Shopify Partners glossary
To learn more about the Shopify Partner Program, refer to these key pages in the Partner Help Center:
To develop apps or themes, refer to the Shopify developer documentation.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| App store registration fee | A one-time $19 USD fee to join the app revenue share program. It is waived for accounts created before August 1, 2021, or if you only build private/custom apps. |
| Associated Developer Account | Any Partner account registered via the Developer program page. This includes all staff, test, or app-specific accounts, regardless of activity level. |
| Base platform fee | The fixed monthly subscription fee for a Shopify Plus or Enterprise plan. Under New Terms: This forms the basis for the 20% Launch Partner revenue share. |
| Basis points (bps) | A fraction of a percentage (1 bps = 0.01%). Under New Terms: Launch Partners earn 10 bps (0.10%) on eligible online GMV. (e.g., 10 bps on $1,000,000 = $1,000). |
| Billed platform fee | The base or variable subscription fee charged to a merchant in a given billing period. |
| Billing store | The primary store in a Plus organization where all platform fees are billed. Partner revenue share is calculated from this store, not from expansion stores. |
| Client transfer store | A free store built by a partner. Transferring it to a client who selects a paid plan triggers recurring revenue share. |
| Collaborator account | An account that lets you safely request and manage access to a client's existing Shopify store directly from your Partner Dashboard. |
| Co-sell | A collaborative arrangement where a Shopify Partner works alongside the Shopify Sales team to progress a merchant deal. |
| Co-sold deal | A collaborative deal between a partner and Shopify Sales. Partners must be officially assigned the Launch role and submit a signed SOW before the deal closes to earn revenue share. |
| Dev store (development store) | A free Shopify store used to build and test apps, themes, and store setups, not for real selling (no live transactions). A development store can't be transferred to a merchant; building a store to hand off to a merchant uses a client transfer store instead. |
| DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) | Sales made directly to end consumers online. Under New Terms: DTC sales qualify for the 0.1% of eligible online GMV (4 year term) |
| Earnings | Money earned based on your specific Partner activities, program tier, and location. |
| Eligible online GMV | The total value of a merchant's online consumer (DTC) transactions, calculated on a net basis (total sales minus returns and refunds). Eligible online GMV strictly excludes B2B or wholesale transactions, and is capped at a maximum of $100 million USD annually per merchant. |
| Enterprise Commerce | A composable suite of Shopify components designed to integrate with a large retailer's existing systems. |
| Expansion Store | Additional stores under a single Plus contract (typically for international or B2B). Note: Because they lack a standalone platform fee, partners earn 0.10% of net online GMV (4-year term) instead of standard Plus revenue share. |
| Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) | The total value of orders processed. Under New Terms: Launch Partners earn 0.1% of eligible online GMV (excluding returns/refunds). |
| Gross Payments Volume (GPV) | The total value of eligible in-person POS transactions processed through Shopify Payments. GPV excludes online sales, cash payments, and other payment methods not processed through Shopify Payments. It is used to calculate the POS Payments Profit Share. |
| Inactivity penalty | A discontinued rule (removed August 9, 2024) that reset a partner's revenue share to 0% if they had no new referrals in 12 months. Resets applied before this date cannot be reinstated. |
| Ineligible Shopify Plus lead referral | A lead disqualified from payouts (e.g., no sales deal created within 30 days, unqualified merchant, or a Shopify sales opportunity was already open). |
| Launch | The process of activating a merchant's store so it is live and processing real, non-test orders. To qualify for partner revenue share and payouts, the merchant must select an active paid Shopify plan. |
| Launch Partner | The partner who launches a store and earns recurring revenue share. Requires completing a store transfer or working with sales and providing a signed SOW before the deal closes. |
| Launch Partner revenue share | Recurring revenue share earned by the Launch Partner. Under New Terms: 20% of the base platform fee + 0.1% of eligible online GMV for a 4-year term. |
| Net-new | A prospective merchant who has never been a paying Shopify customer or processed orders. |
| New Terms | Earning rules effective August 10, 2026. Key updates: 4-year revenue share terms, 0.1% of eligible online GMV, $2,500 payouts for existing upgrades, and a 4-year POS profit share. |
| One-time Plus payout | A $2,500 payment for qualifying Plus referrals. Under New Terms: Applies to both net-new merchants and existing merchants upgrading to Plus. |
| Partner Dashboard | Your central hub to build, track, and manage your apps, themes, client stores, referrals, and payouts. |
| Platform credits | Shopify-issued credits applied to a merchant's invoice. If an invoice is reduced to $0, partner revenue share is $0 until credits are exhausted and the merchant pays out-of-pocket. |
| Plus Auto-Upgrade Invitation | A Partner Dashboard feature (under Leads) that lets a partner send a Shopify Plus upgrade invitation directly to a merchant. The merchant must click the partner's link and complete the upgrade to Shopify Plus for the partner to be eligible for Plus earnings (revenue share for original developers; $2,500 payout for non-developers). |
| POS Payments Profit Share | A 20% recurring revenue share on Shopify's net margin from POS in-person payment processing. Under the new terms, this applies for a 4-year period. |
| POS Pro | Shopify's premium subscription for selling in person, offering advanced retail features such as staff management, inventory management, and enhanced in-store workflows. |
| POS Pro Activation Bonus | A $500 payment for referring a net-new merchant who activates POS Pro and meets usage requirements within 6 months. |
| Previous Terms | The practice of applying the original program terms to a referral or store when a program change takes effect. Stores launched, or deals closed, before August 10, 2026 remain on their original previous terms and are not automatically moved to the New Terms. |
| Processing fee | A 2.9% payment processing fee applied to app billing transactions, listed on partner payout statements. |
| Qualified lead | A lead registered before a Shopify Sales opportunity opens, and where sufficient merchant info and handoff are provided within 30 days. |
| Revenue share | A payout model where a partner receives a percentage of the revenue or profit generated by a merchant they referred, transferred, or launched. |
| Sales deal | An active deal in Shopify's CRM. A partner lead must be submitted before a deal opens to earn the $2,500 payout. |
| Shop Pay off Shopify | Enterprise components allow large businesses to use Shop Pay checkout without operating a standard Shopify storefront. |
| Shopify fees | Shopify's retained revenue share on app, theme, or service sales made through its marketplaces. |
| Shopify Partner | A freelancer or agency enrolled in the free Shopify Partner Program who earns revenue by building stores, apps, or referring clients. |
| Shopify Plus B2B | Built-in wholesale features for Plus allow merchants to sell wholesale directly through Shopify, including custom pricing, company accounts, and net payment terms. |
| Shopify Plus B2B lead referral form | A Partner Dashboard form for submitting Plus B2B leads. |
| Shopify Plus lead referral form | A Partner dashboard form for submitting Plus leads. Must precede a Shopify Sales opportunity to qualify for the $2,500 payout. |
| Shopify Support | The team that assists with Partner Program questions and client issues. You can contact them via chat or email through the Help Center in your Partner Dashboard. |
| Statement of Work (SOW) | A signed partner-merchant agreement outlining the store build or migration scope. To be designated the Launch Partner on co-sold deals, you must provide an SOW to Shopify Sales before closing. (Note: Partners working with Sales on Advanced plan deals do not require an SOW to earn revenue share). |
| Store transfer | Transferring ownership of a client transfer store to a merchant. Triggers Launch Partner revenue share strictly on the primary billing store. |
| Variable platform fee | The transaction volume-based fee billed to a merchant, separate from the fixed base platform fee. |
This glossary reflects terms under the New Terms (effective August 10, 2026). Where terms differ across previous terms and new program versions, this is noted in the definition. For full program details, refer to the Partner Program Agreement and the How to Earn page in the Partner Help Center.