Adding & managing staff accounts
Learn how to add staff members to your Shopify store, understand the difference between staff and collaborator accounts, and control who can see and do what.
Your Shopify store can be accessed by more than just you. Staff accounts let you give team members access to your admin, and collaborator accounts let agencies and developers like Chykalophia work on your store without using one of your staff slots.
Quick summary
Staff accounts are for your employees and team. Collaborator accounts are for agencies and developers (like Chykalophia). Only the store owner can add collaborators. Staff account limits depend on your plan (2 on Basic, 5 on Shopify, 15 on Advanced). To give us access, use the collaborator invite — see the separate guide linked below.
The three types of Shopify accounts
Store owner
The store owner is the person who created the Shopify account. They have full access to everything, including billing and plan management. Only the owner can change who the owner is (by transferring ownership).
Staff accounts
Staff accounts are for employees and team members. You can control exactly what each staff member can see and do using permissions.
Staff accounts count toward your plan's limit (2 on Basic, 5 on Shopify, 15 on Advanced). If you need more staff access than your plan allows, you may need to upgrade.
Collaborator accounts
Collaborator accounts are for external agencies and developers. They are specifically designed so that a third party can access your store without consuming one of your staff account slots.
Collaborators can be given granular permissions too. The key differences from staff accounts:
| Staff account | Collaborator account | |
|---|---|---|
| Counts toward your staff limit | Yes | No |
| Can access billing settings | Only if you grant it | No |
| Can be invited by staff | Depends on permission | Only by store owner |
| Used by | Your employees | External agencies / developers |
To give Chykalophia access to your Shopify store, see Give us Shopify collaborator access.
Adding a staff account
Go to Settings → Users. From your Shopify admin, click Settings in the bottom-left, then Users and permissions.
Click Add staff. You will find this button at the top of the staff list.
Enter their first name, last name, and email address.
Set their permissions. Choose which areas of the admin they can access (see below).
Click Send invite. The staff member receives an email inviting them to create their Shopify account and access your store.
Setting staff permissions
When you add or edit a staff member, you can grant or restrict access to specific areas:
- Orders — view and manage orders
- Products — add, edit, delete products
- Customers — view customer data
- Reports — access analytics and reports
- Discounts — create and manage discount codes
- Marketing — access marketing campaigns
- Apps — install and manage apps
- Settings — access store settings (use carefully)
- Themes — edit and publish themes
You can also give a staff member full permissions if they are a trusted manager. Be selective — it is best practice to give each person only what they need to do their job.
Be careful with Settings access
Giving a staff member access to Settings lets them change billing information, payment settings, and shipping. Only grant this to people who genuinely need it.
Editing or removing a staff account
Go to Settings → Users and permissions.
Click the staff member's name.
Edit permissions or click Delete staff account to remove them.
Save your changes.
When you remove a staff member, their account is deactivated immediately. They can no longer log in to your store.
What happens when someone leaves your team
When a staff member leaves, remove their account promptly. As a good security habit:
- Remove their staff account in Shopify
- Change any shared passwords they may have known
- Review whether they were the recipient of any forwarded email notifications
See Security steps when someone leaves for a complete checklist.
Transferring store ownership
If you want to transfer the full store owner role to someone else — for example, if you are selling the business — go to Settings → Users and permissions and look for the Transfer ownership option. The new owner must have a Shopify account.
Ownership transfer cannot be undone easily
Transferring ownership gives the new owner full control, including billing. Only do this intentionally. If you are selling your business, make sure the transfer happens as part of a formal handoff process.
Common questions
Related guides
- Give us Shopify collaborator access
- Shopify plans & billing
- Security steps when someone leaves
- Shopify terms, explained simply
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