Main issue: When creating a RecurringApplicationCharge (RAC) without capped_amount, the “terms” aren’t shown on the merchant acceptance page or in the confirmation email. The REST API allows creating such a charge but silently omits the terms, leading to confusion.
Observed behavior: Providing terms without capped_amount results in terms being “swallowed” (not displayed) and no error returned.
Clarification from Shopify: For usage-based billing, both capped_amount and terms are required. This is especially noted when creating a RAC with a price of $0.00 (usage component). If you’re charging a fixed monthly rate (no usage), capped_amount isn’t required and usage terms aren’t applicable.
Documentation status: Current REST docs are ambiguous (“You can use … to specify a capped amount”), while GraphQL docs explicitly require both fields for usage billing. Shopify acknowledged the ambiguity and plans to update the REST documentation.
Outcome and open items: Documentation update planned; no change to REST API validation was committed. Request remains that the API return an error instead of silently dropping terms.
Thanks for the reply. But the docs say
“You can use the RecurringApplicationCharge resource to specify a capped amount that applies to usage-based billing.”
There is no indication whatsoever that a capped amount is mandatory. So is it or is it not? Because I can create a usage charge without the capped amount. But the terms are not showed which less than ideal