For customers who have onboarded to OuterSignal via our Shopify app, you will be billed through Shopify's standard Billing API. That means your charges show up on the same Shopify invoice as your store subscription — and they follow Shopify's billing rules, including a monthly spending cap that protects you from surprise charges.
This article explains what the cap is, where it sits for each OuterSignal plan, and what to do if you hit it.
What is the Shopify billing cap?
Shopify requires every app that bills based on usage to set a maximum amount it can charge a merchant in a 30-day billing period. This is called the capped amount.
Two things are true about the cap:
1. Shopify enforces it, not the app. Once you've been charged up to your cap in a 30-day window, Shopify will reject any further usage charges from OuterSignal until the cap is raised.
2. You have to approve it. When you install OuterSignal, Shopify shows you the cap on the approval screen. If we ever need to raise it, you'll get another approval notice in your OuterSignal account — we can't change it on your behalf.
OuterSignal's base price is a flat recurring charge. The usage portion is metered: every billing cycle we count the unique new customers (not orders) OuterSignal processed for your store and submit a usage charge at $0.03 each, up to the cap.
Default limits by plan
If you haven't approved a specific amount, your cap defaults to: $0 on Free, $500 on Starter, $2,000 on Pro, $10,000 on Enterprise, and $500 for anything else. There's also a hard ceiling of $100,000 — Shopify won't approve a limit above that for our app.
Backsearch and the cap
Before showing you a backsearch estimate, we check what's left in your current billing cycle — your limit, minus what's already been billed, minus research already in flight, with about 10% held back as a reserve. If a backsearch would cost more than what's left, you'll see a panel with your current limit, what you've used, what remains, and a proposed higher limit. From there you can approve the higher limit in Shopify (confirming with Check Updated Limit once it's through), or click Research up to $X to run as much as your current allowance covers right now.
When does the cap reset?
Shopify's cap is per 30-day billing period, anchored to your subscription start date — not the calendar month. It resets automatically at the end of each cycle, so you don't need to do anything if you'd rather just wait it out.
Common questions
Will OuterSignal stop working if I hit the cap?
No. Your account stays fully active. We just stop bringing in new customers until the cap is raised or the cycle resets.
Can I lower my cap?
Yes, in Shopify.
Need help? Email [email protected].