Automatically fulfilling subscription orders
Every Content Vault subscription has an Automatically fulfill orders setting. It is enabled by default, and for most digital stores that is the right choice.
What it does
When enabled, all subscription orders — both the first order and every renewal — are automatically marked as fulfilled in Shopify.
You'll find it under Subscription settings on the subscription form, above the plan tabs:
Configure general settings that apply to all plans in this subscription.
Note that this is a subscription-level setting, not a per-plan one. It applies to every plan inside that subscription.
Why it's on by default
Digital orders have nothing to ship. Content Vault delivers the files itself — by email, on the Thank You page, and in the customer's account — so an order sitting in Shopify as Unfulfilled isn't waiting on anything.
Leaving orders unfulfilled tends to cause three problems:
- Your Orders list fills with items that look outstanding but aren't
- Renewal orders accumulate every billing cycle
- Shopify reports and any fulfillment-triggered automations get a misleading picture of your store
When to turn it off
Turn it off when something outside Content Vault has to happen before the order should count as fulfilled. For example:
- The subscription includes a physical item alongside the digital content
- A third-party app or Flow automation performs the fulfillment
- Your accounting or ops process depends on fulfilling orders manually
If you disable it, remember that renewals are affected too — every future billing cycle will also create an unfulfilled order.