How tag-based enrolment works
The workflow has three parts. Shopify's Customer tags added trigger runs whenever tags are added to a customer. A condition lets it continue only when one of those tags is enroll-course. Alva Courses' Enroll customer in course action then enrols that customer and sends the course access email.
It is a normal enrolment. The student appears under Members, can open the course straight away, and Alva Courses fires its own Course enrollment created trigger with the enrolment source flow, so your other workflows see them too. The triggers reference lists its fields.
Build the workflow
1. Create a workflow
In your Shopify admin, open Apps → Flow and click Create workflow. Then click Select a trigger.
2. Choose Customer tags added
Search for and choose Customer tags added, one of Shopify's own triggers. It runs each time one or more tags are added to a customer, and gives the workflow that customer and the list of tags just added.
3. Check for the enroll-course tag
Add a condition on the trigger's Tags: at least one of them is equal to enroll-course, all lowercase. Customers given any other tag stop here, so the rest of your tagging is left alone.
4. Add Enroll customer in course
On the condition's Then branch, add an action, choose Alva Courses and pick Enroll customer in course. There is no customer to choose: Flow passes in the customer who was just tagged.
5. Fill in the course and options
Paste the course's Flow ID, such as 42, or its URL handle into Course ID or URL handle. Leave Access length in days blank to use the course's own access setting, or enter 365 for a year. Tick Send the course access email.
6. Name it and turn it on
Name the workflow Enroll tagged customers in a course and click Turn on workflow. Only tags added from now on count: a customer who already had enroll-course is enrolled once you remove the tag and add it again.
7. Test it on your own customer record
In Shopify, open Customers, choose a customer with your own email address and add the tag enroll-course. The course access email should arrive within a minute or two, and the course appears on that customer's page under Members in Alva Courses.
8. Read the result if nothing happens
Open the workflow's recent runs in Flow: a failed step shows Alva Courses' reason, such as No course with ID or handle '42' in this store. The same result is listed under Flow activity → Actions run on the Shopify Flow settings page in Alva Courses.
Running it twice never enrols anyone twice
Enroll customer in course is safe to repeat. Remove enroll-course and add it again and the workflow runs again, but the action answers Already enrolled and sends no second email. The student keeps their progress, and their access deadline doesn't move.
That includes a student whose access has expired: a repeat run doesn't renew it, and the result message says when it ended. To give them more time, change the deadline on their member page or use the Extend or set course access action from the actions reference.
Refunded and revoked customers are not re-enrolled
Automation never undoes a refund. If a customer's access was revoked because their order was refunded, Enroll customer in course stops with an error instead of enrolling them, and Flow marks the run as failed with the reason. A new purchase is what gives a refunded customer access again.
Access taken away by the Revoke course access action is refused the same way. To give it back, open the student under Members in Alva Courses and click Restore access next to the course; their progress was kept. See refunds and course access.
Things to know before you rely on it
A few details decide whether the workflow does exactly what you expect, especially once you run it for more than one course.
- One tag per course. For a second course, copy the workflow and change both the tag and the course, for example
enroll-watercolour-101. - Don't add tags in this workflow. Shopify warns that an
Add customer tagsstep in aCustomer tags addedworkflow can make it run forever. - Free courses never expire. On a free course,
Access length in daysis ignored and access is unlimited. - No email address, no email. A customer without an email address is still enrolled. The result says the access email wasn't sent, and they open the course by signing in to their store account.
- Course emails must be on. If course emails are turned off in Alva Courses, the customer is enrolled but gets no access email.
Frequently asked questions
Nothing changes. The Enroll customer in course action answers Already enrolled, sends no second access email and leaves the student's progress and access deadline as they were. It is safe to remove the tag and add it again.
No. Alva Courses never lets automation undo a refund. The action fails with a message saying the customer's access was revoked after a refund, and Flow shows the run as failed. A new purchase restores their access.
Build one workflow per course, each with its own tag, such as enroll-watercolour-101, and that course's Flow ID or URL handle in the Course ID or URL handle field. To put one tag's customers into several courses, add one Enroll customer in course step per course.
In Alva Courses, open Settings, then Integrations, then Shopify Flow. The Course IDs for Flow table lists every course's Flow ID and URL handle with copy buttons. Each course's Settings tab shows its Flow ID too.
See also
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Last updated 2026-10-01