How do I add a discount code to an existing subscription?

Open the subscription and use the Discount code card to apply one of your Shopify discount codes to that customer's upcoming renewals — useful when a customer forgot to enter the code at checkout.

Steps

1. Create the discount in Shopify under Discounts, or use one you already have. It has to be a discount code (not an automatic discount), and its Purchase type must include Subscription.
2. In the discount, under Recurring payments for subscriptions, choose Discount applies to all recurring payments if the customer should keep it for as long as they stay subscribed. Limit discount to the first payment or to a number of payments makes it stop after that many charges.
3. Open Subscriptions and select the customer's subscription.
4. In the Discount card, check what the customer already has — a code, an automatic discount from checkout, or nothing — then type the code and select Apply. Applying replaces what is listed there.
5. Check the Plan price per renewal line: it now shows the discounted amount that will be charged on the next renewal.

Frequently asked questions

Does this refund or change orders that were already charged?

No. The discount only affects charges that have not happened yet. Refund or credit past orders from Shopify admin as you normally would.

Can a subscription have more than one discount?

Not on the plan price. Applying a code replaces whatever discount the subscription already has there, including one the customer got at checkout — a code they typed, or an automatic discount that applied on its own. This is deliberate: two discounts on the same subscription apply one after the other, so 10% and then 25% would take 32.5% off, not 25%. The card lists what is there now, and warns you before you replace it. A free shipping discount is separate and is never touched.

The card shows an Automatic discount. Can I put it back after replacing it?

Not from this app. An automatic discount is applied by Shopify at checkout and copied onto the subscription; there is no way for the app to re-apply it afterwards. If you replace it and want the customer back on it, create a discount code with the same value and apply that instead. Because of this, the card warns you by name before you replace an automatic discount.

The app says the code doesn't apply to this subscription. Why?

The message names the reason. The most common one is that the discount is limited to specific products and the customer's meal plan product isn't one of them. Other reasons are a minimum purchase or quantity the subscription doesn't meet, a customer group the subscriber isn't in, a discount that has expired or hasn't started, or a discount whose purchase type is set to one-time purchases only. Fix the setting on the discount in Shopify, then apply the code again.

Does this use up the discount's usage limit?

No. Adding a code to a subscription copies the discount onto that subscription; the code's own usage count in Shopify does not go up, and limits like Limit to one use per customer do not block it.

Will the discount also come off paid add-ons?

It depends on the discount. A code that applies to all products also discounts the paid add-ons a customer picks for a week. A code limited to your meal plan products leaves add-ons at full price. Choose the one you mean when you create the discount.

Why doesn't the code show up in Shopify's discount code report?

Once the code is attached to a subscription, Shopify records it on the renewal orders as a discount on the order rather than as a code redemption, so those orders won't appear under sales by discount code. The subscription itself keeps showing the code name in the Discount code card.

The card says Finished. What happened?

The discount was set to run for a limited number of payments and it has used them up. It stays listed on the subscription for the record, but the next renewal is charged the normal plan price — the Plan price per renewal line shows what will actually be charged. To keep discounting the customer, apply a code that is set to apply to all recurring payments.

How do I take the discount away again?

Open the subscription and select Remove in the Discount code card. The next renewal goes back to the normal plan price.