Store with multiple business entities

Partner Discussions
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According to the GraphQL API as of the 2024-10 version a store can have multiples business entities each linked to a single ShopifyPaymentsAccount see businessEntities - GraphQL Admin. I have looked into the dev changelog and online articles and I cannot find much information about how a merchant can manage multiple business entities for a single store.
As a reporting app developer I am trying to understand in which scenario a store would have more then one business entity / shopify payments account so we can represent the Shopify data accurately. Could you please provide more information?

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I believe this is coming out with the new Shopify Markets later in the year.

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@ceri_waters thanks. The Shopify Partner support team actually got back to us with more info which was quite useful. I am sharing it here for everyone’s benefit. See below;

Key Scenarios for Multiple Business Entities

Shopify’s businessEntities field (via GraphQL) allows merchants to segment operations under distinct legal/financial entities within one store. Common use cases include:

  1. Global Expansion
  • A merchant operates in multiple countries/regions (e.g., US, EU, Asia) and needs separate entities to comply with local tax laws, banking regulations, or payment gateways.
  • Example: A US-based store selling in Europe might create a German business entity to handle EU VAT via a dedicated Shopify Payments account.
  1. Brand or Product Segmentation
  • A merchant manages distinct brands or product lines (e.g., clothing vs. electronics) requiring separate financial tracking, invoicing, or payout accounts.
  1. Regulatory Compliance
  • Certain industries (e.g., supplements, CBD) require isolated financial entities due to restricted product regulations or banking partner requirements.
  1. Multi-Currency/Multi-Region Payouts
  • Separate entities enable localized payouts (e.g., EUR to a French bank account, USD to a US account) while maintaining a unified storefront.

How It Works

  • Each businessEntity is tied to a ShopifyPaymentsAccount, allowing:
  • Independent payout schedules, tax reporting, and bank accounts per entity.
  • Granular transaction tracking (e.g., sales in France vs. Japan).
  • Merchants configure entities via Shopify Admin > Settings > Payments, often requiring documentation (e.g., tax IDs) for each entity.

Implications for Reporting Apps

  • Use the businessEntities and shopifyPaymentsAccount GraphQL objects to:
  • Map transactions to the correct entity (e.g., via currencyCode, countryCode, payoutSchedule).
  • Segment financial reports by entity (e.g., revenue per region/brand).
  • Ensure your app surfaces entity-specific metadata (tax IDs, bank details) where relevant.

Resources

  1. GraphQL BusinessEntity Object
  2. Multi-Region Shopify Payments Guide
  3. Handling Multi-Currency Transactions
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Wow that’s thorough! Thanks very much!