Cut-off windows dictate how much time is in between the day a subscription with a specific charge day is processed and when the next recurring orders are scheduled. Checkout orders submitted before the cut-off day will have the next order process on the upcoming order date as expected. If a customer orders after the set cut-off day, their next order will skip the next upcoming order date.

This same logic is applied to recurring orders that may process off-cycle, due to situations such as the dunning/retry process, editing upcoming charge dates, manually processing a recurring order, or use of the Order Now button. 

This guide explains how cut-off windows work and walk through how to configure a cut-off window once a specific charge day has been set.

Before you start

• To enable a cut-off window, you must have subscription rules configured for your products. Refer to Creating subscription rules.
• The cut-off window settings work exclusively with the specific charge day setting. A specific day of the week or month must be set, and customers must be able to skip their next orders in the customer portal for this feature to work.
• The cut-off window is based on Eastern Time. Any order placed at or after midnight Eastern Time 00:00 ET (UTC -4) of the cut-off day will skip the next upcoming order.

How cut-off windows work

By default, when specifying a charge day in a subscription rule, Recharge will skip the next upcoming order day when setting the date of the second order. To read more about the skip feature, visit Charging on a specific day of the week or month.

There may be circumstances where an order that is placed should be considered part of that fulfillment cycle. Cut-off windows are useful to:

• Prevent customers from being charged for a current month or week's order if they've already been submitted for fulfillment.
• Minimize the time between the placement of the initial order and the first delivery. For example, if an order is placed in April before the cut-off day, then that order will be created for April'x box, instead of pre-paying for May's box.

The following table highlights an example of a monthly subscription with a charge day of the 15th and a cut-off day of the 20th:

Step 1 - Set a specific charge day

You can configure your products so that customers are charged on the same day of the week or month. This applies to customers checking out once the change is made, and does not impact existing subscriptions. 

1. In the merchant portal, click Products and select Products from the dropdown.
2. Search and Select the product(s) you would like to update. 
3. Click Create plans.
4. Click Create another plan.
5. In the Plan details section, specify your order schedule.
   
6. Enter the specific charge day. This is the day of the week or month that your customer is charged.
   

Step 2 - Set a cut-off day

1. After setting your specific charge day, select the Set a cut-off date checkbox.
2. Enter either the day of the month or select the day of the week you want your cut-off window to be on.
   
   
3. Select Done followed by Save plans. 

Limitations

• Cut-off windows are affected by Daylight Saving Time. You may need to reach out to the Recharge support team to adjust your store's charge processing time after Daylight Saving Time. 
• Cutoff settings do not apply to migrated subscriptions.