Updating SKUs for existing and future subscription orders
There may be instances where you need to update Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) on your storefront.
This guide provides an overview of how SKUs work in Recharge and how you can update SKUs for future and existing subscriptions.
Before you start
The options for updating SKUs for existing subscription orders in Recharge differ based on the Recharge platform you use.
Shopify Checkout Integration
If you use the Shopify Checkout Integration, refer to the section Update SKUs for existing subscriptions - Shopify Checkout Integration.
Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration
For merchants on the Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration, how you handle updating SKUs will differ based on the subscriber's initial subscription date and whether they billed by Recharge or Shopify. See Customer management on the Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration platform for more information.
For subscribers who are billed through Shopify, SKU updates are managed within Shopify. Refer to Update SKUs for existing subscriptions - Shopify Checkout Integration.
For subscribers who are billed through Recharge, the following options are available:
BigCommerce Checkout Integration and Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce
If you use the BigCommerce Checkout Integration or the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce, you must update SKUs in BigCommerce, then execute an optional SKU override in Recharge.
Swap SKUs
You can use the swap option to switch to a different subscription product:
- Click Customers and select Customers from the dropdown. Search and select the customer.
- On the customer details page, click the ellipsis menu on the product you wish to swap.
- Choose Swap from the menu.
- Select the product and click Next.
- Change the variant if required. Otherwise, click Swap product.
Refer to Adding or swapping a product or SKU for more information.
Update SKUs on your ecommerce platform
Shopify
- In your Shopify Admin, click Products.
- Search and select the product with the SKU you want to update.
- On the product page:
- If the product has no variants, locate the Inventory section and add the new SKU in the SKU field.
- If the product has variants, locate the Variants section and add the new SKU(s) to the SKU field(s).
- Click Save.
BigCommerce
- In your BigCommerce admin, click Products.
- Locate your product and select View.
- Click Edit and select the Options tab.
- On the options tab, click SKUs and edit the SKU as needed.
Use Workflows to automatically override SKUs between two orders
You may want to change the SKU between the first and second orders or change the SKU after a certain number of orders. This can be accomplished using a workflow. Follow these steps to enable Workflows by Recharge:
- Select Tools & apps from the merchant portal and select App marketplace in the dropdown.
- Locate Workflows by Recharge, and click Get.
- Click Create your first workflow to build your desired workflow.
Refer to the following articles for more information on creating Workflows:
Bulk update SKUs for existing subscriptions
By default, Recharge uses the SKU on the product in Shopify. When an order is created, Recharge references the current SKU and populates the SKU in the order. If you update the product SKU on Shopify, your existing orders need to be regenerated.
- See instructions for the Shopify Checkout Integration
- See instructions for the Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration
- See instructions for BigCommerce
Shopify Checkout Integration
Once the SKU(s) are updated on Shopify, contact the Recharge support team with the subject line Regenerate SKU request for the Shopify Checkout Integration. In the email contents, provide an example customer where the SKU is expected to update and both the old and new SKU for confirmation.
Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration
Method 1 - Regenerate SKUs
Once the SKU(s) are updated on Shopify, contact the Recharge support team with the subject line Regenerate SKU request for the Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration. In the email contents, provide an example customer where the SKU is expected to update and both the old and new SKU for confirmation.
Method 2 - Bulk update SKUs and apply SKU overrides
If you use the Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration, you can use the bulk management tools to apply a SKU override on pre-existing subscriptions for customers who checked out on the Recharge Checkout, meaning that Recharge will reference this applied SKU and ignore the SKU set on the same product in Shopify. This method is recommended if you want your subscription products in Recharge to have a different SKU than your Shopify products.
Multi-select tool
The Multi-select tool can apply a SKU override for individual subscriptions on the Subscriptions page. To add an override, search and select the subscriptions to be updated on the Subscriptions page and use SKU and External Variant ID in the Edit properties menu on the Actions dropdown.
Review the Multi-select tool guide for detailed instructions.
Import tool
To apply a SKU override using the import tool, you will need to complete the with:
subscription_id
-
SKU
- The SKU number you would like to apply
-
sku_override
- Set to TRUE to apply an override
Data required to update SKUs
Column heading |
subscription_id | sku | sku_override |
Required/Optional |
Required |
Required |
Required |
Description |
Subscription ID | SKU |
Options: True or False. If set to "True", it will override the SKU that's on the ecommerce platform |
Example |
12345 | 98765 |
True |
- Use the Export Builder to pull the Subscriptions - All or Subscriptions - Active export.
- Copy and paste the required fields from the Subscriptions export into the template file. All other columns in the template can be removed.
- Once your CSV file is ready to import, follow steps 2 and 3 in the Bulk managing subscriptions guide to complete the update.
BigCommerce
After updating SKUs in BigCommerce, the SKUs will automatically sync with Recharge's product cache and update all existing subscriptions with that SKU. This process can take several minutes, depending on the number of customers and products. It is recommended to wait 15-30 minutes to verify that Recharge has updated SKUs.
This process will update the product cache and existing subscriptions but will not update exports. Exports are generated using the SKU of the subscription at the time of checkout. To update SKUs on Recharge exports, you must complete a SKU override. SKU overrides are optional and are cosmetic changes in Recharge that will not impact your BigCommerce product settings.
Bulk update SKUs and apply SKU overrides for BigCommerce
If you use the BigCommerce Checkout Integration or the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce, you can use the bulk management tools to apply a SKU override on existing subscriptions. This method is recommended if you want updated SKUs to appear on Recharge exports or want to use a different SKU in Recharge than in BigCommerce.
Multi-select tool
The Multi-select tool can apply a SKU override for individual subscriptions on the Subscriptions page. To add an override, search and select the subscriptions to be updated on the Subscriptions page and use SKU in the Edit properties menu on the Actions dropdown.
Review the Multi-select tool guide for detailed instructions.
Import tool
To apply a SKU override using the import tool, you will need to complete the bulk update template with the following columns:
subscription_id
-
SKU
- The SKU number you would like to apply
-
SKU override
- Set to TRUE to apply an override
Data required to update SKUs
Column heading |
subscription_id | sku | sku_override |
Required/Optional |
Required |
Required |
Required |
Description |
Subscription ID | SKU |
Options: True or False. If set to "True", it will override the SKU that's on the ecommerce platform |
Example |
12345 | 98765 |
True |
- Use the Export Builder to pull the Subscriptions - All or Subscriptions - Active export.
- Copy and paste the required fields from the Subscriptions export into the template file. All other columns in the template can be removed.
- Once your CSV file is ready to import, follow steps 2 and 3 in the Bulk managing subscriptions guide to complete the update.
SKU override
field.