Recharge is the leading platform to launch and scale your subscription business on BigCommerce. This guide provides resources to get started, including the initial set-up of installing the app, connecting your payment processor, customizing the customer experience, and more.
- Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce
Before you start
The first step is to sign up with Recharge so we can integrate the app onto your BigCommerce store. Visit Recharge's BigCommerce landing page and click on the button labeled Start for free. A short form will pop up, and Recharge will reach out to help get you integrated onto the platform.
Add a subscription product
Once you access the Recharge app through your BigCommerce store, you’ll be met with our tailored Launch list to help you get started: 
The Launch list begins with adding a product in Recharge.
Subscriptions are the heart of Recharge, and subscription rules direct how your store’s unique offerings will work. Your subscription products require parameters to determine the length of the subscription, how frequently the product is delivered, reduced pricing, and more.
- Determine the type of subscription you will offer.
- Create your subscription rule by selecting your products, setting the subscription type, adding a price incentive, and more.
- Customize your rulesets further by setting a charge day or a cut-off date.
Once you have added a product to Recharge, continue with the next steps below.
Set up your payment processor
The Launch list will then take you through connecting a payment processor. All subscription payments are handled by third-party payment processors through the Recharge Checkout. Click Connect and choose Stripe or Braintree to connect your account.
You can also access your payment settings by clicking the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and choosing Payment (General).
If you do not have an account, you can sign-up with one of our integrated services to begin collecting payments:
Other payment options
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Need to offer Paypal? You can set up Paypal with Braintree while also using Stripe or Authorize.net.
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Enable Apple Pay with Stripe or Braintree and Google Pay with Stripe.
Configure your store's settings
Next up in the list is to configure your store’s shipping, taxes, legal settings, and notifications.
Shipping
Click Configure next to Shipping within the Launch list, or select the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and choose Shipping.
All shipping rates must be set up within Recharge. For more information and instructions, see Recharge Shipping Zones and Rates.
Taxes
Click Configure next to Taxes within the Launch list, or select the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and choose Taxes.
All taxes must be set up within Recharge. For more information and instructions, see Setting up taxes in Recharge.
Legal Settings
Click Configure next to Legal within the Launch list, or select the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and choose Legal settings.
In the Legal Settings section, you can update the subscription terms that are displayed in both your Recharge checkout and in the footer of the subscription activation email. Refer to Updating the legal settings to learn more.
Notifications
Click Configure next to Notifications within the Launch list, or click the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and choose Notifications.
Notification emails are the primary means of communication between your store and your customer base. These emails go to your customers when they order subscription products, modify future orders, or cancel subscriptions.
We highly recommend taking some time to configure these notifications to include your preferred content and the tone and style that matches your store.
Take a look at Notifications to learn more about enabling, disabling, and modifying notifications in your Recharge admin. You can also refer to The customer journey through BigCommerce for a holistic picture of your customer’s journey, including the notifications they will receive after purchasing a subscription.
Publish the Subscription Widget
Before you can preview your subscription experience, you’ll need to publish the Recharge Subscription Widget.
- Click the wrench icon in your Recharge admin and select Subscription widget.
- Under Subscription widget status, click Publish the subscription widget.
- In the pop up, click Save.
- Once it shows as Published, click the Launch list button to continue with your set up.
You can refer to Understanding the Recharge Subscription Widget for more information.
All modifications to the Subscription Widget must be made directly in the storefront code, take a look at Customizing the subscription widget from our Developer Documentation for more details. Please note that customizations to code are not covered in the Recharge design and integration policy
Preview your experience
Now that you have added a subscription product, connected a payment processor, configured your store settings, and published the Subscription Widget, you can preview your subscription experience. The Launch list will take you through the following steps.
Preview your product display
You can preview the subscription product(s) that you added earlier to see how they look on your storefront.
If you would like to make modifications to the Subscription Widget, this must be done directly in the storefront code, take a look at Customizing the subscription widget from our Developer Documentation for more details. Please note that customizations to code are not covered in the Recharge design and integration policy
Run a test order
We recommend running a test transaction to experience the full shopping flow. If you would like to make any changes to the checkout, click the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and select Checkout. See Customizing the Recharge Checkout to learn more.
Customize your customer portal
Now that you have completed a test order, you can preview where your customers will manage their subscriptions – within their Customer Portal.
If you would like to make any changes, click the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and select Customer portal, including any permissions in the Customer portal controls section.
You can access a customer’s portal via their Customer Account.
The video below also provides a thorough overview of the Novum Customer Portal:
Next steps
Following the steps above will help you get up and running on Recharge, but there’s a lot more you can customize. Here are some other steps we recommend to further familiarize yourself with the platform.
Track inventory
Inventory is set and managed in BigCommerce directly. You will need to determine how Recharge will interact with your store inventory settings. Take a look at Handling product inventory for more information.
Add additional staff accounts
Will you have multiple team members working out of Recharge? No problem, you can add additional staff accounts with individual logins.
- Click the wrench icon in the Recharge admin and select Accounts.
- Click Add account to send email invitations to your team members.
Offer discounts for your subscriptions
Discount codes (or coupon codes, as BigCommerce refers to them), are one of the many ways to offer value to your customers and to increase customer loyalty. With Recharge, you can offer discount codes for one-time purchases and recurring orders to provide incentives to customers. Visit Creating discount codes for more information.
Ready for launch
You’re good to go! If you have any questions or run into any speed bumps, please reach out to Recharge support and we’ll be happy to help out.
If you have a developer or want to work with a Recharge Partner to customize the BigCommerce Integration, see Getting started with BigCommerce in our Developer Documentation.
You can access the API Reference to view the Recharge API specification. You will need to generate an API token to use as a password to access the documentation.