AltorLab + ReCharge: Subscription Monitoring Integration Guide
ReCharge is the most widely deployed subscription platform on Shopify, but it operates as a billing layer separate from Shopify's native subscription contracts — creating a state synchronization gap that causes silent revenue loss for merchants who do not monitor across both systems. When a ReCharge charge fails with MAX_RETRIES_REACHED and the charge/max_retries_reached webhook fails to deliver to Shopify, the subscription is cancelled in ReCharge but remains ACTIVE in Shopify — a ghost subscription that continues fulfilling product with zero revenue collected. AltorLab sits between ReCharge and Shopify, continuously reconciling billing state across both platforms, surfacing ghost subscriptions, failed webhook deliveries, and cross-stack mismatches that neither ReCharge nor Shopify surfaces on their own. This guide explains what AltorLab monitors in a ReCharge + Shopify stack, which specific failure patterns it detects, and how the daily reconciliation catches mismatches before they compound.
What failure patterns does AltorLab detect in a ReCharge stack?
The most expensive failure pattern in ReCharge deployments is the ghost subscription: ReCharge marks a subscription CANCELLED after max_retries_reached, but the Shopify subscriptionContract remains ACTIVE because the charge/max_retries_reached webhook was never delivered to Shopify. The merchant continues fulfilling orders for a customer who is not paying. AltorLab detects this by comparing ReCharge subscription statuses against Shopify contract statuses daily and alerting on every mismatch.
The second most expensive pattern is a successful ReCharge charge with no corresponding Shopify order. When ReCharge successfully bills the customer in Stripe but Shopify's order creation webhook fails, revenue is collected but the fulfillment system has nothing to process. AltorLab reconciles ReCharge charge success events against Shopify orders created in the same 24-hour window and alerts on every charge that has no matching order.
How does AltorLab connect to ReCharge?
AltorLab connects to ReCharge via the ReCharge REST API using a read-only API token. The integration requires no webhook configuration changes in your ReCharge account — AltorLab polls the ReCharge API on a scheduled basis and does not require real-time event access. Read-only access is sufficient for reconciliation: AltorLab reads subscription statuses and charge histories without modifying any subscription data.
The reconciliation compares three data sources: the ReCharge subscription list (status, customer, next billing date), the ReCharge charge history (status, amount, charge date), and the Shopify subscriptionContracts API (status, customerPaymentMethodId, nextBillingDate). Mismatches between any two systems surface as alerts with the specific subscription ID, customer email, and the exact state divergence.
Which ReCharge webhook failures does AltorLab catch?
ReCharge retries failed webhooks up to 19 times over 72 hours. AltorLab detects the downstream effect of failed webhooks — the state mismatch — rather than the webhook failure itself. This means AltorLab catches webhook failures that have already exceeded the retry window and left the systems permanently desynced, as well as failures that are within the retry window but have created billing inconsistencies.
The highest-priority webhook to monitor is charge/max_retries_reached. When ReCharge fires this event and it fails to deliver, the result is a subscription cancelled in ReCharge but still active in Shopify — the most costly ghost subscription pattern. AltorLab's daily reconciliation specifically checks for this state: ReCharge CANCELLED within the last 30 days where Shopify still shows ACTIVE.
What does AltorLab not do for ReCharge merchants?
AltorLab is a monitoring and alerting layer — it does not modify subscription contracts, trigger billing retries, or manage dunning configuration. It surfaces what is wrong and provides the information needed to fix it; the merchant or their engineering team takes the corrective action. AltorLab does not replace ReCharge's dunning engine or Shopify's subscription billing API.
AltorLab also does not manage customer communications, cancellation flows, or subscription lifecycle events. It monitors whether the state across systems is consistent and alerts when it is not — the response to each alert (contacting the customer, updating the contract, creating a missing order) is handled by the merchant.
Frequently asked questions
Does AltorLab require changes to my ReCharge webhook configuration?
No. AltorLab uses the ReCharge REST API with a read-only token to poll subscription and charge data on a schedule. No webhook endpoint changes, no ReCharge app installation, and no modifications to your existing billing configuration are required. The integration is additive — it reads your existing data and surfaces inconsistencies.
How quickly does AltorLab detect a cross-stack mismatch?
AltorLab runs reconciliation checks on a daily schedule, surfacing mismatches within 24 hours of them occurring. For merchants who need faster detection, the reconciliation frequency can be increased. Most ghost subscriptions go undetected for weeks or months without active monitoring — daily detection is a significant improvement over no monitoring at all.
What is the typical number of ghost subscriptions found on first scan?
Merchants with 500+ active subscriptions typically find 5–20 ghost subscriptions on their first AltorLab scan. Merchants who have been running ReCharge for more than 12 months without reconciliation tooling often find more, as mismatches accumulate over time. The first scan serves as a baseline audit of your entire subscription stack's state consistency.