In the world of subscriptions, stock levels are dynamic. A product that was available when a customer signed up six months ago might be out of stock by their next renewal date. How your system handles these "stock-outs" can be the difference between a happy customer and a fulfillment nightmare.
Recurpay offers automated inventory policies to help you manage these scenarios without manual intervention. By setting a global policy, you can control whether the system continues to charge customers or pauses orders based on your real-time Shopify inventory.
Step-by-Step: Configuring Your Inventory Rules
To set your preference for handling out-of-stock subscription items:
Log in to your Recurpay Dashboard.
Navigate to Settings > Subscription Policies.
Scroll down to the Product Inventory Policy section.
Choose one of the two primary logic paths (detailed below) and click Save.
Understanding Your Options
Recurpay provides two distinct strategies depending on your business model and fulfillment capabilities.
Option A: Continue Selling When Out of Stock
When this is enabled, subscriptions will continue to renew and charge the customer regardless of the inventory count in Shopify.
How it works: Recurpay generates the renewal order as usual. Shopify will then hold this order as "Unfulfilled" until you manually restock.
Best for: Stores with high-frequency restocking, pre-orders, or "made-to-order" business models where backorders are expected and accepted by customers.
Pro Tip: Use this during flash sales or for products that never truly "run out" (like digital goods or high-volume items).
Option B: Deny Selling When Out of Stock
This is a stricter control mechanism designed to protect your brand reputation and prevent overselling.
How it works: If a renewal is triggered but the product is at zero stock, Recurpay will automatically pause that specific renewal order.
The Smart Retry Advantage: You don't have to manually restart these orders. Once you restock the item in Shopify, Recurpay’s Smart Retry System detects the change and automatically attempts to place the order again.
Best for: Limited-edition items, physical goods with long lead times, or stores that want to ensure a "ship-on-payment" experience for every customer.