A developer is concerned about billing when a merchant frequently changes subscription plans and hasn’t responded to outreach emails, despite actively using the app.
Key clarifications provided:
Upgrades: Immediate and prorated. Developers are paid for time on the old plan, then immediately earn at the higher rate for the remainder of the billing cycle.
Downgrades/Cancellations: Not prorated. Changes only take effect at the end of the current 30-day billing cycle. The higher-priced plan remains active, and developers receive full payment for the entire period.
Payment timing:
Developers are not paid when merchants approve charges. Payment occurs only after Shopify successfully bills the merchant at the end of their 30-day Shopify billing cycle. This means earnings can take anywhere from a few days to over a month to appear in the dashboard.
The issue was resolved with the developer understanding the normal payment delay for their October 4th charge.
Summarized with AI on October 24.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
I have a merchant who installed my app and has been frequently changing their subscription plan. I’ve reached out via email, but haven’t received any response. I can also confirm that the merchant is actively using the app.
For other app developers and partners — have you experienced a similar situation? I’m trying to understand how this affects my app’s billing and earnings. Specifically:
If the merchant cancels or switches subscriptions before the billing period ends, do I still receive earnings for the time they were subscribed?
How does Shopify handle partial billing or prorated charges in these cases?
I’m using the Billing API and have followed all the guidelines for managing subscription charges.
Any insight or clarification would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, you will always be paid for the service you provide, but Shopify handles upgrades and downgrades differently to ensure fairness.
When a merchant upgrades to a more expensive plan, the change is immediate and prorated. You are paid for the time spent on the old plan, and you immediately begin earning at the higher rate for the remainder of the billing cycle.
When a merchant downgrades or cancels, the change is not prorated and only takes effect at the end of their current 30-day billing cycle. Their higher-priced plan remains active, and you will receive the full payment for that entire 30-day period.
You will not lose any earnings from a customer downgrading mid-cycle.
Ok thank you for this clarification. I am still a bit unsure about the whole thing considering I am not seeing any earnings still from those charges. The charge happend on 4th of October, it says that usually it takes dashboard to updated around 24 to 48 hours?
Ah, this is a common point of confusion. The delay you are seeing is normal because you don’t get paid at the moment the merchant approves the charge. You only get paid after Shopify successfully bills the merchant and collects payment from them at the end of their 30-day Shopify billing cycle.
The charge from October 4th was simply added to the merchant’s upcoming invoice. If their bill is not due until later in the month, your earnings will not be processed until after that date. This means the total time from charge approval to you seeing the earnings can be anywhere from a few days to over a month.
