month.
However, there may be circumstances where an order placed at checkout should be considered part of that fulfillment cycle. Cut-off windows are useful to:
- Prevent customers from being charged for a current month or week's order if they've already been submitted for fulfillment.
- Minimize the time between the placement of the initial order and first delivery. For instance, if a customer makes the cut-off day for this month's box, they will receive the current month's box rather than pre-paying for next month's box.
The table below highlights an example of a monthly subscription with a charge day of the 15th and a cut-off day of the 20th:
| Specific Charge Day | Cut-Off Day | Sign-Up Date | Next Charge Date | |
| Scenario 1 | 15th | 20th | April 17th | May 15th |
| Scenario 2 | 15th | 20th | April 28th | June 15th |
| Scenario 3 | 15th | 20th | April 11th | May 15th |
Step 1 - Set a specific charge day
Go to the ReCharge Dashboard and select the Rulesets tab in Shopify or the Products tab in BigCommerce on the top navigation bar. On the following page, select the ruleset you would like to edit by clicking the pencil icon.
In the Order Schedule section, specify your Order schedule to be either months or weeks.
You will now see the option to specify on which day your customers will be charged. Select the Charge Day.
Step 2 - Set a cut-off day
After setting your specific charge day, select the Set a cut-off date checkbox.
Enter either the day of the month or select the day of the week you'd like your cutoff window to be on. Make sure you click Save at the bottom of the screen when finished.
Use the Ruleset Visualizer
Once configured, Shopify merchants can test the conditions by using our Ruleset Visualizer found on the right-hand sidebar of the Rulesets page. This tool will allow you to preview different scenarios based on order dates.
