Complex pricing models

To tailor your app subscriptions to support more complex pricing models, use usage-based billing. For example, if your app has a default subscription and you want to enable merchants to purchase an optional, add-on subscription for a different product line, you can do the following:

• Modify each subscription to reflect the additional modules that are available.

• Track module billing in your application.

• Use usage charges to bill the merchant for the desired amount at the desired time.

  This guide shows how flexible usage-based billing is, and how app developers can leverage it to bill merchants for more complex pricing models. This is especially beneficial for larger app subscribers. The guide uses add-on modules as an example. You can also refer to an example mutation.

Anchor to RequirementsRequirements

• Your app can make authenticated requests to the GraphQL Admin API.

• Your app has the applications_billing access scope.

  Learn how to configure your access scopes using Shopify CLI.

Anchor to Step 1: Account for additional spend in a subscriptionStep 1: Account for additional spend in a subscription

Create a subscription for a usage-based pricing plan. You should set the capped amount to cover all the costs that you expect to charge merchants in the 30-day billing interval. For example, to charge the merchant $60 every 30 days for a base subscription, $0.10 per email as a usage-based charge, and an additional $30/day for an add-on module, your usage cap should be $30 and a reasonable average for email usage costs over a 30-day period.

Anchor to Step 2: Keep track of billing intervals and usageStep 2: Keep track of billing intervals and usage

In your app, keep track of the billing cycles and/or usage that's associated with any additional charges. For example, if you want to bill biweekly, then you can create a recurring job that creates a usage charge for the desired amount every two weeks.