This article is for Shopify merchants only.
Extend your referral program to subscription products by enabling coupon codes for products managed by Shopify subscription apps. This works with the An amount off coupon reward type — for both advocate rewards and friend offers — and you can apply it to one-time products, subscription products, or both.
To use this option, you need a third-party subscription app integrated with your store through Shopify's Subscription API. Any subscription app built on Shopify's Subscription API works with this feature. Some popular ones:
Shopify Subscriptions
Recharge Subscriptions
Seal Subscriptions
Skio Subscriptions
Bold Subscriptions
Loop Subscriptions
Awtomic Subscriptions
Appstle Subscriptions
Stay AI
Subi (formerly Subify)
Recurpay
Smartrr Subscriptions
PayWhirl Subscriptions
Note: Subscription products on Shopify use selling plans. That's why, after you enable this option, you choose whether the coupon applies to one-time purchases, subscription purchases, or both. In most cases there are no extra steps in ReferralCandy beyond enabling the option and choosing which purchases it applies to.
Enable coupon for subscription apps
Set up the coupon reward to discount purchases by advocates and their referred friends on subscription products, one-time purchases, or both:
From your Shopify admin, go to Campaigns > select your campaign. In the Set rewards section, click Advocate reward or Friend offer.
Select the An amount off coupon reward type. Learn more
In the Subscription apps section, turn on Enable coupon for subscription apps.
Choose which product type(s) the coupon applies to:
One-time purchases only
Subscription purchases only
One-time and subscription purchases (default)
Set the Recurring cycle limit (0-99) — the number of subscription billing cycles the discount applies to, counting from the first order (for example, 3 applies it to the first three orders). The default and recommended value is 1 (the discount applies to the first order only). Enter 0 to apply the discount to every billing cycle indefinitely.
Click Save.
Subscription apps FAQ
Getting an error: "Your subscription app has been disconnected from Shopify"?
Getting an error: "Your subscription app has been disconnected from Shopify"?
This means your ReferralCandy account has lost its connection to the subscription app integrated with your Shopify store.
Your referral program stays active, but coupon codes will work only on products not managed by the subscription app — whether they're subscription or one-time products.
If you removed the subscription app from your Shopify store on purpose, you can disregard the error, and turn off Enable coupon for subscription apps on the Rewards page.
To resume using coupon codes on products managed by a subscription app:
Make sure your third-party subscription app is connected to your Shopify store, following the app's own instructions.
Return to your ReferralCandy dashboard and follow the steps above to re-enable the setting.
Can advocates or friends apply a coupon to an existing subscription?
Can advocates or friends apply a coupon to an existing subscription?
It depends on your subscription app. Some apps (such as Skio and Recharge) let customers apply a discount code to an existing subscription. For other apps, check whether they support manually applying a code to an active subscription.
If you use Recharge, you'll need to complete the Recharge integration so reward codes work in the Recharge Customer Portal — see Integration: ReferralCandy with Recharge (Shopify Checkout Integration).
Is my subscription app supported?
Is my subscription app supported?
Any Shopify subscription app built on Shopify's Subscription API works with this feature. If you're not sure whether your app uses it, ask the app's support team — this often isn't stated on their website — and run a test purchase to confirm the coupon applies.