Hello,
I have a dev store I’m building out for a client, and I’ve had the client enter their payment information so that we can pick a monthly plan, then purchase some apps that we need for migration and subscription purposes. I’m hoping that I can keep the store in dev stage after choosing a play to finish the build, then transfer the ownership to the client. Is that possible?
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This is feasible. After you complete all the development work, transfer the store to the customer, remove the store’s protection password, and the store will be officially launched.
Hey @Jason_Florence!
I hope you don’t mind if I jump in with some clarification about how development stores work with payment plans.
What you’re hoping to do isn’t possible, since development stores and paid plans can’t be active together. As soon as payment info is added and a plan is picked, the store automatically becomes a live, billable store and loses its development status. There’s no toggle to keep it in “dev mode” once a billing plan kicks in. Our docs note that dev stores are for building with only free and partner-friendly apps, with paid functionality and real transactions only available after the upgrade.
The smoothest path is to complete your migration and building work with the free or partner-friendly apps and use test gateways, then transfer to your client when you’re ready for apps that require a paid plan.
Pro-tip: if your client plans to use Shopify Payments, make sure they’re the store owner before setting up any payment gateways. Shopify Payment may require verification steps that only the actual store owner can complete, so having the ownership sorted first will save you both from potential headaches down the road.
Hey @KyleG-Shopify thanks for that information. My issue is that I can’t fully complete the migration and development/testing using the free version of some apps, since they restrict certain features while in the free/dev store version.
Re: the payment gateways… the client will be using Shopify Payments, and I’ve allowed my client to log in to the dev store using my creds so they could fully set up that up, since a store “staff” member doesn’t have that permission. I was hoping that we could then purchase the apps and keep the store in dev mode. Is that not possible?
Lastly, since I’ve had the client set up their payment gateways (still in test mode though), is that going to cause issues when I go to transfer ownership?
Currently purchasing apps and keeping the store in dev mode isn’t possible. Once payment info is added and a plan is selected, the store can no longer be made in to a development store, regardless of whether you’re just trying to access paid app features for testing.
Regarding Shopify Payments setup, the documentation mentions that only the store owner can set up Shopify Payments, having your client use your credentials and their details may work, but it could potentially lead to some compliance issues since the payment account would initially be tied to your identity rather than their business. Our partner documentation on transferring dev stores specifically notes that if you activate Shopify Payments using your information before transfer, your client will need to contact Support afterward to update the account details to match their business information. I would recommend doing this before they launch to ensure it’s properly assigned to their business.
Ok, so dev store can’t be on a paid plan. Got it.
Can you clarify a few things, @KyleG-Shopify…?
- My client set up Shopify Payments using their business information, not mine, but it’s still in test mode. Is that considered “activated”? Will that cause issues when transferring and launching?
- I found this article on transferring a dev store
which seems pretty thorough. It states down at the bottom,
“The store will be paused until your client accepts the transfer.”
Does that mean simply accepting ownership, or will the store be locked and cannot be edited until a plan is selected and they begin payments to Shopify?
Happy to clarify:
Possibly. I can’t say for sure without looking in to the store details, so I would recommend reaching out to our support team logged in as the store owner so they can review the current configuration. They will be able to advise best.
When you add a development store to a paid plan, you will become the store owner. In that case, to transfer you’ll have to follow the steps to transfer ownership in the store admin as it’s no longer a development store. The option to handoff ownership of a development store in your partner dashboard isn’t possible once the store is already on a paid plan. Mentioned here.
- If you switch a development store to a paid plan, then you can’t transfer it using the Partner Dashboard. If you want to transfer the store to a client later, then you must transfer ownership and remove your payment details manually.
I’m planning to transfer the dev store to the client and let them pick a paid plan, using their payment details.
“The store will be paused until your client accepts the transfer.”
What exactly does “paused” mean?
It means the store is in an inactive state until the merchant picks their plan.
Can development still happen on the store while in this state?
I’m sorry I didn’t notice ‘dev’. I’m sorry, this is a serious mistake
No it’s not possible. The only option in this state is for your client to pick a plan and add their billing.
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