Workflows by Recharge
Workflows by Recharge is a tool that helps you automate processes that occur after either the order is processed through the checkout or a specific recurring order. This guide explains the different functions of a workflow, as well as the process of creating and testing a workflow.
Before you start
- This article provides an overview of Recharge's legacy Workflows tool. For information on Recharge's new Workflows tools, see SKU swap and free gift with Workflows.
- Workflows should not be used with pre-paid subscriptions.
- Recharge Support can help troubleshoot your workflows and advise on set-up, but cannot build your workflows. For more information, view the Recharge design and integration policy.
- The following Workflow limitation exists for Recharge Checkout on Shopify merchants: If you are using the Get rates from Shopify shipping setting in Recharge, Shopify uses the full price of auto-renew products regardless of whether a Workflow is in place or not. This is a Shopify limitation.
How Workflows apply to subscription orders
Workflows can automate key processes for you, such as changing the price of a product to offer a loyalty discount or updating the cost for shipping after an initial order. While these processes can be done manually, they can be time-consuming. Workflows can be set once and will apply to all future orders once enabled, saving you time and keeping your customers happy.
Workflows are made up of four key functions:
- Trigger
- Conditions
- Search
- Actions
Each function occurs in sequential order to ensure that the workflow applies to the right subscription.
The trigger is the order that starts the workflow. For example, a Checkout order workflow is triggered by an order going through the checkout. This tells Recharge to check if the order matches any of the conditions set.
Conditions are used to determine which orders should have workflows applied to them. Recharge checks each order to see if there are matching conditions to a workflow. If nothing matches, the order goes through unchanged. If the order meets the conditions set, it qualifies to have the workflow applied.
The Search function is used to identify exactly what part of the order the actions of the workflow should apply to. You can get specific with the products through the search function. For example, if you offered a t-shirt in five different patterns, and only wanted the workflow to apply to a certain pattern, you could set the search function to find the exact variant ID for that specific product.
The Actions function determines the specific changes that are being made to the order.
Enable Workflows
- Open Recharge and select Apps.
- Find the Workflows by Recharge integration and select Request.
Once enabled, Workflows by Recharge will appear under the Installed Apps tab.
Create a workflow
Before creating your workflow, ensure the products you are using are added to and updated in Recharge.
Step 1 - Create the workflow
- Navigate to the Apps tab from your Recharge admin and select Workflows by Recharge listed under the Installed page.
- Select Create new workflow.
- Enter a name for the workflow and a brief description of your workflow.
- Select Next to save your workflow.
Step 2 - Set the trigger
The trigger determines when the workflow is applied to a customer's order. Select Edit to choose your trigger. By default, the Checkout order trigger is used.
Checkout order trigger
With a Checkout order trigger, the workflow triggers after a customer's first order processes through the checkout. Changes made through a Checkout Workflow automatically apply to all remaining recurring orders, unless you or the customer makes changes to the order. These orders will reflect the change immediately upon checkout.
Checkout triggers impact new customers after the Workflow is enabled. Existing customers are not impacted by Checkout triggers.
Recurring order trigger
With a Recurring order trigger, the workflow triggers after a specific recurring order is processed for your customer. The recurring order trigger can also be set to All if the workflow should apply to all recurring orders regardless of where they are in the recurring billing cycle. This trigger will reflect the action once the first recurring order processes.
For example, if you wanted to update the price of a subscription on the customer's fifth order, the trigger would need to be set to 3 in Recharge. This ensures that the workflow applies after the customer's fourth overall order (the third recurring order) is processed, and the workflow actions will appear on the customer's fifth order. Click the drop-down to select which recurring charge the workflow should trigger on.
Recurring order triggers impact all customers at that specific recurring order. If you select All, every customer will be updated by the Workflow.
Refer to the following table to set the recurring charge number:
Checkout and recurring order |
Customer's total orders |
| Checkout order | Customer's first order |
| First recurring order | Customer's second order |
| Second recurring order | Customer's third order |
| Third recurring charge | Customer's fourth order |
| Fourth recurring charge | Customer's fifth order |
| All recurring | All customer's recurring orders |
Step 3 - Set the conditions
Select Add conditions to determine what rules must be met to have a workflow applied.
The following options are available as both conditions and search values, depending on the Recharge checkout platform your store is using:
Available condition and search options
Option |
Definition |
Notes |
| Quantity | The number of items a customer has purchased. | |
| Price | The cost of the product. | |
| Product title |
The name of the product as listed in the ecommerce platform. Note: If the product title has been adjusted you will want to use the adjusted name.
|
|
| Product variant title | The name of the product variant title as listed in the ecommerce platform. |
|
| SKU | The product SKU set in the ecommerce platform. |
Not available on the Shopify Checkout Integration. If you use BigCommerce and create a workflow that alters the SKU, it will only take place in Recharge and will not be sent to BigCommerce. Note: A SKU can be attached to multiple variant ids. |
| Original product id | The product ID provided by the ecommerce platform. |
This should be the product ID for the product that the customer is subscribed to before the workflow action is triggered. Product ID can be found in the product URL in the ecommerce admin. |
| Original variant id | The product variant ID provided by the eCommerce platform. |
This should be the variant ID for the product that the customer is subscribed to before the workflow action is triggered. Shopify has a guide to finding variant IDs if you are unsure where to find these IDs. You can find BigCommerce product variants using the Catalog API variants endpoint. Note: A variant id is a unique value that can have one SKU attached to it. |
| Properties | Line item properties applied to the order. |
Not available on the Shopify Checkout Integration. |
You can use the and or or functions to ensure that specific conditions be met for a workflow to occur.
Conditions with and are evaluated based on the conditions tied together through each individual item or subscription. For example, if your condition is set to the Variant ID and Quantity the item must have that specific ID and that specific quantity for the Workflow to trigger.
Step 4 - Set the search and action values
Select Add searches/actions to configure the workflow action, as well as which product the actions should apply to.
The search values available are the same as the conditions available in Step 3.
The following actions can be performed through a workflow:
Available action options
Option |
Definition |
Notes |
| Charge delay | Delays the charge immediately after the charge the workflow is triggered on. | The charge delay action only works with a Checkout order trigger. |
| Variant ID (variant SKU swap) | The product variant ID provided by the ecommerce platform. | This should be the variant ID for the product that the customer is swapping to after the workflow is performed. Shopify has a guide to finding variant IDs if you are unsure where to find these IDs. You can find BigCommerce product variants using the Catalog API variants endpoint. |
| Product title |
The name of the product as listed in the ecommerce platform. |
For Shopify Checkout Integration merchants: When building a Product Swap workflow, this is REQUIRED to ensure the correct product title is displayed in the merchant and customer portals. If this action is not used, the product title displayed in the merchant and customer portals will not match the product title in Shopify. |
| Product variant title | The name of the product variant title as listed in the ecommerce platform. |
For Shopify Checkout Integration merchants: When building a Product Swap workflow, this is REQUIRED if your product has variants to ensure the correct product variant title is displayed in the merchant and customer portals. If this action is not used, the product variant title displayed in the merchant and customer portals will not match the product title in Shopify. |
| Quantity | The number of items a customer has purchased. | |
| Price | The cost of the product. | |
| Shipping code |
The shipping code used internally to reference the shipping rate. |
|
| Shipping price |
The cost charged to the customer for shipping. |
|
| Shipping title |
The name of the shipping rate shown to customers. |
|
| SKU (SKU attribute override) | The product SKU set in the ecommerce platform. |
Not available on the Shopify Checkout Integration. If you use BigCommerce and create a workflow that alters the SKU, it will only take place in Recharge and will not be sent to BigCommerce. |
Step 5 - Enable your workflow
Navigate to the Workflows Settings page by selecting Workflows by Recharge in the navigation menu.
Use the toggle in the Status column to enable your workflow.
Step 6 - Test your workflow
Perform a test transaction on your store to ensure that the workflow is working as expected.
Trigger a checkout order
If the trigger for your workflow is a checkout order, you need to go through the checkout to test the workflow.
Trigger a recurring order
If the trigger for your workflow is a recurring order, you need to manually process an existing queued order through a test customer's profile on Recharge.
- Find and select the test customer from the Customers tab in Recharge.
- Locate the next queued recurring charge from the Upcoming orders list.
- Click the ... on the order line and select Process order.
You may need to process multiple test transactions depending on what recurring order you used as the trigger.
If the workflow is working as expected, you can either keep it live for customers or disable the workflow until you are ready to have the workflow live.
Refer to Troubleshooting Workflows or the Workflows FAQ article if the workflow does not work as expected. You can also contact our support team for troubleshooting assistance.
Common use cases
For information on setting up a free trial, swapping products, or stacked workflows visit Common use cases for Workflows.
