Do you use the platform Shopify to host your E-commerce store? Do you want to add staff members to your store so they can manage your inventory? Maybe you work with freelancers who manage the marketing for your store. If you have anyone else who needs access to your Shopify store, this article is for you. 

There are two types of access you can give via Shopify. You can either give staff permissions or collaborator permissions. We’ll cover how to grant access to both types of permissions in this post. 

If you’re the Shopify store owner and want to understand how to add a collaborator in Shopify, part 1 is for you. 

Agency, developer or freelancer? Skip to part 2 to secure yourself collaborator access in Shopify. 

Let’s get to it. 

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What are the roles in Shopify?

Depending on their role in your business, others may need admin access to your Shopify store. There are certain permissions only the store owner can take, which include: 

• Managing payment and billing information 
• Changing price plans 
• Changing the ownership of the store

What are "Staff Permissions" in Shopify?

If you grant someone staff permissions, they will be able to: 

• Edit, delete, and export orders
• Edit products and inventories 
• Manage gift cards and discounts
• Export customer profiles
• Access reporting 
• Manage marketing campaigns 

What is a Shopify collaborator? 

Shopify collaborators are external partners who can get access to your view and make edits in your Shopify store. It could be a freelance developer or marketer or agency who does work on your site.

What's the difference between Shopify collaborators and Staff Members? Collaborators log in via their own Partner Dashboard, whereas staff members will work in the same dashboard as you (using a different login).

You can choose the level of access the collaborator has and edit their permissions at any time. It's also possible to remove a collaborator whenever you want via your account dashboard.

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1. How to give staff permissions in your Shopify store

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Follow these steps to give someone staff permissions in your Shopify store: 

Step 1: Log in to your Shopify store admin page

Step 2: Click on Settings at the bottom of the toolbar on the left-hand side

Step 3: Choose Users and permissions 

Step 4:  To add someone new, click on Add staff

Step 5: Add the staff member’s name and email address

Step 6: You can then choose the permissions you want to grant, if you want to grant all permissions, click Select all 

   6b. (optional) You can also give access to your linked apps and channels (social media and your POS app)

Step 7:  Once you’ve chosen the right permissions, click Send invite

Step 8: Your staff member will receive an email - they must follow the steps in the invitation to ‘Create staff account’ or log in with their Shopify ID

Once they accept the invite, you will get an email confirmation: 

Remember that Invitations to add a staff member expire after 7 days. You will also have a maximum number of staff members you can add, depending on your plan.

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How to give collaborator access in Shopify

If you work with an agency or freelancer, you may want to give them permissions in your store without making them a staff member (remember the number of staff members is limited depending on your plan). 

In this case, you can add them as a collaborator. This doesn’t count towards your staff member limit. 

They gain access through their own Shopify Partner Dashboard or by using the Shopify app.

This is the full list of permissions you can grant to a collaborator: 

If you want to grant access to a collaborator, they will need to send you a request first. If you have enabled request access codes, you will need to share the code with your collaborator so they can request access. 

So, how to send a collaborator request on Shopify? The process isn’t too complicated, but it starts with you creating an access request code.

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How to set up a Shopify request access code for collaborators

For security, you can set up a 4 digit request access code. This way, you will only receive genuine requests from people who are collaborating with your store. 

Here’s how to set up a request access code: 

Step 1: Head to Users and permissions

Step 2: Go to the Collaborators section

Step 3: Select Only people with a collaborator request code can send a collaborator request  

Step 4: Click Generate new code

Step 5: Your agency or freelancer will need to ask you for this code before they can send you an Shopify collaborator request

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2. How to request collaborator access in Shopify

Are you an agency or freelancer who needs access to your client’s Shopify store?

To request access to a client’s site, you will need a Shopify Partners account. If you don’t have one yet, you can easily set up an account here by entering a few personal details.  

Once you have your own Partner Dashboard, follow these steps to request access: 

Step 1: Login to the Shopify Partner Dashboard

Step 2: Head to Stores

Step 3: Click Request access to store

Step 4: Add the URL for the store you want access to:

Step 5: If your client has set up a 4-digit collaborator code, you will need to enter it here (ask them for it)

Step 6: You can also choose the permissions you want access to (click select all if you want full access)

Step 7: You can include a personalised message and hit Request access to store

Step 8:  Your client will receive an email and a notification on their Shopify homepage to tell them you’ve requested access. They can modify the permissions once they receive your collaborator request 

If you manage assets for more than one Shopify store, you can see them all in the Stores tab of your Partner Dashboard, here you can modify your requests:

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How to remove a client’s Shopify store from your Shopify Partners dashboard

If you are no longer working with a client and they didn’t remove you as a collaborator account, you can remove yourself from their store. 

Step 1: Click the stores tab in your Partner Dashboard

Step 2: Find the store you want to leave

Step 3: Click Actions —--> Remove access

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Do you manage marketing assets for your clients?

Do you manage other marketing assets for your clients such as a Facebook page, Facebook Ads, TikTok or Google assets?

Wave bye to the headache of onboarding.

We created Leadsie to make getting access, simple, quick and hassle-free. 

You send your client a Leadsie link, they securely log in to their account, choose which permissions to grant and BOOM you have access! 

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Leadsie does all the work adding you as a user in the backend so your client doesn’t have to! The testimonials from agencies that work with us speak for themselves.

Get started using Leadsie today by entering your email in the box below, we’ll give you a 14-day free trial, coz we’re nice like that (and we know you’ll love us!).