Shopify Finance: Tools for Managing Growth at Every Stage (2024) #CanadaFinance

Running a business comes with unique financial challenges, whether you’re just starting out or already scaling. Many entrepreneurs face barriers accessing the financial tools they need from traditional banks, including slow processes, poor or unestablished credit, or the lack of tailored products for online businesses.

In fact, more than one-quarter of small businesses do not have separate business bank accounts, according to a Clutch survey, and 24% of firms cite mixing business and personal finances as a challenge.¹ This can lead to several complications:

• Tax filing challenges: Combining personal and business expenses complicates tax filing, increasing the risk of errors, missed deductions, or audits. Proper categorization is essential to ensure compliance and minimize financial risks.

• Personal liability issues: Mixing finances can expose personal assets to business liabilities, increasing the risk in the event of lawsuits or financial difficulties.

• Time-consuming and confusing accounting: Managing mixed finances creates confusion in accounting, making it harder to track income, expenses, and overall business performance. This can lead to inefficiencies and increase the time and resources needed for accurate bookkeeping.

These barriers highlight the critical need for financial solutions that address the specific needs of businesses of all sizes.

Shopify Finance is designed to flip the traditional banking paradigm. While traditional banks cater to a broad range of industries, Shopify Finance is built exclusively to serve Shopify merchants, specifically modern retailers and ecommerce businesses. It offers a suite of financial tools designed to solve common pain points by helping businesses streamline their cash flow, access funds quickly, pay bills, and manage finances seamlessly in one place. 

In this article, we’ll explore how Shopify Finance works, the key benefits for your business, and real-world success stories that demonstrate its impact.

Financial challenges businesses face

For many businesses, navigating traditional banks can be frustrating. Processes are slow, and few options cater to the unique needs of ecommerce. Early-stage entrepreneurs with limited credit history often struggle to open business accounts and are forced to rely on personal finances, which complicates cash flow and adds risk. Additionally, many businesses only have access to limited financial products, such as term loans, making it difficult to secure more flexible funding options like sales-based loans and credit cards. 

As businesses grow, financial complexity increases. Most businesses end up managing multiple bank accounts, manually transferring funds between them to separate business and personal finances. This setup, while necessary, can be time-consuming and complicated. 

Shopify Finance addresses these issues head-on by providing integrated financial tools that evolve with your business needs, from starting to scaling, by aligning with your sales revenue. This all-in-one suite simplifies financial management, allowing businesses to focus on scaling efficiently at every stage while Shopify Finance takes care of the rest.

What is Shopify Finance?

Shopify Finance is a comprehensive suite of financial tools that includes Shopify Balance, Shopify Credit, Shopify Capital, Shopify Bill Pay, and Shopify Tax. These products are designed to help businesses manage their cash flow, gain faster access to funds, and simplify financial operations—all in the same platform where they manage their business. With everything built into the Shopify platform, Shopify Finance unifies business tasks and finances, streamlining your operations so you can focus on growth without juggling multiple tools.

Here’s how Shopify Finance can help businesses of all sizes:

• All-in-one financial management: Use a central dashboard as a unified home for your business finances, providing seamless access to tools that streamline your day-to-day operations. Manage everything from real-time financial insights to bills and taxes—right within the Shopify admin and mobile app.
• Faster, simpler access to funds: With tools like Shopify Capital, Shopify Credit, and Shopify Balance, businesses can access funds faster than they would with traditional banks.
• Maximized cash flow: Shopify Balance offers Annual Percentage Yield (APY) rewards for every dollar held in an account, while Shopify Credit provides cashback on eligible marketing, wholesale, and fulfillment purchases, enabling businesses to maximize savings and reinvest in growth.

Key benefits of Shopify Finance

All-in-one financial management

With Shopify Finance, businesses can get all the financial tools they need to start their business, manage everyday financial obligations, and continue to grow. Built into the platform, Shopify Finance seamlessly integrates their financial back office—spending, funding, payments, and taxes—providing a holistic view of their cash flow and business health on the Shopify platform. This integrated approach eliminates the need for multiple financial tools, reducing administrative complexity, and empowering businesses to focus on running their operations and driving sales.

Faster access to funds

Shopify Balance provides eligible businesses access to payouts from sales as fast as the next business day, keeping your cash flow healthy. Once a Shopify Capital offer is accepted, eligible merchants can access funds in as little as two business days. This process eliminates delays and reduces the paperwork typically required by traditional banks. 

Shopify Credit also offers businesses fast and simple access to the funds they need. Eligible businesses will see an offer in their account for a specific credit limit, which they can apply for. Once they apply, they can usually get a decision in minutes. If approved, they’ll have instant access to start spending with their virtual Shopify Credit card^Ф, a pay-in-full card with flexible repayment options.^§

Maximized cash flow

Shopify Finance offers tools that help businesses control and maximize their cash flow, such as faster payouts through Shopify Balance, the ability to schedule payments with Shopify Bill Pay, and flexible payment options with Shopify Credit. Businesses have the flexibility to manage payments according to their needs. With Shopify Credit, they can either choose to pay in full within the first month to avoid fees or over 10 months from sales for a fee.^§ These tools ensure that businesses can manage their finances more effectively while also accessing rewards and earning cash back that help them get more value from their business purchases. Businesses can reinvest these earnings to fuel business growth.

Growth-focused funding

Shopify Capital provides flexible funding designed to grow alongside your business. Unlike traditional banks, Shopify uses a store’s performance data to help identify new financial opportunities that evolve with your business needs. Eligible businesses can access offers for up to $2M in funding, with the potential to renew as their business expands. Repayment is based on daily sales, helping maintain cash flow without the stress of fixed monthly payments.* 

Shopify merchants can seize growth opportunities—such as opening a new store, expanding inventory, or launching a new product—without waiting through lengthy bank approval processes. A faster application process and funding in as soon as two business days helps you have the resources you need, when you need them, to scale your business efficiently.

Growth-focused rewards

Shopify Finance rewards businesses by offering competitive APY rewards** with Shopify Balance and cashback through Shopify Balance and Shopify Credit on key eligible business expenses like marketing, shipping, and wholesale buying—areas that matter to business owners. Additionally, businesses gain access to exclusive partner discounts on essential commerce tools. These benefits allow Shopify merchants to reinvest in their business and accelerate growth.

Breakdown of Shopify Finance products

Shopify offers a range of financial products designed to meet the diverse needs of businesses at every stage of growth, providing tailored solutions that scale seamlessly with businesses of all sizes. From managing daily finances to securing flexible funding, these tools empower businesses to streamline operations and seize growth opportunities.

Shopify Balance

Designed to start and scale your commerce business, Shopify Balance is a financial account allowing you to spend, save, earn, and move money with ease. It offers payouts as fast as the next business day, free money transfers via ACH, and a reward in the form of an APY** to help businesses maximize their earnings. Unlike some banks who charge fees for ATM withdrawals, we don’t charge any additional fees for accessing your funds.^✝✝ For Shopify Plus merchants, Shopify Balance also provides customized daily transfer limits up to $1M and next-business-day payouts^Я by default, ensuring cash flow flexibility as your business grows—all within your Shopify admin.

Shopify Credit

Shopify Credit is a pay-in-full Visa^® business card that offers cashback on eligible marketing, fulfillment, and wholesale purchases. You can earn up to 3% cashback on your top spend category on the first $100,000 of eligible spend per year and up to 1% on the rest of the year. Plus, earn 1% on the other two categories with no limits.^✝ There are also no credit checks, no impact to your personal credit score, no guarantor needed, and no annual fees. Businesses have up to 10 months to pay their statement balance. They can choose to pay in full at the end of the first month without fees or they can pay over time from a percentage of their sales for a fee over 10 months.^§ This structure allows businesses to manage their cash flow with flexibility, making payments only on days when they generate sales.

Shopify Capital

Shopify Capital is a flexible, founder-friendly funding option that allows businesses to grow on their terms. Whether you need to keep your bestsellers stocked, invest in marketing, or hire new talent, Shopify Capital provides fast, accessible offers for funding—up to $2M for eligible businesses—with no personal credit checks or lengthy approval processes. Unlike Shopify Credit, which is focused on day-to-day spending, Shopify Capital is designed for larger, growth-focused investments. Repayment is based on your daily sales, so you’re only repaying when your business is earning, ensuring cash flow remains stable even during slower periods.*

Shopify Bill Pay

Stop worrying about managing multiple payment deadlines—Shopify Bill Pay enables you to manage, automate, and pay bills from one place. Automate, schedule, and batch payments to save time and reduce fees. Maximize your cash flow by leveraging a credit card for payments—even when vendors don’t accept them—so you can keep working capital available for growth or investments. You can pay with a credit card, debit card, bank transfer, or Shopify Balance, and sync bills seamlessly from Gmail, QuickBooks Online, or Stocky, to simplify your financial operations and stay focused on growing your business.

39% of merchants feel they spend too much time managing their daily business finances¹

Shopify Tax

Keeping up with tax compliance is a challenge for growing businesses, especially in the United States, where there are different rates and regulations across states. Shopify Tax takes the stress out of this complex process. From automatically calculating and applying sales tax to filing sales tax returns, Shopify Tax helps you streamline compliance throughout the year. With Shopify Tax, you can stay focused on scaling your business while we handle the rest.

Real world success: How Shopify Finance helps businesses scale and succeed

Many Shopify merchants have experienced remarkable growth by leveraging Shopify Finance. Here are two businesses that have successfully used Shopify Finance to scale their operations:

Pupsentials

Pupsentials, a pet-centric brand founded by Jake and Kyndall Chambers, provides high-quality, custom-embroidered products for pet lovers. As demand surged, it faced the challenge of long production times—up to 6-8 weeks—which made it difficult to keep up with customer orders. 

To overcome this, Pupsentials partnered with Shopify Finance, securing the funding necessary to ramp up production and significantly reduce order turnaround times to just 5-7 days. With faster production cycles, it not only met customer demand but fueled further growth.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today, on our way to $10 million in revenue, if not for Shopify,” says Jake Chambers, co-founder of Pupsentials. “Their financial services delivered quick results, and the customer support has been invaluable. We’ve worked with multiple financial vendors in the past, but consolidating these services into one ecosystem just makes more sense.”

Skoon Cat Litter

Skoon Cat Litter transformed the pet care market with its all-natural, non-toxic, and odor-absorbing cat litter. However, managing international freight costs posed a major challenge, making it difficult to strategically time inventory purchases. With funding through Shopify Finance, Skoon gained the flexibility to place orders when shipping rates were most favorable, preserving profit margins and ensuring that its products remained affordable for customers.

What’s next for Shopify Finance?

Shopify Finance is built to grow with your business. And as you scale, Shopify Finance will continue to provide the tools and financial guidance you need to manage increasingly complex financial needs.

Shopify Finance is designed to help businesses of all sizes take control of their finances, access funds quickly, and focus on growing their businesses. Whether you need a high-yield business account, flexible credit options, or fast funding, Shopify Finance offers solutions to help meet your unique needs and is your partner in growth at every stage.

Shopify is a tech company, not a bank. Shopify partners withStripe Payments Company for money transmission services and account services with funds held at Evolve Bank & Trust and Fifth Third Bank, Members FDIC. Shopify Credit and Shopify Balance Visa^® Commercial Credit cards are powered by Stripe and issued by Celtic Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. All funding through Shopify Capital in the U.S. is issued by WebBank. Bill Pay is powered by Melio.

^ФEligibility is determined by various factors, including business performance, which does not include credit score. Most eligible merchants will receive a decision within minutes, and if approved will receive a virtual card.

*Available in select countries. All loans through Shopify Capital are issued by WebBank in the United States. Offers to apply do not guarantee funding. Shopify Capital loans are repaid based on a percentage of daily sales. The maximum repayment term is 18 months, and 2 minimum payments apply. The actual time period within which the loan is repaid may be less than 18 months. 


** Shopify provides a reward in the form of an annual percentage yield (APY) on the money you hold in Shopify Balance and it is not interest. The rate is variable, subject to change without notice, and accurate as of October 29, 2024. The reward accrues daily, and is compounded and paid monthly in the form of a credit to your Balance account.

^✝“Cashback” refers to rewards earned as a percentage discount on eligible purchases. Earn 3% cashback as a statement credit on up to US$100,000 of annual eligible purchases in your monthly top spend category—either marketing, fulfillment, or wholesale, and 1% cashback thereafter. Earn 1% cashback on the other two spend categories. Restrictions apply. See Rewards Program Terms for details.

^§Shopify Credit is a pay-in-full card. By default, you are opted in to paying your full statement balance by an automatic debit from your designated bank account within 1 month to avoid fees. You have the option to switch to making daily payments from your sales and take up to 10 months to pay your full statement balance, for a fee. If payment is not received in full within 10 months, a 2% monthly late fee will apply to your past-due balance.

^✝✝Shopify Balance has no monthly, transfer, or hidden fees. Shopify doesn’t charge any ATM withdrawal fees, but you may be charged by an ATM provider.

^ЯFor stores on the Basic, Shopify, or Advanced plans, Shopify Payments payouts are deposited in your Balance account within 5 business days, but most merchants will receive payouts within 1-3 business days. For stores on the Plus plan, payouts are deposited the next business day by default. Payout speed may be subject to change without notice.

¹Shopify internal study of 1,499 US-based merchants conducted in Q3 2022