Subscription boxes payment dates

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment
3

Hi there,

Seasonal subscription boxes are definitely possible in Shopify, but what you want charging only on fixed dates (March 1, June 1, Sept 1, Dec 1) isn’t something Shopify supports natively with just Flow or preorder features.

Here’s why you’re having trouble:

  • Shopify only allows one selling plan per product (so you can’t use preorder + subscription together).

  • Most subscription apps charge more for anchor dates (fixed billing dates), which is why the fees look high.

That said, you can achieve your seasonal box setup using:

1) Subscription Apps With Anchor Dates (even on lower plans)

Some apps allow you to set specific billing dates like the 1st of each season.
You set a fixed charge date, and all customers are billed on the same schedule.

This gives you:

  • Billing on March 1, June 1, September 1, December 1

  • Fulfillment right after

  • Customers able to cancel before billing

It’s the closest match to what you’re trying to do.

2) Alternative Setup: Manual Seasonal Billing (Free Method)

If you need a zero-cost solution, another workaround is:

  • Let customers purchase the upcoming seasonal box as a regular product

  • Use Shopify Flow + tags to remind you who purchased which season

  • Then manually send customers a payment link each season

It’s not automated like a subscription, but it avoids subscription app fees until your subscriber base grows.

3) Why Shopify Flow Alone Can’t Do This

Flow can automate actions after an order or subscription exists, but it cannot:

  • create a subscription

  • set billing dates

  • trigger seasonal charges

So Flow can help organize your workflow, but it cannot replace a subscription engine.

If you don’t understand any part of this, I would love to explain it more clearly.