How to Implement Dynamic Recurring Charges Based on Previous Month's Orders?

Partner Discussions
1

Hey Shopify Devs,

I’m working on a Shopify app where I need to implement dynamic recurring charges based on the merchant’s previous month’s order count.

Use Case:

  • The app should calculate the charge based on the total number of orders in the previous month.
  • Example Pricing Structure:
    • 100 orders → $60
    • 200 orders → $100
    • 500 orders → $250
  • At the start of each month, the app should automatically update the charge using Shopify Billing API.

My Approach:

  1. Fetch order count for the last month using Shopify Order API.
  2. Determine the charge based on the pricing tiers.
  3. Create/Update the recurring charge dynamically via Shopify Billing API.

Questions:

  • How can I update an existing recurring charge with a new amount each month?
  • Is it better to cancel the previous charge and create a new one, or is there a way to modify an existing charge?
  • Has anyone implemented a similar solution? Would love to hear your approach!

Thanks in advance! :rocket:

2

Hey @adarsh_anncode

For this use case, the best approach is to implement a combined subscription + usage charges. Create a $0 base subscription for the merchant, then each month, generate a usage charge based on their actual order count from the previous month. This way, you don’t need to cancel and recreate recurring charges.

This works well because you maintain a consistent subscription relationship with the merchant while having the flexibility to charge different amounts based on actual usage.

3

Their have an issue with this.

As per your docs. I implement and {mutation appSubscriptionCreate} which gives a confirmation url and for opening in same tab gives issue of

SecurityError

Error : Failed to set a named property 'href' on 'Location': The current window does not have permission to navigate the target frame to 'https://testifystored.myshopify.com/admin/charges/3861086209/28508782760/RecurringApplicationCharge/confirm_recurring_application_charge?signature=BAh7BzoHaWRsKwiogEGjBgA6EmF1dG9fYWN0aXZhdGVU--8433bc544f789c7367193ffe129b632a48be86

and i also try it with “Billing”

used -

await billing.createUsageRecord({
      description: "This is power plan",
      isTest: true,
      price: 100,
    });

saying

Error

Error : No active payment found

please help @KyleG-Shopify

4

Hey, can you tell me specifically where you’re seeing the error. Is that after the subscription is approved and redirected to your app, or is it when directing to the billing page to accept the charge? If you can share the specific steps I can take to replicate that would be useful.

Can you also make sure that you have disabled managed billing in your app settings? If that is enabled then the Billing API can’t be used.

5

Error occurred when directing to the billing page to accept the charge.

Yes I have disabled managed billing in app settings.

I use createUsageRecord from

But it doesn’t work for me. Saying have no plan subscribed.

6

Thanks for confirming that.

I see an identical error here and a solution posted. Can you try this and see if it resolves the error you are seeing?

7

Thanks for your help :folded_hands:. This solution is working for me.

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