Before you hire a Shopify agency

1. What specific deliverables are included, in writing?

Ask for the channels, stores, markets, named operator, review cadence and output. For a paid-media engagement, clarify who builds campaigns, supplies creative, updates product feeds and changes landing pages. A theme rebuild is a different scope.

Ask to see: a deliverable list with an owner and acceptance criteria for each item.

2. What is explicitly out of scope?

Check theme development, app subscriptions, photography, email flows, product data and ongoing maintenance. Separate the agency fee from ad spend and third-party costs. An excluded task still needs an owner if the campaign depends on it.

Ask to see: exclusions and the costs your business pays separately.

3. How is additional work approved?

Agree how new requests are estimated and approved before work starts. A separate project quote, a defined hourly arrangement or referral to a specialist can each be appropriate. Record who can authorize extra cost and changes to delivery dates.

4. What will the monthly report show?

Ask for an example report format or a demonstration using sample data. It should connect the work to your objective and explain what changed, what was learned and what happens next. Confidential client records are not necessary to demonstrate a useful reporting method.

Ask to see: the proposed reporting format and a change log, with a review cadence suited to your engagement.

5. Which source defines each metric?

Agree how orders, net sales, refunds, ad spend and attributed conversions are defined. Shopify, GA4 and ad platforms can report different totals because their measurement methods, time zones and attribution settings differ. A discrepancy is a question to reconcile, not automatic evidence that one system is broken.

See Shopify’s explanation of analytics discrepancies. Ask the agency to record the source, reporting window and exclusions beside each decision-making metric.

6. How will spend be connected to business results?

Ask how the report distinguishes platform-attributed revenue from store-wide sales and profit. Include product costs, discounts, refunds and agency fees when assessing the economics. Where relevant, separate brand demand, new-customer acquisition and returning customers instead of treating one ROAS figure as the whole story.

Ask to see: a worked calculation, its assumptions and the decisions it can actually support.

7. Which Shopify permissions does the agency need, and why?

Ask for a task-by-task permission request. Reading reports, editing a theme and managing an app require different access. Customer data, payment settings and broad editing permissions should not be granted merely because the supplier calls itself a marketing agency.

Shopify supports collaborator accounts for Partners. Review the requested role before accepting; grant the permissions needed for the agreed tasks. See Shopify’s collaborator-account guidance and permission reference.

8. Who controls the ad accounts, analytics and tags?

List the Shopify store, Google Ads account, Meta business assets, GA4 property, tag container, domain and connected apps. Record your business’s access, the agency’s role, billing responsibility and any dependency on agency-owned tools.

Google Ads manager ownership is an administrative permission, not a transfer of the client account’s data ownership. Linking an existing account does not grant manager ownership by default. Check the specific platform model rather than assuming every account works the same way. Google’s ownership guidance explains the distinction.

9. Where can you see changes and approvals?

Agree where changes to campaigns, feeds, tracking, themes and apps are recorded. The log should identify the change, reason, date and responsible person. For store changes, agree the testing, approval and rollback process before something reaches your live checkout.

Ask to see: the shared change log and the approval path for spending or publishing changes.

10. What should progress look like at the agreed checkpoints?

Ask about month 3, 6 or 12 if those dates fit the engagement, but do not accept a universal timetable. A new store, a mature brand and a tracking repair have different starting conditions. Budget, buying cycles, stock, creative supply and existing data affect what can be learned.

Separate delivery commitments from outcome targets. A launch date or tested tracking implementation can have explicit acceptance criteria. Sales growth and acquisition cost need a baseline, assumptions and a review process.

11. What are the notice period and remaining commitments?

Read the actual renewal, notice, cancellation and payment provisions. Record when notice must be given and what costs remain. There is no universal notice period that makes every engagement good or bad; evaluate the commitment before signing and get advice on terms you do not understand.

12. What will be handed over, in what format?

List account access, campaign history, theme files, creative source files, measurement documentation and exports that are included. Distinguish your business’s data from third-party licenses, agency tools and materials with restricted usage rights. Payment alone does not establish that every asset or license can be transferred.

Agree a handoff owner, timing, file formats and any transition fee. Confirm how live campaigns, tags, apps and billing will keep working when agency access is removed. Use the agency transition guide if you are already planning a switch.