Shopify
Hire a Shopify virtual assistant
A Shopify virtual assistant handles the daily admin inside a store you already run: product uploads, collections, order issues and customer replies. You keep the decisions on prices, refunds and stock. Rates start from about £6.50 an hour at the beginner level, and plain catalogue and order admin may be priced from £4.50. We find the candidate and run four screening steps before you meet anyone.
Four screening steps before you meet a candidate
Hours tracked each month
Earliest start within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate
The Shopify admin an assistant takes on
Store owners lose hours to small jobs: a supplier sheet to enter, a missing parcel, the same sizing question again. This page covers that admin, inside a store that is already built. It does not cover building a store, writing theme code or developing apps. For code work, see the virtual assistant web developer role.
Catalogue
- Product uploads. Entering new lines from your supplier sheet: title, description, variants, price, stock and images with alt text.
- Collections and tags. Placing each product where shoppers look for it, using the naming rules you set.
- Bulk edits. Preparing the spreadsheet for a price change or a new range, running the import and checking a sample afterwards.
- Catalogue tidy. Listing products with no image, no description or a zero price, and archiving lines you have dropped.
Orders
- Order checks. Flagging orders with address problems, payment holds or stock shortfalls, and passing them to you.
- Dispatch admin. Following your packing process, adding tracking numbers and marking orders fulfilled.
- Missing parcels. Chasing the courier with the order details and logging each case until it closes.
- Returns and exchanges. Logging requests, sending the returns instructions you approve and recording refunds you authorise. UK sellers must tell online customers that they can cancel up to 14 days after delivery, for any reason (GOV.UK, returns and refunds, read 8 November 2026). General information, not legal advice.
Customer messages
- Routine questions. Answering delivery times, order status and sizing from answers you have approved.
- Escalation. Passing complaints, damaged goods and refund requests to you the same day, with the order attached.
- Page upkeep. Keeping delivery information, size guides and returns pages in step with what you do.
Roles that suit a Shopify store
The work above is admin, so most stores start with one of these roles. A client can hire more than one assistant.
| Role | Suits | Beginner rate, per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual admin assistant | Uploads, order admin, inbox | £4.50 |
| Customer support assistant | Stores with a busy inbox and many returns | From about £6.50 |
| Graphic designer | Product images, banners, size guides | £4.50 |
| Digital marketing assistant | Email campaigns and ads for the store | £6.50 |
If your shop runs on WordPress, read about the WordPress virtual assistant. For the wider picture of selling online, see the ecommerce virtual assistant page.
What it costs
A Shopify virtual assistant starts from about £6.50 an hour at the beginner level and rises with experience and skill set. If your need is plain catalogue and order admin, the Admin and support grid in the table below may fit instead. The table shows that grid, not a Shopify specific rate. We confirm the role and the exact price in writing before you commit, and the fee is billed monthly. Part time is 80 hours a month (20 a week) and full time is 160 (40 a week). There is no separate recruitment fee.
| Role | Experience level | Per hour | Part time, 80 hours a month | Full time, 160 hours a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin and support | Beginner (1 to 2 years) | £4.50 | £360 | £720 |
| Admin and support | Intermediate (2 to 4 years) | £6.50 | £520 | £1,040 |
| Admin and support | Expert (4 to 6 years) | £8.50 | £680 | £1,360 |
| Admin and support | Pro (6 to 8 years) | £11.50 | £920 | £1,840 |
The pricing page shows every role. You can also try the cost calculator.
On the call we talk through your store and the hours you want.
A product upload checklist you can hand over
Hand the assistant this list with your supplier sheet. It shows what a finished product needs before it goes live.
| Field | What to check | Common slip |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Follows your naming pattern, with the main term first | Supplier codes left in the title |
| Description | Written from your notes, with the facts a buyer asks about | Supplier text pasted in unchanged |
| Variants | Every size or colour has its own price, stock and image | A variant left at zero stock by accident |
| Price | Matches the sheet; any compare at price is intended | A sale price left on after a sale |
| Stock | Matches the count you gave | Stock tracking switched off |
| Images | Right order, plain file names, alt text that describes the picture | Missing alt text |
| Collections and tags | Placed in the collections you named | A product in no collection at all |
| Search listing | Page title and description written for the product | Left blank, so Shopify fills it in |
Shopify says a product CSV cannot exceed 15 MB, and its headers must match the sample file exactly, including case. An import cannot be cancelled once it begins, and matching handles are skipped unless you choose to overwrite. Shopify advises a backup of product data first (Shopify Help Center, importing products with a CSV file, read 8 November 2026).
A Shopify admin rhythm
General guidance, not a promise about any one assistant. Most stores settle into a pattern like this.
| How often | Typical jobs |
|---|---|
| Daily | Check new orders for problems, add tracking numbers, answer the shared inbox, log returns requests |
| Weekly | Upload new products, tidy collections, review products with no image or description, chase open parcels |
| Monthly | Check stock against your count, archive dropped lines, update delivery and returns pages, review discount codes that should have ended |
Staff access: grant what the work needs
Give the assistant a staff account of their own, never your login. Shopify says permissions “grant or restrict access to specific areas of your business for a specific context” (Shopify Help Center, staff account permissions, read 8 November 2026). Check the permission names in Shopify’s own list, then decide.
General guidance, not a promise about any one assistant.
| Usually grant | Usually withhold unless you decide otherwise |
|---|---|
| Products, collections and inventory | Billing and your Shopify plan |
| Orders, fulfilment and returns | Store settings and payment settings |
| Customer records, if replies need them | Adding or removing other users |
| The shared inbox | Apps and theme code |
See our data protection page.
Example only: a small shop hands over its admin
Example only. The shop, hours and split are invented to show how a handover can look. No real client is described, and this is not a quote or a result.
An imaginary candle shop wants 20 hours a week, which is 80 hours a month. The owner splits it into 28 hours on catalogue, 20 on orders and returns, 20 on customer messages and 12 on page upkeep and housekeeping. To show the arithmetic, take the Admin and support rate. At the beginner level, 80 hours at £4.50 an hour is £360 a month. At the intermediate level, at £6.50, it is £520.
The owner sets one rule: refunds above a limit stay with the owner. Each Friday the owner opens ten sampled product pages and ten answered messages. When a month of samples comes back clean, the owner adds a second stream of work.
A checklist before you hand over
General guidance, not a promise about any one assistant. Settle these points first.
- Does the assistant have a staff account with limited permissions?
- What format is the supplier sheet, and who fixes it when it is wrong?
- What naming rules apply to titles, collections and image files?
- Who approves a new product before it goes live?
- Which questions may the assistant answer alone, and which come to you?
- What is the refund limit above which a decision comes to you?
- Where are open parcels and returns logged, and who reads the log?
- Which backup do you take before a bulk edit?
Is a Shopify assistant right for you?
An assistant suits you if
- You run a live Shopify store and the same admin comes back every week.
- You can write down your naming rules, your replies and your refund limit.
- You want to start with 20 hours a week and add more as the range grows.
Another option may suit you better if
- You need theme code or app work: the virtual assistant web developer role is the nearer match.
- Your biggest job is the inbox: a customer support assistant.
- You want a whole week of one person’s time across several jobs: a full time virtual assistant.
How hiring works
You start with a free call about the work and the hours. We shortlist candidates who have passed our screening, you interview them and you choose. We then set up the platforms and tools your assistant needs. Hours are tracked with tools such as Time Doctor, and we run recruitment, payroll management and quality management for you. The earliest start is within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate.
Four screening steps before you meet anyone
- CV screening.
- A first interview on personality and the general benchmark criteria.
- A technical interview.
- A practical task, to test the candidate in the field.
In the first 3 months, you can end an unsuitable hire on one week’s notice. In the first days, you can tell us it is not right and we will replace them. After the first 3 months, notice is 1 month. Replacement is included in the ongoing fee for as long as you are paying, at no extra charge. The full terms are on how it works.
Questions about Shopify virtual assistants
Can a virtual assistant manage my Shopify store?
They can run the daily admin: product uploads, collections, order checks, returns logging and customer replies. You keep control of prices, refunds, stock decisions and settings. The virtual admin assistant page lists the inbox and records work in more detail.
What access does a Shopify virtual assistant need?
A staff account of their own, with permissions for the areas the work touches, such as products, orders and the inbox. Keep billing, settings and user management with you. Shopify lists the available permissions, so check its page before you set them. Never share your own login.
How much does a Shopify virtual assistant cost?
From about £6.50 an hour at the beginner level, rising with experience. Plain admin may be priced on the Admin and support grid in the table above. Part time is 80 hours a month and full time is 160. We confirm the exact price in writing before you commit. See the pricing page for every role.
Can they build or code my Shopify store?
This role covers admin inside a store you already run, not building a store, theme code or apps. If you need development work, read about the virtual assistant web developer role and tell us on the call what you need built.
Related
See all CMS experts, read about virtual assistants for ecommerce, or compare pricing.
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