Transactional emails

Transactional emails are your subscribers' window into what's happening with their subscription — from order confirmations to payment failures. Set them up once, customize them to match your brand, and let Commerce handle the rest automatically.

Available on all Recurly plans

1Definition 2Key benefits 3Key details 4FAQs

Prerequisites

An active Recurly Commerce account
Notifications are configured under Notifications in the Commerce merchant admin

Limitations

Transactional emails must remain informational — they can't be used for promotional content
Enabling a notification doesn't retroactively send emails to existing customers — it applies to future events only
Custom email domains aren't supported. Emails are sent from Recurly Commerce's default sending domain
Store owner copies (CC or BCC) of customer notifications aren't supported

Definition

Transactional emails are automated, event-driven messages sent to subscribers when something happens with their subscription — an order is placed, a payment fails, a renewal is coming up, and more. They keep subscribers informed without any manual effort on your part, and are fully customizable to match your brand.

Key benefits

Fewer support tickets Proactively notify subscribers of order statuses, payment failures, and upcoming renewals — before they have to reach out.

Better retention Remind subscribers of upcoming orders and out-of-stock items before issues escalate into cancellations.

Full customization Edit subject lines, body copy, styling, and dynamic variables for a brand-consistent experience across every notification.

Key details

Enabling notifications

In Recurly Commerce, navigate to Notifications. Each notification can be toggled on or off individually. We recommend enabling at least the six notifications marked as highly recommended in the table below to cover the most critical subscriber touch points.

Available notifications

Notification	When it's sent	Recommended
Subscription created	A subscription order has been created	✓ Highly recommended
Order placed	An order has been placed	✓ Highly recommended
Failed payment method	An order could not be placed due to payment failure	✓ Highly recommended
Subscription cancelled	A subscription contract has been cancelled	✓ Highly recommended
Product out of stock	One or more products a subscriber is subscribed to are out of stock	✓ Highly recommended
Upcoming order	Three days before the subscriber's next renewal	✓ Highly recommended
Gift subscription created	A gift subscription order has been created
Revoked payment method	A subscriber's payment method was revoked after checkout
Subscription unpause reminder	A subscription is about to unpause
Subscription paused	A subscription contract has been paused
Renewal reminder	When a subscription is about to renew — customizable for when it's sent and for which billing cycles

Configuring the renewal reminder

The renewal reminder has two additional settings that control which subscribers receive it and when.

Minimum billing cycle length

Sets a billing cadence threshold so the email only goes to subscribers on longer-cycle plans. For example, setting this to six months means only subscribers billed every six months or longer will receive the reminder. Subscribers on shorter cadences — monthly, quarterly — are excluded.

Send lead time

How far in advance of the renewal date the email is sent. For example, 45 days before renewal.

TipThese two settings work together. A merchant who sets a six-month minimum and a 45-day lead time will only send renewal reminders to subscribers on a six-month or longer billing cadence, 45 days before their renewal date.

Customizing email templates

Each notification has a fully editable template. To customize one, select it from the Notifications page and use the built-in rich text editor.

The editor supports:

Inserting and resizing images
Adjusting fonts, colors, and spacing
Switching to HTML source view for advanced customizations

Using variables

Variables let you insert dynamic, subscriber-specific content into email templates. Wrap any variable in square brackets and place it anywhere in the subject line or body of the template.

The following variables are available across all notifications:

Variable	What it inserts
`[customer-first-name]`	The subscriber's first name
`[customer-last-name]`	The subscriber's last name
`[store-name]`	Your store name
`[manage-subscriptions-link]`	A link to the subscriber's customer portal
`[next-order-date]`	The date of the subscriber's next scheduled order
`[time-before-renewal]`	The amount of time remaining before the subscriber's next renewal — Renewal Reminder only

Viewing the notification log

To see which emails were sent to a specific subscriber, navigate to the Notification Log in Commerce. The log records every transactional email sent — including the notification type, date sent, and recipient — so you can confirm delivery and troubleshoot any gaps.

FAQs

Do I need to use Commerce emails?

No. All Commerce emails can be disabled individually in Notification Settings. If you choose not to use Commerce emails, we recommend using Klaviyo to keep subscribers informed of transactional actions on their subscription — Commerce sends payment and lifecycle metrics to Klaviyo in real time to support this. See the Klaviyo integration doc for details.

Can I add a support contact to the emails?

Yes. Each email template displays a primary support contact. Enter your support contact details in the template and save — it'll appear consistently across all emails sent to subscribers.