This 2-part guide will walk you through:
How to exclude recurring subscription revenue from your reporting
How to track new subscription events separately for better insights
Understanding Order Source in Shopify
In Shopify, Order Source refers to the sales channel or origin where an order was created. It helps you understand how and where a customer placed their order, so you can accurately track performance across channels.
Hiro allows you to filter based on Order Source so you can include or exclude specific types of orders in your reports.
Here’s a breakdown of the different Order Source types and what they mean:
Option | What It Means |
All Orders | Includes all orders — including recurring subscription revenue. |
Web | Orders placed directly through your main Shopify storefront. Includes the first purchase of a subscription order but excludes recurring subscription revenue. |
Subscription Contract | Orders tagged as subscription contracts (any recurring revenue after the initial first order). |
Subscription Contract Checkout One | Another source name that Shopify has been using for recurring subscription contract orders (as of October 2025) |
Draft Orders | Orders created manually in the Shopify admin. |
POS (Point of Sale) | Orders placed in a physical retail location using Shopify POS. |
Third-Party Apps / Custom Checkouts / API / Manual Uploads | Orders imported from integrations like Facebook Shop, Instagram Shopping, or other custom apps. These can sometimes appear as a numeric code. |
Part 1: Exclude Recurring Subscription Revenue
Step 1: Go to Client Settings
Navigate to Account → Client Settings.
Step 2: Open the Default Filters Tab
Click on the Default Filters tab.
Step 3: Set the Order Filter
Under Order Sources, remove All Orders (default) and add Subscription Contract and Subscription Contract Checkout One
Select the checkbox for Exclude
Step 4: Apply the Filter
Click Update Order Filters.
The status will change to "Data Update Pending" - once it is complete (should only take a few minutes), you will receive an email notification
Step 5: Confirm the Change
Once the updates are complete, you’ll receive an email confirmation, and you’ll also see a confirmation on the Client Settings page that the changes have been applied.
Recurring subscription revenue will be excluded across all of the reporting views.
Part 2: Track New Subscription Events with Custom Metrics
Once you’ve excluded recurring subscription revenue from your attributed revenue, you may also want to track new subscription events separately for clearer reporting. Here’s how to set that up:
Step 1: Go to Custom Metrics in Client Settings
On the same Client Settings page, click the Custom Metrics tab.
Step 2: Select Metrics to Track
From the dropdown, choose the subscription event you want to track (e.g. Subscription Started on Recharge, Subscription Cancelled on Recharge, etc.)
Step 3: Save & Backfill Data
Click Save Tracked Metrics.
Data will backfill overnight and appear the next day.
Step 4: View Metrics in Hiro
Once custom metrics are successfully backfilled, you will be able to find them under the Custom Metrics tab under Reporting on the left hand menu.
Select the custom metric you want to track in the dropdown menu.
