Guide

How to set expiry dates on Shopify store credit

Store credit with no expiry sits on your books as a liability forever and gives customers no reason to come back soon. An expiry window fixes both.

Why expiry matters

Every dollar of store credit you issue is a liability on your books until it's redeemed or it expires. Unbounded credit accumulates indefinitely; credit with a reasonable expiry window (commonly 6–12 months) either converts to a sale or clears off your liability sheet on a predictable schedule.

It also changes customer behavior: a balance with no urgency gets forgotten; a balance that expires in 90 days gets used.

Setting expiry via the Admin API

Shopify's storeCreditAccountCredit mutation accepts an expiresAt parameter at the time credit is issued — there's no separate step to configure it after the fact, so it has to be set correctly on every issuance.

Picking a window

• Cashback rewards: 6 months is a common default — long enough to feel fair, short enough to prompt a return visit within roughly two purchase cycles for most stores.
• Refund-to-credit: some merchants extend this slightly longer (e.g. 12 months), since it's replacing money the customer was owed outright.
• Goodwill / compensation credit: shorter windows (60–90 days) work well since the intent is a near-term make-good, not a long-term reward.

The reminder is the important part

An expiry date only works if the customer knows about it. Without a reminder, expiring credit just feels like a broken promise when they try to use it and can't. StoreCred sends an email when credit is issued and a second reminder before it expires, automatically, for every credit it issues.