Shopify User Management: Add and Remove | OpsBlu Docs

Shopify User Management: Add and Remove

How to add and remove team members in Shopify. Covers invitation workflows, role assignment, access revocation, and user lifecycle management for...

Complete step-by-step instructions for managing Shopify staff accounts, from adding new team members to properly offboarding departing staff.

Prerequisites

To manage staff, you must:

  • Be the store owner, OR
  • Have a staff account with "Manage staff" permission

Staff limits:

  • Check your plan's included staff accounts
  • Additional staff cost $5/month each (except Plus = unlimited)
  • Collaborator accounts don't count toward limit

Adding Staff Accounts

Step 1: Access User Management

  1. Log into Shopify Admin
  2. Click Settings (bottom left, gear icon)
  3. Click Users and permissions
  4. See current staff list

Step 2: Add Staff Member

  1. Click "Add staff" button (top right)
  2. Enter staff information:
    • First name: Required
    • Last name: Required
    • Email: Required (must be unique, not already a staff member)

Step 3: Set Permissions

Choose permission level:

Option A: Full Permissions

  • Select: "Give this staff member full permissions"
  • Grants: Access to everything except billing
  • Can: Add/remove other staff, change all settings
  • Use for: Store managers, administrators

Option B: Limited Permissions

  • Select: "Give this staff member limited permissions"
  • Choose specific permissions:

Select permissions by category (check those needed):

Orders:

  • View and manage orders
  • View and export orders
  • Process returns and exchanges

Products:

  • View products
  • View and manage products
  • View and manage product inventory

Customers:

  • View customers
  • View and manage customers
  • View and export customers

Discounts:

  • View discounts
  • View and manage discounts

Draft orders:

  • View and manage draft orders

Gift cards:

  • View and manage gift cards

Marketing:

  • View and manage marketing

Online store:

  • View themes
  • Edit and publish themes
  • Manage pages, navigation, blog posts

Reports:

  • View and export reports

Applications:

  • View and manage apps

Settings:

  • View store settings
  • View and edit store settings

Additional options:

  • Allow this staff to add or remove staff
  • Allow this staff to log in to your online store

See Roles and Permissions for detailed permission descriptions.

Step 4: Send Invitation

  1. Click "Send invite" button

  2. Email sent to staff member with:

    • Link to accept invitation
    • Instructions to create password
    • Store URL

  3. Invitation status: Shows "Invitation pending" until accepted

Step 5: Staff Accepts Invitation

Staff member receives email:

  1. Clicks invitation link in email
  2. Creates password for Shopify account
  3. Sets up two-factor authentication (if required)
  4. Gains access to Shopify admin

Invitation expiration: Invitations expire after 30 days.

Resend invitation:

  • Go to Settings → Users and permissions
  • Find staff member with "Pending" status
  • Click Resend invitation

Adding Collaborator Accounts (For Developers/Agencies)

Collaborator accounts are designed for temporary access by developers, agencies, or consultants.

When to Use Collaborators

Use collaborator accounts for:

  • Shopify Partners (agencies, developers)
  • Theme developers
  • App developers
  • Temporary consultants
  • Anyone who needs theme/app access only

Don't count toward staff limit Can't access:

  • Customer data
  • Order data
  • Store settings
  • Financial information

Step 1: Request Collaborator Code

Agency/developer provides:

  • 4-digit collaborator code
  • OR sends collaborator request link

Step 2: Add Collaborator

  1. Settings → Users and permissions
  2. Scroll to "Collaborators" section
  3. Click "Add collaborators"

Two methods:

Method A: Collaborator Request Code

  1. Enter 4-digit code provided by agency
  2. Click "Add collaborator"
  3. Collaborator appears in list immediately

Method B: Request from Partner

  1. Agency sends request link to store owner
  2. Owner clicks link
  3. Reviews requested permissions
  4. Approves or denies request

Step 3: Set Collaborator Permissions

Limited permission options:

  • Themes: View themes, Edit themes
  • Apps: Specific apps only
  • No access to: Orders, customers, settings

Step 4: Remove Collaborator

When project is complete:

  1. Settings → Users and permissions
  2. Collaborators section
  3. Find collaborator
  4. Click "Remove"
  5. Confirm removal

Best practice: Remove collaborators immediately when work is done.

Managing Existing Staff

View Current Staff

Settings → Users and permissions shows:

  • Active staff: Currently has access
  • Pending invitations: Invited but not accepted
  • Collaborators: Partner accounts
  • Staff count: X of Y staff accounts used

Edit Staff Permissions

  1. Settings → Users and permissions
  2. Click staff name
  3. Modify permissions:
    • Change from Full to Limited (or vice versa)
    • Adjust specific permissions
    • Add/remove access to categories
  4. Click "Save"

When to edit permissions:

  • Staff role changes (promotion, new responsibilities)
  • Temporary elevated access needed
  • Reduce permissions after project complete
  • Security best practice: least privilege

Require Two-Factor Authentication

Enable for all staff (highly recommended):

  1. Settings → Users and permissions
  2. Click "Security"
  3. Enable: "Require two-step authentication for all staff"
  4. Save

What happens:

  • All staff prompted to set up 2FA on next login
  • Must use authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.)
  • Cannot access store without 2FA enabled

If staff loses 2FA device:

  1. Store owner goes to Settings → Users and permissions
  2. Click staff name
  3. Disable two-step authentication (temporary)
  4. Staff logs in and sets up new 2FA

Transfer Asset Ownership

Before removing staff, transfer ownership of:

  • Unpublished products they created
  • Draft blog posts
  • Scheduled campaigns
  • Any assets with their name

How to check:

  • Search for content by staff member name
  • Filter orders/drafts by staff
  • Review recent activity

Removing Staff Accounts

When to Remove Staff

Immediate removal required:

  • ✓ Employee termination
  • ✓ Employee resignation
  • ✓ Contractor project complete
  • ✓ End of temporary assignment
  • ✓ Security incident

Regular review removal:

  • ✓ Unused accounts (no activity 90+ days)
  • ✓ Duplicate accounts
  • ✓ Test accounts no longer needed

Step-by-Step Removal Process

Step 1: Document Current Access

Before removing:

  • Note staff member's current permissions
  • Check assets they own
  • Document reason for removal
  • Record removal date

Step 2: Transfer Ownership

Transfer any owned assets:

  • Products (especially unpublished)
  • Draft orders
  • Blog posts/pages (drafts)
  • Scheduled content
  • Campaign drafts

How:

  • Edit each asset
  • Change owner to another staff member
  • Save

Step 3: Remove Staff Account

  1. Settings → Users and permissions
  2. Find staff member in list
  3. Click staff name to open details
  4. Scroll to bottom
  5. Click "Remove staff member" (red button)
  6. Confirm removal in dialog

What happens:

  • Access revoked immediately
  • Cannot log into Shopify admin
  • Email notifications stop
  • Staff account deleted

Cannot be undone: Must re-invite if removal was mistake.

Step 4: Verify Removal

Confirm:

  • Staff account no longer in list
  • Staff count decreased by 1
  • Staff cannot access store (test if possible)
  • Billing adjusted (if paying per staff)

Step 5: Security Cleanup

If staff had elevated access:

  • Review recent activity for suspicious actions
  • Check for any setting changes
  • Verify theme code integrity
  • Review installed apps
  • Consider changing shared passwords (if any)

Removing Multiple Staff

For bulk offboarding:

  1. Remove one at a time (no bulk action available)
  2. Document each removal
  3. Transfer assets before removal
  4. Keep track of removed accounts

Special Scenarios

Removing Store Owner

Cannot remove store owner.

To change owner:

  1. Current owner must transfer ownership
  2. Settings → Account
  3. Transfer ownership
  4. Enter new owner email
  5. New owner accepts transfer
  6. Billing responsibility transfers

Use case: Selling business, ownership change.

Staff Leave Unexpectedly

Security-first approach:

  1. Remove access immediately (same day)
  2. Transfer assets later if needed
  3. Review recent activity
  4. Check for any unusual changes
  5. Consider changing critical passwords

Temporary Leave (Vacation, Medical)

Don't remove account. Instead:

  • Reduce permissions temporarily (if security concern)
  • Inform team of absence
  • Assign backup person
  • Restore permissions when staff returns

Alternative: Shopify doesn't support "disabled" status. Consider:

  • Removing and re-adding (loses activity history)
  • Keeping account but communicating absence

Contractor with Recurring Projects

Options:

Option 1: Keep collaborator account

  • Free (doesn't count toward limit)
  • Reactivate when needed
  • Remove between projects

Option 2: Staff account

  • Costs $5/month even if unused
  • Not recommended for sporadic access

Recommendation: Use collaborator account.

Staff Refuses to Return Equipment/Assets

Digital access:

  1. Remove Shopify access immediately
  2. Change any shared passwords
  3. Revoke API keys if applicable
  4. Remove from any connected services

Cannot force:

  • Returning of devices
  • Deletion of personal copies of data

Prevent:

  • Company-owned devices only
  • Clear policies in employment contracts
  • Regular access reviews

Monitoring Staff Activity

View Staff Activity Log

Shopify Plus only: Detailed activity log available.

All plans:

  1. Settings → Notifications
  2. Staff activity
  3. Subscribe to email notifications for:
    • Staff logins
    • Permission changes
    • Major setting changes
    • Theme modifications

Regular Access Audits

Recommended schedule: Quarterly

Audit checklist:

  • List all active staff accounts
  • Verify each person still needs access
  • Check permissions still appropriate
  • Identify unused accounts (no logins 90+ days)
  • Remove unnecessary accounts
  • Document review date and findings

Best Practices Summary

Adding Staff

Do:

  • ✓ Use least privilege principle
  • ✓ Grant only necessary permissions
  • ✓ Require 2FA for all staff
  • ✓ Use collaborator accounts for agencies
  • ✓ Document permissions granted

Don't:

  • ✗ Give full permissions by default
  • ✗ Share staff accounts
  • ✗ Use staff accounts for developers (use collaborator)
  • ✗ Add staff without documenting reason

Removing Staff

Do:

  • ✓ Remove access same day as departure
  • ✓ Transfer asset ownership first
  • ✓ Document removal
  • ✓ Review recent activity
  • ✓ Clean up any shared credentials

Don't:

  • ✗ Delay removal "to finish something"
  • ✗ Leave inactive accounts
  • ✗ Forget to transfer owned assets
  • ✗ Skip exit procedures

Troubleshooting

Can't Add Staff (Reached Limit)

Issue: "You've reached your staff limit."

Solutions:

  • Remove unused staff accounts
  • Upgrade plan (more included staff)
  • Pay for additional staff ($5/month each)
  • Use collaborator account if appropriate

Staff Didn't Receive Invitation

Check:

  • Email address correct (case-sensitive)
  • Check spam/junk folder
  • Invitation not expired (30 days)

Fix: Resend invitation from Settings → Users and permissions.

Can't Remove Staff Member

Possible causes:

  • You don't have permission to manage staff
  • Trying to remove store owner (not possible)

Fix: Must be store owner or have "Manage staff" permission.

Staff Can't Log In After Adding

Check:

  • Invitation accepted?
  • Password created?
  • 2FA set up (if required)?
  • Using correct email?

Fix: Reset password, resend invitation, or disable 2FA temporarily.

Former Staff Still Has Access

Verify removal:

  • Settings → Users and permissions
  • Check if account still in list
  • If yes, remove again
  • If no, ask staff to clear browser cache and try again

Next Steps

For general user management concepts, see User Management Guide.

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