How To Transfer Ownership Of A Shopify Store: Just 5 Mins To Do
Transferring store ownership can even be done by kids in minutes? Well after they have read our guide at least.
Shopify has specifically included a “Transfer ownership” function within their page settings to make life easy for everyone. But you still need to consider the data safety and security protocol in order to have a smooth and stress-free transferring process.
This guide will walk you through how to transfer ownership of a Shopify store, covering the key steps, important considerations, and expert tips for both current and future owners. Let’s get started!
Contents
1. Takeaway
💡This article will provide guidance to:
- The current owners: know the steps and avoid the risks when transferring a store.
- The future owners: know the steps, receive and start operating your new store without any hiccups.
2. Who Can Transfer Shopify Store Ownership?
Store ownership can be transferred in the following cases:
- Agencies transferring to merchants: Agencies, in most cases, create development eCommerce and later transfer ownership to merchants upon store readiness for launch. This is common in cases where the agency builds an online store for the specific client.
- Merchants transferring to a successor: If a merchant decides to stop operations for any reason, they can transfer the store to someone else to continue running it. In this case, he ensures continuity rather than setting up a new one.
💡To have a store, owners can create their new store from scratch (check out our How to launch Shopify store guide) or buy a ready-made store from an agency or other owners who are not operating anymore.
So If you fall into one of these categories—whether you’re a new merchant, a former store owner, or an agency, you will need to dive deeper into how to transfer Shopify store to new owner.
3. How To Transfer Ownership of A Shopify Store
3.1. Current Ownership: Before Transferring Shopify Store Ownership
Here are some bullet points of things you need to consider before transferring a store:
- Transferring permission: Agency and store can have multiple workers or admins, but there is only one “owner” account which has the master control of each store. Be sure you are talking to the right person if you are receiving a store and avoid scams. For owners, check if your store is transferable or not beforehand.
- Check legal documents: Be careful when purchasing a new store, contact a legal advisor for support of the sales contract terms. Also remember to compile/ request for the business licenses and product permits if necessary.
- Only one owner account per store: Shopify allows only one owner account per store and no exception. As the transferring process has been done, the master control will be given to the new owner and the old owner won’t be able to access anything in the control interface of the store.
- Full access for the new owner: As the master control has been transferred, the new owner has full access to the store details, billings, sale data…
- Backup your customers’ data: Remember to create a backup of your important data like customer information, sales records, product listings… to avoid losing any money-making information.
- Remove personal information: The old owner should remove all personal information from the store to prevent any potential leaks after the transfer.
- Update new billing and Shopify payment information: Billing and Shopify payment info need to be updated immediately after the transfer to the new owner.
- Have an “Instruction Manual” for the store: Providing an instruction manual covering the store’s layout, operations, service protocol, and current marketing strategies is a professional practice that helps the new owner get up to speed quickly.
- Inform stakeholders of the transfer: Stakeholders such as staff, suppliers and even customers should know about the transfer. But whether to continue with the current staff and suppliers entirely depends on the new owner’s decisions.
- Plan for downtime: During the transition, the store will go dormant and customers won’t be able to make purchases.
3.2. Shopify Ownership Transfer: Step-By-Step
Ready to hand over the reins? Follow this step-by-step guide on how to transfer ownership of a Shopify store like a pro!
3.2.1. Step 1: Login
Access your Shopify admin panel.
3.2.2. Step 2: Setting
On the left sidebar, click on Settings.
3.2.3. Step 3: Users and Permissions
In the Settings menu, locate and click on “Users and Permissions“
3.2.4. Step 4: Transfer Ownership
Search for the “Store Owner” section, then click on “Transfer Ownership”
3.2.5. Step 5: Enter Email & Password > Click Transfer Store Ownership
Provide the new owner’s email address, first name, and last name, verify your password, and click “Transfer Store Ownership“
3.2.6. Step 6: New Owner Will Receive Email Notice
An email notifies the new owner that they must accept the transfer. Once accepted, they must choose a Shopify plan. From the selected date onward, they will have full control of the store.
After the transfer, meanwhile, the new owners might:
- Change or revoke your user permissions.
- Access or change bank and payment info.
- Put the store on hold or close it.
Even after the transfer, until the new owner has chosen a plan, you will have some limited access to the store. Always communicate clearly to avoid unnecessary interruptions during this transition phase.
3.3. New Owner: Post-Transfer Actions
3.3.1. Steps To Receive The Store
- From the store transfer email in your inbox, click on “Get started” and you will be directed to the login page of Shopify.
- Login to your account
- Click on “Accept store” and Congratulations, you now own a Shopify store!
- Update your personal information, billing info and Shopify payment information.
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3.3.2. Verify for correct master control
- Using the manual, check if all the store functions (shipping, billings, checkouts, payment gateways and any third-party apps that are included) are working and the store is up-to-date.
3.3.3. Check for the old owner access rights
- Within the Settings tabs, open “User and permission”. Check if the staff’s list and their rights are correct.
- In theory, after transferring ownership, the old owner won’t have any access to the store anymore.
- If you want to grant store’s backend access to anyone, you can set up staff roles for their account.
- If you want to have an agency to continue handling the technical matter, you can send them a “Collaborator Code”.
3.3.4. Setup store security protocol – two factors authentication
To ensure a secure Shopify Checkout experience for your customers, setting up two-factor authentication is essential. Follow these steps:
- From your Shopify admin page, click on your name on the upper right corner. Select “Manage Account”
- Click on “Security” and roll to the section for “Two-step authentication”. Click on “Turn on two-step”
- Enter your login password and click next
- Choose your second authentication method from the dropdown menu and input required information
- Click “Turn on” and you have completed the two factors authentication set up process.
4. Tips To Transfer Ownership Of Shopify Store Successful
Now that you know how to change store owners on Shopify, follow these tips to ensure a smooth and hassle-free process when you change the ownership of Shopify stores.
4.1. Tips For Current Owner
- Backup Before You Pack Up
Data, especially customer data, is a vital source for any online shopping business. From this data, new owners can easily calculate the conversion rate of a marketing or sales strategy, understand the sales funnel + demographic of current customers and manage cart abandonment reasons to optimize user experience (customer experience) in store.
- Early Access Advantage
Add the new owner as staff beforehand so they can learn the control faster. This is especially useful if the new owner is new to the platform.
- Transfer Domain Ownership As Well
Maintaining a domain requires annual fees, so make sure that the domain ownership is transferred as well to avoid disruption to the business.
- Clear Communication, Smooth Transition
Nothing beats a collaboration with clear communication. No matter how much you are well prepared for new changes, having clear communication and support from both sides will help the transferring process go as stress-free as possible.
- Support Beyond the Handover
This is also a professional practice that facilitates a smooth transition from the old owner to the new owner.
- Cut Ties with Apps & Services
Previous store owners of course would not want to be disturbed by notifications and any unwanted information after the transition is finished. Therefore, we recommend updating all app and service access relating to the store’s operation to avoid problems in the future.
4.2. Tips For New Owner
- Check & Update Integrations
We advise new owners to check out all the third-party integrations on your store and update them if needed to ensure a smooth operation when the store starts operating again.
- App & Service Overhaul
Similar to updating store’s third-party integrations, updating app and services access are a vital part to ensure seamless operation of your new store.
- Refresh Legal Pages
It is best to mention that as the store’s owner changed, the business information changed as well. Therefore, the store legal’s page should be updated to clearly show the new ownership and avoid any legal risks or confusion.
- Test Thoroughly Everything
If something is important, you have to repeat it at least 3 times. Test and test and test your new store for any possible issues and request support as soon as an issue is found. The new store owner will only have the previous store owner’s support for a short period of time so don’t forget to utilize it.
5. Conclusion
The transfer of shopify stores to new owners is definitely both simple and complicated at the same time.
It is easy thanks to the friendly user interface from Shopify platform with clear instruction from Shopify help center. However, knowing how to transfer ownership of a Shopify store the right way is crucial—overlooking legal requirements, security risks, or third-party integrations could lead to unnecessary complications.
Lastly, with this article, our team at eComStart hopes to provide great support to all Shopify users, whether you are a new store owner or experienced store owner.
6. FAQs
