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# Prepaid Subscriptions

Prepaid subscriptions let a customer pay **once** for several upcoming deliveries, instead of being charged before each one. They're ideal for "pay for 3 months up front and save" style offers, a yearly payment with monthly deliveries, and gift subscriptions. This guide explains how prepaid is set up, exactly how the price is calculated, and how prepaid behaves when you also renew on **specific dates**.

| To configure this, go to [**Supr Bundles & Subscriptions > Offers**](https://admin.shopify.com/apps/super-subscriptions/app/offers)** > [Your Offer] > [Your Subscription Option]** and click **Prepaid subscription** on the option.

### Table of contents

* [What prepaid changes (and what it doesn't)](#3-what-prepaid-changes-and-what-it-doesnt)
* [Setting up a prepaid option](#3-setting-up-a-prepaid-option)
* [One-off prepaid, with no auto-renew](#3-one-off-prepaid-with-no-auto-renew)
* [How the prepaid price is calculated](#3-how-the-prepaid-price-is-calculated)
* [Discounts on prepaid](#3-discounts-on-prepaid)
* [Several items in each delivery](#3-several-items-in-each-delivery)
* [How prepaid prices are shown](#3-how-prepaid-prices-are-shown)
* [The prepaid schedule on a contract](#3-the-prepaid-schedule-on-a-contract)
* [Combining prepaid with specific renewal dates](#3-combining-prepaid-with-specific-renewal-dates)
* [Notes and limitations](#3-notes-and-limitations)
* [Common questions](#3-common-questions)
* [Related guides](#3-related-guides)

### What prepaid changes (and what it doesn't)

Prepaid changes **how often the customer is billed**, not how often they receive a delivery.

* The **delivery schedule stays the same** (e.g., a delivery every month).
* The **billing schedule is less frequent**: the customer pays once for a set number of deliveries, then pays again when that batch runs out.

So a "monthly delivery, prepaid 3" subscription still ships every month, but the customer is charged once every three months.

### Setting up a prepaid option

1. Open the subscription option and set **Repeat order every** and **Order intervals** to the **delivery** cadence (e.g., every **1** **Month**).
2. Under the option's main fields, each of its other settings is a small chip that names it and, once it is on, shows **On** or its value. Click **Prepaid subscription**: the option's **Additional settings** open with it expanded. Turn it on.
3. Set **Orders covered with each payment**, how many deliveries one payment covers (minimum **2**).

That's it: the billing interval is calculated for you as the delivery cadence multiplied by the number of orders per payment.

**Common setups**

| Goal | Repeat order every | Orders covered with each payment |
|---|---|---|
| Pay yearly, deliver monthly | 1 Month | 12 |
| Pay yearly, deliver every 3 months | 3 Months | 4 |
| Pay yearly, deliver every 6 months | 6 Months | 2 |
| Pay every 3 months, deliver monthly | 1 Month | 3 |

|| Always set **Repeat order every** to how often you **ship**, never to how often you bill. For a yearly payment with monthly deliveries, do not set the option to repeat every 1 Year: set every 1 Month with 12 orders covered.

### One-off prepaid, with no auto-renew

By default a prepaid subscription renews: when the paid batch of deliveries runs out, the customer is charged again for the next batch. A **one-off** prepaid does not. The customer pays once, receives every delivery in the batch, and the subscription then ends on its own with nothing further to cancel. This is what you want for gift subscriptions, seasonal boxes, and fixed-length courses or programmes.

To set one up, open the subscription option, click **Prepaid subscription** and turn it on, set **Orders covered with each payment**, and tick **One-off (single prepaid, no auto-renew)**.

When the last delivery is done, the subscription shows as **Completed** and is never charged again.

### How the prepaid price is calculated

The amount charged at each payment is simply the price of one delivery multiplied by the number of deliveries in the batch:

```
Prepaid payment = (price per delivery) × (orders covered with each payment)
```

Shipping works the same way: each delivery in the batch is shipped, and the shipping for all of those deliveries is collected in the single upfront payment.

**Worked example**

* Product price: **$20**
* Delivery cadence: every **1 month**
* Orders covered with each payment: **3**

The customer is charged **$60** (3 × $20) and receives a delivery every month. After the third delivery, they're charged **$60** again for the next three months, and so on. If the option is set to **one-off**, the subscription simply finishes after the third delivery and no second payment is taken.

|| Everything in the price of one delivery is multiplied, including anything built into the variant's price (for example a gift wrap variant that costs $5 more). On a prepaid option covering 12 deliveries that $5 is charged 12 times. There is no setting to charge an extra once per payment. One workaround is to give the product a variant for each term (for example 6 months and 12 months), price each variant for the whole term in Shopify, and give each variant an offer with its own subscription option. Contact support if you would like help with it.

### Discounts on prepaid

Every discount type is worked out **per delivery**, then multiplied by the number of deliveries in the payment:

* **Percentage** scales the whole payment. **10% off** in the example above makes each payment **$54** (3 × $18).
* **Amount off** comes off each product for each delivery. **$2 off** makes each payment **$54** (3 × $18).
* **Fixed price** sets the price of each product for **one delivery**, not the whole payment. A fixed price of **$15** makes each payment **$45** (3 × $15).

Check the final amount in the offer's widget preview before launching, or place a [test order](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/creating-a-test-subscription-order-kvj18k/).

### Several items in each delivery

For a prepaid option that ships several units each time (for example 3 bottles every quarter, paid yearly):

* Click **Sell in fixed quantities** on the same option, turn it on and set the **Quantity**, or
* Use a **Bundle + Subscription** offer with **Quantity break** bundle options, or
* Sell a multi-pack as its own variant.

The payment is then (price of the items in one delivery) × (orders covered).

### How prepaid prices are shown

* **In the widget**: a renewing prepaid option shows the payment with its billing cadence, for example **$60.00 / 3 months**. A one-off shows the price on its own (**$60.00**), and the prepaid subtitle reads **billed as $60.00** rather than **billed as $60.00 / 3 months**.
* **Per delivery or per unit**: turn on **Subscription price details** under [**Design > Add-on settings**](https://admin.shopify.com/apps/super-subscriptions/app/widget) to show the price per delivery (**Per delivery price text (prepaid)**) and per unit under the product price. You can also add a line in the option's **Benefits**.
* **In the cart and at checkout**: Shopify shows the full amount of the prepaid payment, because that is what the customer pays today. This cannot be changed to a per delivery price.

### The prepaid schedule on a contract

Open any prepaid subscription in [**Subscriptions**](https://admin.shopify.com/apps/super-subscriptions/app/contracts) and you'll see a **Prepaid schedule** card listing the planned delivery dates in the paid batch. Each one is a shipment the customer has already paid for. Press **Reschedule** on any delivery that is still scheduled and pick a new date.

**Reschedule the deliveries after this one too** is ticked by default. The rest of the batch is then rebuilt from the date you picked, at the subscription's delivery frequency. On a monthly subscription, moving a delivery to **10 April** puts the ones after it on **10 May**, **10 June**, and so on, so the whole remaining schedule lands on dates you can predict.

Untick it to move that one delivery on its own. The calendar then greys out any date that would put two deliveries on the same day, because Shopify combines two deliveries that fall at the same time into a single shipment and marks the other one completed. The customer would receive one double shipment and one delivery fewer, so those dates are kept out of reach.

Each paid delivery is released for fulfilment on its date. See [When customers are charged vs when orders are fulfilled](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/when-customers-are-charged-vs-when-orders-are-fulfilled-5hao8i/).

### Combining prepaid with specific renewal dates

A prepaid option can also renew on a date you choose: open the subscription option, click **Renew on specific dates** and turn it on, and pick the date. The date applies to **both** the delivery dates and the re-billing date:

* **Deliveries** land on your chosen day at the delivery cadence (e.g., the **1st** of each month).
* **Re-billing** happens on that same day once the prepaid batch is used up.

**Example**: monthly delivery, prepaid 3, **Day of month** set to the **1st**:

* The customer's deliveries are scheduled for the 1st of each month (e.g., 1 Jan, 1 Feb, 1 Mar).
* The next payment is taken on **1 April**, covering 1 Apr, 1 May, and 1 Jun, and the cycle repeats.

How the *very first* batch lines up with your date is governed by the **First order** setting (**Fulfil immediately** or **Wait for the next date**) and the **cutoff window**, exactly as for pay-per-order subscriptions. For the full set of worked first-order examples, see [A Beginner's Guide to Subscription Offers](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/a-beginners-guide-to-subscription-offers-1ey00x7/#3-renew-on-specific-dates).

||| Renewing on specific dates never delays the first payment. The customer pays for the first prepaid batch in full at checkout, even when **First order** is set to **Wait for the next date**. That setting only holds back the first delivery.

### Notes and limitations

* **Orders covered with each payment** must be at least **2** (1 would just be a normal pay-per-order subscription).
* On an option that repeats every few months you can choose the **Day of month**, but not specific calendar months: the months follow when each customer joined. Options whose **Order intervals** is **Year** can set a specific **Month** and **Day**.
* Prepaid supports a **one-off** variant that expires after a single prepaid batch, perfect for gift subscriptions. See [One-off prepaid, with no auto-renew](#3-one-off-prepaid-with-no-auto-renew) and [Can I offer gift subscriptions](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/can-i-offer-gift-subscriptions-1xmgs3o/).
* You cannot add an extra free delivery to a prepaid batch. To send a free replacement or an extra month, create a draft order in **Shopify admin > Orders > Drafts** with a 100% discount.

### Common questions

**How do I set up one yearly payment with monthly deliveries?**
Set **Repeat order every** to **1 Month**, turn on **Prepaid subscription** and set **Orders covered with each payment** to **12**. The customer is billed once a year and receives a delivery every month.

**Why is the prepaid price 12 times the product price?**
A prepaid payment covers several deliveries, so it is the price of one delivery times the number of deliveries. Add a discount to the option to reward paying up front.

**Does a Fixed price discount set the price of the whole prepaid payment?**
No. A fixed price is the price of each product for one delivery. The payment is that price times the number of deliveries.

**Can I make a weekly prepaid with one delivery per payment?**
No, a prepaid option covers at least 2 deliveries. For one charge per delivery, use a normal pay-per-order option: the customer is charged automatically before each delivery.

**Why does the cart show the full prepaid amount instead of the per delivery price?**
The cart and checkout show what the customer pays today, which for prepaid is the whole batch. Show the per delivery price on the product page with **Subscription price details** under **Design > Add-on settings**.

**My one-off prepaid subscription shows Completed. Will the customer be charged again?**
No. A completed one-off prepaid never renews.

**Can I give a prepaid customer a free extra month?**
Not inside the subscription. Create a draft order in Shopify with a 100% discount and send the extra delivery that way.

### Related guides

* [A Beginner's Guide to Subscription Offers](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/a-beginners-guide-to-subscription-offers-1ey00x7/)
* [How subscription discounts work](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/how-subscription-discounts-work-1yk98pw/)
* [When customers are charged vs when orders are fulfilled](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/when-customers-are-charged-vs-when-orders-are-fulfilled-5hao8i/)
* [Changing the next billing or charge date](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/changing-the-next-billing-or-charge-date-10pn83h/)
* [Can I offer gift subscriptions](https://supr-bundles-and-subscriptions.crisp.help/en-us/article/can-i-offer-gift-subscriptions-1xmgs3o/)