Chargebee + Shopify integration

What Chargebee is

Chargebee is a subscription billing platform: plans, renewals, upgrades, invoices and dunning. It is often chosen by businesses that bill outside a single store, or across several channels.

How we would approach Chargebee with Shopify

First we decide which system owns the subscription. Chargebee's Shopify integration has real limits: Chargebee takes the payment, not Shopify's checkout, and it is not on the Shopify App Store. So we compare it with Shopify-native subscription apps before anyone builds. If Chargebee stays, we map plans, renewals, cancellations and failed payments to Shopify orders and set up reconciliation.

What the work involves

• A decision on which system owns subscriptions and payments
• Mapping of Chargebee plans and add-ons to Shopify products by SKU
• Renewal, cancellation and failed-payment events mapped to Shopify orders
• Reconciliation so orders and invoices match

Ways to connect Chargebee and Shopify

• Existing app

  Chargebee's Shopify integration

  Set up inside Chargebee, not from the Shopify App Store. Subscriptions are bought through Chargebee's checkout and portal, and Chargebee creates the recurring orders in Shopify. Chargebee's docs say it can no longer onboard merchants to its previous integration, so confirm availability with Chargebee first.

• Existing app

  Shopify subscription apps

  Subscriptions sold through Shopify's own checkout using a subscription app. Usually simpler when the store is the only place you sell subscriptions.

• Custom build

  Custom sync via APIs

  Chargebee's API and Shopify's Admin API, joined by a service we build. Only worth it when billing genuinely has to live outside Shopify.

Where these projects go wrong

• Chargebee's checkout only adds one product per purchase, which clashes with stores that sell bundles.
• Customers are matched by email and then phone, and existing Shopify profiles aren't updated, so duplicates appear.
• Product pages need subscribe buttons and billing details added by hand; Chargebee doesn't change them.
• Chargebee's integration supports only sites on its US server.
• Refunds and deletions on one side don't always reach the other.

Questions

Is Chargebee on the Shopify App Store?

No. Chargebee's documentation says it isn't listed there; the integration is connected from inside Chargebee.

Can customers pay through Shopify checkout?

Not with Chargebee's integration. Its docs say Shopify's cart and checkout can't process payments for it; Chargebee's checkout and self-serve portal do.

Should we move to a Shopify subscription app instead?

If Shopify is your only sales channel, often yes. If you bill B2B accounts or other channels through Chargebee, keeping it may be right. We compare both against your renewals and fulfilment.

Before we scope the work

• Which data or customer journey needs to connect, and which system owns it?
• What access, plan features or API permissions are available?
• Does an existing connector cover the requirement, including failures and updates?
• Who will maintain the connection, and how will you know it is working?

Send your current setup and one real example of the flow you need. We'll tell you whether it can be done and what it would take.