Updating SKUs for existing and future subscription orders

There may be instances where you need to update Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) on your storefront. This guide provides an overview of how SKUs work in Recharge and how you can update SKUs for future and existing subscriptions.

Before you start

The options for updating SKUs for existing subscription orders in Recharge will differ based on the Recharge platform you are using on Shopify.

Shopify Checkout Integration

• If you use the Shopify Checkout Integration, refer to Update SKUs for existing subscriptions - Shopify Checkout Integration.

Recharge Checkout on Shopify

• If you are using the Recharge Checkout on Shopify, the following options are available:
  
  • • Regenerate SKUs
    • Bulk update SKUs and apply SKU overrides
    • Update SKUs for product listings
    • Use Workflows to automatically update SKUs between two orders
• For merchants using the Recharge Checkout on Shopify, third-party fulfillment apps can malfunction if multiple products have the same SKU. You must remove the SKU from the hidden auto-renew products in Shopify.

BigCommerce Checkout Integration and Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce

• If you use the BigCommerce Checkout Integration or the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce, you must update SKUs in BigCommerce, then execute an optional SKU override in Recharge. 

Swap SKUs

You can use the swap option to switch to a different subscription product:

1. From your merchant portal, click Customers.
2. Search and select the customer.
3. On the customer details page, click the ellipsis menu on the product you wish to swap. 
4. Choose Swap from the menu.
5. Select the product and click Next.
6. Change the variant if required. Otherwise, click Swap product.

Refer to Adding or swapping a product or SKU for more information.

Update SKUs on your ecommerce platform

Shopify

1. In your Shopify Admin, click Products.
2. Search and select the product with the SKU you want to update.
3. On the product page:
   1. If the product has no variants, locate the Inventory section and add the new SKU in the SKU field.
   2. If the product has variants, locate the Variants section and add the new SKU(s) to the SKU field(s).
4. Click Save.

BigCommerce

1. In your BigCommerce admin, click Products.
2. Locate your product and select View.
3. Click Edit and select the Options tab.
4. On the options tab, click SKUs and edit the SKU as needed.

Update SKUs for product listings

You can update the SKU on Shopify and resync the product in the Recharge ruleset. This ensures the product in Recharge has the same SKU as the Shopify product, as listed on your storefront.

1. In the merchant portal, click Products.
2. Locate the product and click Actions and choose Sync.

Use Workflows to automatically override SKUs between two orders

You may want to change the SKU between the first and second orders or change the SKU after a certain number of orders. This can be accomplished using a workflow. Follow these steps to enable Workflows by Recharge:

1. Select Apps from the merchant portal and select Marketplace in the drop-down.
2. Locate Workflows by Recharge, and click Get.
3. Click Create your first workflow to build your desired workflow.

Refer to the following articles for more information on creating Workflows:

• Workflows by Recharge
• Workflows  FAQ
• Common use cases for Workflows

Bulk update SKUs for existing subscriptions

By default, Recharge uses the SKU on the product in Shopify. When an order is created, Recharge references the current SKU and populates the SKU in the order. If you update the product SKU on Shopify, your existing orders need to be regenerated.

• See instructions for the Shopify Checkout Integration
• See instructions for the Recharge Checkout on Shopify
• See instructions for BigCommerce

Shopify Checkout Integration

Once the SKU(s) are updated on Shopify, contact the Recharge support team with the subject line Regenerate SKU request for the Shopify Checkout Integration. In the email contents, provide an example customer where the SKU is expected to update and both the old and new SKU for confirmation.

Recharge Checkout on Shopify

Method 1 - Regenerate SKUs

Once the SKU(s) are updated on Shopify, contact the Recharge support team with the subject line Regenerate SKU request for the Recharge Checkout on Shopify. In the email contents, provide an example customer where the SKU is expected to update and both the old and new SKU for confirmation.

Method 2 - Bulk update SKUs and apply SKU overrides

If you use the Recharge Checkout on Shopify, you can use the bulk management tools to apply a SKU override on existing subscriptions, meaning that Recharge will reference this applied SKU and ignore the SKU set on the same product in Shopify. This method is recommended if you want your subscription products in Recharge to have a different SKU than your Shopify products.

Multi-select tool

The Multi-select tool can apply a SKU override for individual subscriptions on the Subscriptions page. To add an override, search and select the subscriptions to be updated on the Subscriptions page and use SKU and External Variant ID in the Edit properties menu on the Actions dropdown.

Review the Multi-select tool guide for detailed instructions.

Import tool

To apply a SKU override using the import tool, you will need to complete the with:

• subscription_id
• SKU
  • The SKU number you would like to apply
• sku_override
  • Set to TRUE to apply an override

1. Use the Export Builder to pull the Subscriptions - All or Subscriptions - Active export. 
2. Copy and paste the required fields from the Subscriptions export into the template file. All other columns in the template can be removed.
3. Once your CSV file is ready to import, follow steps 2 and 3 in the Bulk managing subscriptions guide to complete the update.

BigCommerce

After updating SKUs in BigCommerce, the SKUs will automatically sync with Recharge's product cache and update all existing subscriptions with that SKU. This process can take several minutes, depending on the number of customers and products. It is recommended to wait 15-30 minutes to verify that Recharge has updated SKUs.

This process will update the product cache and existing subscriptions but will not update exports. Exports are generated using the SKU of the subscription at the time of checkout. To update SKUs on Recharge exports, you must complete a SKU override. SKU overrides are optional and are cosmetic changes in Recharge that will not impact your BigCommerce product settings. 

Bulk update SKUs and apply SKU overrides for BigCommerce

If you use the BigCommerce Checkout Integration or the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce, you can use the bulk management tools to apply a SKU override on existing subscriptions. This method is recommended if you want updated SKUs to appear on Recharge exports or want to use a different SKU in Recharge than in BigCommerce. 

Multi-select tool

The Multi-select tool can apply a SKU override for individual subscriptions on the Subscriptions page. To add an override, search and select the subscriptions to be updated on the Subscriptions page and use SKU in the Edit properties menu on the Actions dropdown.

Review the Multi-select tool guide for detailed instructions.

Import tool

To apply a SKU override using the import tool, you will need to complete the bulk update template with the following columns:

• subscription_id
• SKU
  • The SKU number you would like to apply
• SKU override
  • Set to TRUE to apply an override

1. Use the Export Builder to pull the Subscriptions - All or Subscriptions - Active export. 
2. Copy and paste the required fields from the Subscriptions export into the template file. All other columns in the template can be removed.
3. Once your CSV file is ready to import, follow steps 2 and 3 in the Bulk managing subscriptions guide to complete the update.