> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.appstle.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automate memberships with Shopify Flow

> Automate membership workflows with Appstle's Shopify Flow triggers: tag customers, send emails, and update CRMs on lifecycle and billing events.

Appstle Memberships integrates natively with Shopify Flow, Shopify's built-in automation platform. You can automate membership operations — send emails, tag customers, update CRMs, trigger Slack alerts, and more — without writing any code.

Flow actions run within Shopify's authenticated context, so there is no need for API tokens or credentials. This makes Flow the most secure and straightforward way to automate membership operations.

## Getting started

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enable the Flow integration">
    In your Appstle Memberships admin, go to **Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow** and enable it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the Shopify Flow editor">
    Navigate to the [Shopify Flow editor](https://admin.shopify.com/store/YOUR_STORE/apps/flow) in your Shopify admin.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a workflow">
    Click **Create workflow**, then select an Appstle Memberships trigger to start. All membership triggers appear under the Appstle Memberships app in the trigger picker.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Shopify Flow is available on Shopify Basic plan and above. All Flow trigger events are logged in the membership's Activity Log with source `SYSTEM_EVENT`.
</Note>

## Membership lifecycle triggers

These triggers fire automatically when membership contracts change state. All lifecycle triggers include a full set of membership and customer properties.

| Trigger                  | Handle                     | Description                                                                             |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Membership Created       | `membership-created`       | A new membership contract is created. Includes the `order_id` of the originating order. |
| Membership Updated       | `membership-updated`       | Membership details are modified, such as address or custom attributes.                  |
| Membership Activated     | `membership-activated`     | A paused or new membership becomes active.                                              |
| Membership Paused        | `membership-paused`        | Membership is put on pause.                                                             |
| Membership Cancelled     | `membership-cancelled`     | Membership is cancelled.                                                                |
| Membership Expired       | `membership-expired`       | Membership expires, or perks are removed for cancelled/paused memberships.              |
| Membership Swap Product  | `membership-swap-product`  | The product or plan in a membership is changed.                                         |
| Next Order Date Changed  | `next-order-date-changed`  | The next renewal date is rescheduled.                                                   |
| Billing Interval Changed | `billing-interval-changed` | Billing frequency is updated, for example monthly to annual.                            |

## Billing triggers

| Trigger                    | Handle                       | Description                                                                |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Membership Billing Success | `membership-billing-success` | Renewal payment processed successfully. Includes the new order ID.         |
| Membership Billing Failure | `membership-billing-failure` | Renewal payment failed. Use this to trigger dunning emails or pause logic. |

<Warning>
  The `membership-billing-failure` trigger fires on every failed attempt — not just the first one. Use the `Billing Attempt Count` property to distinguish first failures from retries so you don't send duplicate emails to the same customer.
</Warning>

## Trigger properties

All triggers include the following properties:

### Membership properties

| Property                       | Type     | Description                                                                   |
| ------------------------------ | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Membership ID`                | Number   | Internal membership contract ID                                               |
| `Status`                       | String   | Current status: `ACTIVE`, `PAUSED`, `CANCELLED`, `EXPIRED`, `FAILED`          |
| `Next Billing Date`            | DateTime | ISO 8601 next renewal date                                                    |
| `Billing Interval`             | String   | Billing frequency unit: `DAY`, `WEEK`, `MONTH`, `YEAR`                        |
| `Billing Interval Count`       | Number   | Number of intervals between renewals (e.g., `1` for monthly, `12` for annual) |
| `Membership Selling Plan Name` | String   | Name of the membership plan (e.g., "Gold Member — Monthly")                   |
| `Membership Selling Plan ID`   | Number   | Shopify selling plan ID                                                       |
| `product_id`                   | Number   | Shopify product ID for the membership product                                 |
| `Variant ID`                   | Number   | Shopify product variant ID                                                    |
| `Original Order ID`            | Number   | Order ID that created the membership                                          |
| `Original Order Name`          | String   | Order name (e.g., "#1001")                                                    |
| `Total Successful Orders`      | Number   | Total number of successfully completed orders for this membership contract    |

### Customer properties

| Property                | Type   | Description                  |
| ----------------------- | ------ | ---------------------------- |
| `customer_id`           | Number | Shopify customer ID          |
| `Customer Email`        | String | Customer's email address     |
| `Customer Phone`        | String | Customer's phone number      |
| `Customer Display Name` | String | Customer's full display name |
| `Customer First Name`   | String | Customer's first name        |
| `Customer Last Name`    | String | Customer's last name         |

### Billing event properties

The **Membership Billing Success** and **Membership Billing Failure** triggers include these additional fields:

| Property                 | Type     | Description                                              |
| ------------------------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Billing Attempt Status` | String   | `SUCCESS` or `FAILURE`                                   |
| `Billing Attempt ID`     | Number   | Shopify billing attempt ID                               |
| `Billing Date`           | DateTime | Scheduled billing date (ISO 8601)                        |
| `Billing Attempt Time`   | DateTime | Actual attempt timestamp (ISO 8601)                      |
| `Billing Attempt Count`  | Number   | How many times billing has been attempted for this cycle |

The **Membership Billing Success** trigger also includes:

| Property               | Type   | Description                                        |
| ---------------------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `order_id`             | Number | Shopify order ID created by the successful renewal |
| `Recurring Order ID`   | Number | Same as `order_id`                                 |
| `Recurring Order Name` | String | Order name (e.g., "#1002")                         |

## Example workflows

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Send a welcome email on new membership">
    **Trigger:** Membership Created

    **Action:** Klaviyo / Omnisend / Shopify Email — send "Welcome to the membership" email

    Use `Customer Email` as the recipient and `Membership Selling Plan Name` to personalize the plan name in the email body.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Tag customers by membership tier">
    **Trigger:** Membership Updated

    **Condition:** `Membership Selling Plan Name` contains `"Gold"`

    **Action:** Shopify — Add customer tag `gold-member`

    This pattern lets you apply tier-specific tags automatically as members upgrade or switch plans.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Trigger a dunning flow on billing failure">
    **Trigger:** Membership Billing Failure

    **Condition:** `Billing Attempt Count` equals `1` (first failure only)

    **Action:** Klaviyo — Trigger "Update Payment Method" flow

    Pass `Customer Email` and `Membership ID` as variables to the email template.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Pause account access on cancellation">
    **Trigger:** Membership Cancelled

    **Action 1:** Shopify — Add customer tag `membership-cancelled`

    **Action 2:** Klaviyo — Send "We're sorry to see you go" email with a win-back offer
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Log renewals in your CRM">
    **Trigger:** Membership Billing Success

    **Action:** Salesforce / HubSpot (via Flow connector) — Log renewal event

    Use `order_id`, `Customer Email`, and `Membership Selling Plan Name` as the data payload.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Alert your team on membership expiry">
    **Trigger:** Membership Expired

    **Action:** Slack — Send message to `#membership-churn` channel

    Include `Customer Display Name`, `Customer Email`, and `Membership Selling Plan Name` in the message body.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Notes

* Imported membership contracts do not fire `membership-created`. Only contracts created through the Shopify checkout flow trigger this event.
* Flow integration must be enabled in **Settings → Integrations** before any triggers will fire.
* All Flow trigger events appear in the membership Activity Log with source `SYSTEM_EVENT`.