Migration: Moving subscriptions from store A on platform X to store B on platform Y - Important Considerations

This document is meant to serve as a breakdown of the many use-cases that can arise with a request of "I would like to move subscriptions from store A on platform X to store B on platform Y."

Important Considerations

1. The most important piece of information when attempting to migrate subscriptions from store A to store B will be the payment processors (primary and secondary) currently used for both Shopify stores.
   
   In order for Skio to generate a subscription contract for customer X from store A to store B, customer X needs to have at least 1 valid payment method on file in Shopify for store B.
   
   This is where the process gets a bit tricky, as Shopify currently requires all Primary payment processors (Stripe, Authorize.net, etc) to vault all Customer payment method data in the Shopify Payments vault. 
   
   This means that if store A uses a Primary payment processor (like Shopify Payments / Authorize.net) that vaults all Customer payment method data in the Shopify Payments vault, the merchant would need to reach out to the Shopify Payments team in order to request a payment method data transfer from store A over to store B. 
   
   Only after the payment method data has been transferred from store A over to store B would the Skio team be able to attempt to migrate the subscriptions for all of store A's customers over to store B.
   
   
   EXCEPTION: Legacy ReCharge
   
   If store A uses ReCharge for subscriptions today, or previously used ReCharge for subscriptions, it is possible that the store was using legacy ReCharge.
   
   Legacy ReCharge existed prior to Shopify requiring Primary payment processors to vault all Customer payment method data in the Shopify Payments vault. This means that the payment method data for customer's subscriptions may be stored outside of Shopify, such as in Stripe / Braintree / Authorize.net, rather than in the Shopify Payments data vault.
   
   For example, if store A used Authorize.net as the primary payment processor in ReCharge, it is possible that some of their customer payment method data is actually stored in ReCharge's data vault / the specific payment processor's data vault, rather than in the Shopify Payments data vault.
   
   If store A used legacy ReCharge with Stripe / Braintree / Authorize.net, then any customer with their payment method data stored in Stripe / Braintree / Authorize.net would be able to be migrated from store A to store B, as long as store B also has the same Stripe / Braintree / Authorize.net account connected to their Shopify store as a Secondary payment gateway. 
   
   Stripe, Braintree, and Authorize.net can be connected to a Shopify store as a Secondary payment gateway. If you need to connect a Secondary payment gateway, let the Skio team know and we can provide the necessary instructions.
   
   The Skio team will need to perform an assessment of both store A and store B before we can confirm 1) where customer payment method data appears to be stored, as well as 2) whether we can attempt to migrate the data without first reaching out to the Shopify Payments team.
    
2. The Skio team is unable to migrate ShopPay payment methods from store A to store B. 
   
   It additionally is not currently clear whether the Shopify Payments team is able to migrate payment method data stored in ShopPay from store A to store B.
    
3. Once the data migration from store A to store B is complete, the Skio team will turn off all recurring billing in store A by disabling the Skio billing window. We will also "silently" cancel all subscriptions in store A, and delete all Skio selling plans from store A. This will ensure that all future recurring billing takes place only in store B going forward, and that no new Skio subscriptions can be created in store A.
    
4. Please note that the Skio team is not responsible for managing data changes that take place to subscriptions in store A "accidentally" after the migration over to store B, such as the merchant's Customer Support team updating store A mistakenly.

Timeline / Limitations

1. It is not a simple process for the Skio team to migrate subscriptions from store A to store B; for this reason, we cannot accommodate "multiple" rounds of migrations in this way (ex. migrating customers from store A to store B on a regular basis).
2. It may take some time (anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks) for the Skio Launch team to process this kind of request. This has to do with our existing workload / processes, and cannot be expedited. The best way to expedite the process is by replying to emails promptly, with clear and concise questions / answers.
   
   To get this kind of request submitted with our team, please email our Support team ( help@skio.com ). Make sure to include the following information in your request:
   - Current subscription platform on store A
   - Primary payment processor and secondary payment processor on store A
    
3. The Skio team is not able to migrate "Prepaid gift" subscriptions from store A to store B at this time.

Requirements

1. It is important that store A has Skio installed, even if Skio is not the current subscription platform used for store A. This is necessary to ensure that the Skio team can generate the proper migration-related data for store A's current subscription platform. Installing Skio will not automatically result in the merchant being charged. 
   
   Please note that Skio only needs to be installed on the store; the merchant should not configure anything within Skio if they do not plan on using Skio for selling subscriptions on store A.
    
2. All Shopify Customer accounts for subscribers must be exported from store A and imported into store B: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/customers/import-export-customers .
    
3. The Skio team will generate a CSV for mapping all Shopify product variants from store A to Shopify product variants in store B. In order to move forward with the migration, the Skio team will request the merchant to fill out this variant-mapping CSV with the proper variant-mapping data (ex. if in store A, variant B has variant id C and price D, what is the matching variant id value and price for that same variant in store B). 
   
   The merchant will need to fill out this CSV and provide it to the Skio team for review. This is considered a verification by the merchant, and any errors / mistakes in this CSV may cause discrepancies in the subscription data that is migrated.
    
4. Depending on the payment processors used for store A, the Skio team may request the merchant to provide Stripe API keys / Braintree API keys / Authorize.net CIM exports .
   
   These credentials will be used to generate new payment methods in store B for each subscription customer using the following Shopify API mutation: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/2025-01/mutations/customerpaymentmethodremotecreate .
    
5. The Skio team will provide a "data migration preview", which will detail all subscription data being migrated into store B. 
   
   The merchant will need to review and approve this data; this is considered a verification by the merchant, and any errors in the data migration preview which are approved may cause discrepancies in the subscription data that is migrated.
    
6. Once the above has all been completed, the subscription migration from store A to store B will be complete! The Skio team will confirm when this has been completed, and will turn off all recurring billing in store A at this time by disabling the Skio billing window. The Skio team will also "silently" cancel all subscriptions in store A, and delete all Skio selling plans from store A. This will ensure that all future recurring billing takes place only in store B going forward, and that no new Skio subscriptions can be created in store A.