Several actions are triggered in both Recharge and BigCommerce after a customer goes through the checkout with a subscription product. It is important to understand what happens when new customers check out for the first time, and which checkout settings store owners can customize to better fit their brand.

This guide provides information on how accounts are created, how to access the account, and managing customer accounts with the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce and the BigCommerce Checkout Integration.

Before you start

• Follow the instructions detailed in BigCommerce's guide for Enabling and Disabling Account Creation before you proceed with this article.
• Customer accounts must be enabled in BigCommerce so that customers can access their customer portals.
• The Subscription activation email sent by Recharge only works for BigCommerce customers if account creation is enabled in your BigCommerce store settings.
• The BigCommerce Checkout Integration requires you to automatically create accounts for customers after checkout. See Enabling and Disabling Account Creation for more information.

Customer accounts and portals

While BigCommerce storefront customer accounts and the Recharge customer portal are similar. they have slightly different purposes, as outlined below: 

What happens after checkout

Recharge Checkout for BigCommerce

After a customer goes through the Recharge Checkout with a subscription product in their cart, Recharge sends the Subscription activation notification to the email provided by the customer at checkout. This important notification contains payment details, shipping information, and a tokenized magic link for the customer to access their customer portal to modify their subscription.

BigCommerce Checkout Integration

After a customer goes through the BigCommerce Checkout with a subscription product in their cart, Recharge sends the Subscription activation notification to the email provided by the customer at checkout. This important notification contains payment details, shipping information, and a tokenized magic link for the customer to access their customer portal to modify their subscription.

Configure the subscription activation notification through the Notification settings in Recharge.

Customer account creation

Recharge Checkout on BigCommcerce

Once you have enabled customer accounts within BigCommerce, the way customer accounts are handled depends on whether or not the customer is a new subscriber. 

• If the customer is new, Recharge creates a customer account in BigCommerce with a record of the customer details and purchases. 
• If the customer already exists in BigCommerce, Recharge automatically associates the Recharge subscription purchase with the account.

BigCommerce Checkout Integration

Once you have configured your BigCommerce settings to create accounts for customers at checkout, new customers are automatically created after they complete their order on BigCommerce. Existing customers will have new orders automatically associated with their accounts.

How customers log into their BigCommerce account differs depending on which settings you have enabled:

• Customers are not required to have an account to check out, but automatically create one after ordering - Customers are sent an email inviting them to create a password so they can log in and track their orders.
• Customers must have or create an account to check out - Customers must create their account at checkout and can use these credentials to access their account. 

The Recharge customer account is created and linked to the BigCommerce customer account after the subscription has been activated. This allows customers to log in to their BigCommerce customer account and access their Recharge customer portal to manage their subscriptions.

Completing the BigCommerce customer account creation

Customers can access their customer portal through the Subscription activation notification. To access the storefront account, customers must reset their password by clicking Login on your storefront, then Forgot your password? 

We recommend updating your subscription activation emails in your Recharge notification settings to include additional instructions for your customers.

Individual account creation

You can assign an individual password to a customer once they've completed their checkout. This password can then be shared with the customer and you can force them to reset their assigned password for security purposes.

1. In the BigCommerce admin go to Customers, click View and search, and select the specific customer you'd like to edit.
2. Under Force Password Reset On Next Login, select Yes.
3. Assign a password for the customer in the Password and Confirm Password fields.
4. Click Save & Exit.

Customer portal creation

For every customer that purchases a subscription product, a customer portal is created in Recharge that allows customers to access and manage their subscriptions. The customer portal can be accessed using a tokenized magic link that is sent to the customer in their email notifications.

Customers can also access their customer portal by logging into their BigCommerce Customer Storefront account and clicking Manage Subscriptions.

Refer to Using the Novum customer portal theme or Using the Prima customer portal theme, for more information.

Existing customer accounts

If a customer already has an account in BigCommerce, Recharge will associate the order with the existing customer profile based on the e-mail address. If the customer uses a different e-mail address, Recharge will create a new customer profile. 

Using auto-fill

If a customer is logged into your BigCommerce storefront and enters the checkout with a subscription item or mixed cart, their email address and shipping address details will be auto-filled into the Recharge Checkout.

If a customer's BigCommerce account contains multiple shipping addresses, Recharge will select the first shipping address listed. If the customer wants to use a different email or shipping address, they can overwrite the pre-filled information before progressing to the payment and billing address details screen. 

Update billing and email information

Customer portal 

Customers can update their billing information via their customer portal.

1. Access the Billing information tab in the customer portal. 
2. Click on the email and billing address section to update the email address and/or billing information. Click Update.
3. Click the Card on file section to update the card information. Click Update card. 

Merchant portal

You can edit a customer's billing information in the merchant portal. 

1. Click Customers in the Recharge merchant portal and click Customers from the dropdown.
2. Search for and select the customer.
3. Select Manage payment methods.
4. Expand the payment method and click Edit under Billing information to update the customer's billing details for that payment method.

Update shipping information

Customer portal

Customers can update their shipping address via their customer portal. 

1. Access the Shipping addresses tab in the customer portal. 
2. Click on the shipping address you want to edit, add the updated information, and click Update shipping address. 

Merchant portal

You can update a customer's shipping address in your merchant portal. 

1. Select Customers in the Recharge merchant portal and click Customers from the dropdown.
2. Search for and select the customer.
3. Click the ... on the address line and select Edit address.
4. Add the updated information and click Update.

FAQ

Review the Customer accounts FAQ for more information.