How to set up a Starter pack to refill swap automated flow

Use the Starter pack to refill swap Automate template to offer customers an introductory starter pack. After the initial order, seamlessly transition customers’ subscriptions so they receive only product refills.

This guide explains how to use the Starter pack to refill swap template, ensuring a streamlined and convenient subscription flow.

How it works

Offer customers a Starter pack containing the essential products they need to get started with their subscription. The Starter pack to refill swap flow automatically swaps the customer’s subscription from the Starter pack to a different product so customers only receive refill products on future recurring orders.

The Starter pack to refill swap template includes a Conditional Branch node to help direct qualifying orders. However, Recharge recommends using trigger conditions to control which orders enter the flow.

Each branch added to the template is assigned a Subscription node, which specifies the action associated with the branch. For this automated flow, the action is to swap the starter product to the subscription product on recurring orders. Customers receive the recurring subscription product on every order until they cancel their subscription.

Example

A cleaning product company offers a Starter pack that includes cleaning detergent, and a reusable mixing container for convenient storage. They enable the Starter kit automated flow to ensure customers receive both the container and detergent with their initial order, followed by automatic deliveries of detergent refills for future orders.

Recharge designed the Starter pack to refill swap flow to set your customers up for success, providing them everything they need to get started while streamlining the process for ongoing orders.

Editing Automate flows

You can edit an Automate flow at any time. Once a flow has been activated at least once, saving changes creates a new version of the flow. This lets you update the flow without rebuilding it from scratch.

To learn how flow versions behave and how analytics are affected, see How to edit Automate flows using flow versioning.

Step 1 - Create your products in Shopify and add subscription plans

Create the starter kit product, plus the product customers will receive on all future orders in Shopify, and add subscription plans in Recharge so that customers can purchase the product:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin and add the Kit product. Make sure to set the kit’s product price to reflect the cost to purchase all included products. Create the individual products included in the kit if they don't already exist in Shopify. 
   • Tip: To prevent customer confusion, Recharge recommends keeping the kit product unpublished in Shopify until you’ve activated the automated flow.
2. After creating the product in Shopify, navigate to your Recharge merchant admin and select Products from the Products menu.
3. Locate the new kit product from the list of products, and add a subscription plan.
4. Add subscription plans to all individual products available as part of the starter kit if you haven't already.

You should now have your kit product, and the individual products, configured in both Shopify and Recharge.

When creating the initial kit product in Shopify, it’s important to provide customer details about their upcoming subscriptions. For example, you may want to dedicate space in the Product Description section to explaining how the individual subscriptions work, including the recurring price and frequency for each product.

Step 2 - Create the automated flow

Create the Starter pack to refill swap automated flow in your Recharge merchant portal:

1. From the merchant portal, click Products and select Automate.
2. Select Create from template under Starter pack to refill swaps, and click Get started!
3. Select Manage settings to add a title and a description.

You can now access the flow canvas and build the Starter pack to refill swap automated flow. This flow uses a standard template designed by Recharge. By default, you cannot change the Smart loop node.

Step 3 – Configure trigger conditions

Trigger conditions determine which orders can enter the flow. Recharge recommends configuring trigger conditions to ensure the flow runs only when the Starter pack product is present on the order.

To configure trigger conditions:

1. On the flow canvas, click the Trigger node.

2. Click Add to create a trigger condition.

3. Select Processed charge line item.

4. Choose the appropriate operator (for example, Equals or Contains).

5. Select the Starter pack product.

6. Click Apply, then Save.

Only orders that meet these conditions will enter the flow.

Step 4 - Configure the Conditional Branch node

After setting trigger conditions, use the Conditional Branch node to direct qualifying orders and configure how the swap should apply.

Create multiple branches within the template using the Conditional Branch node, and assign customers to specific branches based on the product they’re subscribed to. The default Starter pack to refill swap template has two branches, Branch 1 and Else:

• Branch 1: Uses the Line item condition to determine if the customer’s order contains a specific product. If customers subscribe to the specified product, they enter this branch, and Recharge applies the automated action.
• Else: If the customer’s order does not contain the specified product, they enter the Else branch, and Recharge does not apply the automated action.

You can use the default template and only configure Branch 1, or add additional branches if you offer multiple kits:

1. Select the Conditional Branch node on the flow canvas.
2. Click on the pencil icon next to Branch 1 to edit the branch.
3. Add a Branch name.
4. Select Processed charge line item from the object dropdown menu.
5. Select Variant from the attribute dropdown menu.
6. Select Equals, Doesn’t equal, or Only equals from the operator dropdown menu.
7. Click + Add product to select the product Recharge should look for when processing the order.
8. Search for the product, select it, and click Apply.
9. Click +Add branch and repeat the steps to add additional branches, or click Apply to save your configuration.

You should now have at least two branches configured on the template, one for customers who purchase the starter kit and one for customers who do not.

Duplicate a branch

If your branches use similar logic, you can duplicate an existing branch instead of creating a new one from scratch.

To duplicate a branch:

1. Open the Conditional Branch node.

2. Select the branch you want to copy.

3. Click Duplicate branch.

4. Update the condition values as needed.

5. Click Apply.

The duplicated branch appears directly below the original and includes all associated nodes on the canvas.

Step 5 - Add and configure the Subscription node

The Subscription node determines what happens after Recharge processes the kit order. Update the Subscription node to set the action for the flow:

1. Select the Subscription node on the flow canvas.
2. Choose the Swap action to swap the kit product to the refill product. This ensures that the customer no longer receives the Starter pack to refill swap on recurring orders, but the refills instead.
3. Click +Add product to select the new refill subscription product.
4. Set the subscription properties, such as the order frequency, product price, quantity, and product and variant title. You can also add one of the following options under Order date:
   • Frequency-based delay: Adds a delay to the next charge date based on the subscription’s set frequency (e.g., every 30 days, every 2 months).
     • Use this when you want the delay to maintain alignment with the customer’s subscription cadence. For example, if a customer is on a monthly subscription, a frequency-based delay of one period will schedule the next charge for one full subscription cycle after the triggering event.
   • Order-based delay: Schedules the next charge to occur a set number of days after the triggering order is placed.
     • Use this when you want to control the delay in absolute time (e.g., 10 days), regardless of the subscription’s billing frequency. This is useful when fulfillment time or product usage needs dictate the timing of the next charge.
   • Date-based delay: Sets the next charge to occur on a specific calendar date.
     • Use this when the next charge must happen on a fixed date, such as the 1st of the month or a seasonal deadline. It’s ideal for aligning charges with events, holidays, or custom billing schedules.
5. Click Apply to save your node setup.

After configuring the Subscription node, Recharge will now swap the Starter kit product to the subscription product on the customer's order when you activate the flow. If you have additional products in your kit that need unpacking, you must add additional subscription nodes to the template and use the Add action.

Optional - Select a plan

If the selected product variant has subscription plans, you can choose a subscription or quantity upsell plan instead of setting a custom order frequency. When you select a plan, the plan determines the price, and Recharge disables price overrides. If the selected plan is a quantity upsell plan, Recharge also disables the quantity input.

To select a plan:

1. In the Order frequency dropdown, select Choose a plan.
2. Select a plan from the dropdown.

Optional - Add additional Subscription nodes

If you have multiple branches or multiple products in your kit that need unpacking, you may need to add additional subscription nodes to the canvas.

Use the Canvas actions menu to add additional Subscription nodes:

1. Select Show to open the Canvas actions menu.
2. Click on the Subscription node and drag it onto the canvas.
3. Click the Subscription node to make changes.
4. Choose the Add action.
5. Click +Add product to select the new subscription product.
6. Set the subscription properties.
7. Click Apply to save your node setup.

Repeat these steps to add multiple Subscription nodes to the canvas.

Optional - Add additional actions to the canvas

Step 6 - Set your products to active in Shopify

Update your products in Shopify so that customers can purchase the kit, and receive individual subscription products on future orders:

1. Set the product status to Active.
2. Set the product to available on your online store.

Step 7 - Save and test the automated flow

Click Save in the top-right corner to save your flow.

You can test the automated flow before activating it to ensure it works as intended. See How to test Automate flows for detailed instructions.

Step 8 - Activate the flow

Select Activate in the top right corner to enable the flow.

Once you activate the flow, Recharge evaluates eligible charges against the flow’s trigger conditions and applies the flow when conditions are met.

Considerations

Consider the following when using Automate:

Resources

Getting started

• Getting started with Automate

Additional template set-up instructions

• How to set up a Kit unpacking automated flow
• How to set up an Ongoing sequence automated flow
• How to set up a Fixed sequence automated flow
• How to set up a Trial to subscription automated flow
• How to set up a Welcome offer automated flow
• How to set up a Scheduled quarterly shipments experience