How to use multiple Automate flows at the same time
You can create and activate multiple Automate flows to manage different subscription scenarios. This allows you to organize your automations into smaller, easier-to-manage flows instead of maintaining a single complex flow.
This guide explains how to create, manage, and prioritize multiple active Automate flows.
- Shopify Checkout Integration
- Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration
Before you start
This article only applies to Automate flows.
How multiple Automate flows work
When a subscription charge is processed, Recharge evaluates all active Automate flows in priority order.
- Flows run from top to bottom
- The first flow in the list runs first
- Additional flows may run if their trigger conditions are also met
If a flow’s trigger conditions are met, that flow will run for the charge.
Best practices
- Use mutually exclusive trigger conditions to avoid unintended behavior
- Break large flows into smaller flows based on product, subscription program, customer segment, or geography
- Use separate flows for temporary campaigns so you can enable or disable them without changing your main flows
How flows interact
Independent flows
In most cases, flows should be mutually exclusive. This means that a subscription can meet the conditions of only one flow.
Example:
- Flow A: Subscription variant only equals Apples
- Flow B: Subscription variant only equals Bananas
A single subscription cannot meet both conditions simultaneously, so only one flow will run for that subscription.
Chained flows
In some cases, multiple flows can run for the same charge.
If the result of one flow makes a subscription eligible for another flow, both flows will run in sequence, based on their priorities.
How to set the flow priority
When you activate a new flow, you can choose its priority relative to your other active flows.
- Newly activated flows are placed at the top of the list by default
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You can reorder flows at any time from the Active tab using Reorder priority
Use priority to control which flows run first when multiple flows could apply.
Use cases
Use case |
Description |
|---|---|
| Starter kits | Create one flow for each starter kit instead of managing one large flow with many branches. |
| Subscription programs | Separate flows by subscription frequency, such as monthly, quarterly, or annual programs. |
| Geography | Create flows for different customer locations, such as one flow for US customers and another for international customers. |
| Temporary campaigns | Run limited-time automations without changing your core flow setup. |
| Customer segments | Organize flows by customer segment to support different subscription experiences. |
Considerations
Consideration |
Details |
|---|---|
| Rewards flows | Rewards charge processed flows run before Automate flows. |
| Existing flows | Your existing Automate flow continues to work as expected when you activate additional flows. |
