What Is Shopify Balance? Shopify Balance Account Review 2023
Shopify is one of the leading ecommerce platforms, used by millions of businesses in more than 175 countries to power their stores. In 2020 it unveiled Shopify Balance, an account and card designed for its entrepreneurial small business customers.
What is Shopify Balance?
Ecommerce business owners who use Shopify are selling goods using Shopify products. When launching Shopify Balance, the company noted that “two in five merchants are currently using their personal bank accounts and cards for business.”
Mixing business and personal accounts is never a good practice, and Shopify Balance aims to help remedy that for its merchant customers.
Shopify Balance has two main components:
Shopify Balance Account: This is a free business account that’s built into Shopify. There are no monthly fees, transfer fees, ATM fees or minimum balances.
It’s not a bank account though it is eligible for up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance.
At launch, the company described it as a “one-stop-shop within the Shopify admin where merchants can get a clear view of cash flow, pay bills, track expenses, and make decisions about the future of their business.”
Shopify Balance Card: Shopify offers physical and virtual cards that merchants can use to access their money more quickly and make purchases in stores, on mobile or online. It also allows them to withdraw funds from ATMs with no fee charged by Shopify. (Individual ATM owners may charge an ATM fee.)
Eligible purchases made using the Shopify Balance card earn Shopify Balance rewards of 2% cash back. These include Shopify shipping purchases; Shopify email; marketing ad campaigns with Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok; apps from the Shopify App Store; themes from the theme store, and custom domains purchased through Shopify .
Cardholders can also earn 10% cashback when they use the card to hire designers and freelancers in Shopify’s Expert Marketplace or when purchasing marketing campaigns using Snapchat.
The 2% cashback reward tops out at $2000 annually with the balance resetting January 1st of each year.
Shopify Balance allows merchants to get money from Shopify sales up to 4 days earlier than a bank. Using app integrations, customers can connect their Shopify balance to Venmo, Wise, Freshbooks, Bench etc.
How To Set Up Your Shopify Balance Account
To set up your Shopify Balance account, you must first have a Shopify Payments account. Your store must be based in the US or Puerto Rico, have a valid US Social Security number, have a single-owner Shopify Payments account and be on any Shopify Plan except Shopify Plus (the plan for higher-volume businesses).
You’ll need to set up two-factor authentication to help keep your account more secure. 2FA helps secure the login process.
On your Shopify admin account you’ll choose Finances, then Balance, then Open Account. You’ll enter your Social Security number and your mobile number then confirm. You need to agree to the Account agreement and Shopify Balance Card Agreement. Sign your documents electronically and you’re good to go.
Your payouts will now be deposited to your Shopify Balance account. If you get financing through Shopify Capital, those funds will be deposited there as well. Payments for Shopify Capital financing will then come out of the Balance account so make sure you keep enough money in the account to cover them.
How To Manage Your Shopify Balance Account
Once you’ve signed up the Shopify Balance home page allows you to access and view your account information, including your account statements and cash flow insights.
If you have a Balance card, you can view that account and you can see any cash back rewards you’ve earned. From the Shopify balance homepage, you can also transfer funds.
You can also set up low-balance alerts, which are a helpful way to make sure you stay on top of your funds.
Some accounts have access to create up to five accounts you can use for budgeting purposes.
You can also authorize employees to view Shopify Balance transactions and how much money is available to spend.
How To Set Up A Physical Shopify Balance Card
A physical Shopify Balance card allows you to make in store purchases or withdrawal money from ATMs. You can order a physical card from your Balance account. You can customize it (as long as you don’t infringe on a copyright or use profanity or violence, for example) or you can request a blank card.
How To Activate Your Physical Shopify Balance Card
As with any new card, once it arrives in the mail you’ll need to authenticate it before you use it.
It’s simple enough to do. Simply log into your Balance account and under Your Balance card click on Activate Physical Cards. You’ll set up a four digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) and confirm it. Finally, you’ll need to respond to the activation text message you receive on your cell phone.
Your Shopify Balance account comes with Visa benefits such as auto rental coverage and roadside assistance.
How To Manage Your Shopify Balance Card
Managing your account is simple. Just log in to view your balance and other information. You can link your card to your Apple Wallet or Google Pay if you like.
And if you decide to change your PIN, you can do that in your account. You can also update account information, such as contact info.
And if your card is lost or stolen you can lock it.
How To View All Account Statements
You can view or download account statements from your Balance account. Once transactions have been posted, you can export them into a CSV file to easily upload them to your accounting software.
How to Send Funds to or From Your Shopify Balance Account
You can send funds to your Balance account by going to Finances > Balances and then choose Move Money. On that page you’ll see your daily transfer limit.
Pick “Add Funds to Balance” and copy your Shopify Balance details. You’ll then log into your bank account and use those details to transfer funds to your Shopify Balance account.
That process requires a little work (at least the first time you set it up), and to make it easier, some merchants have early access to connect a bank account so they can easily send funds.
To transfer funds from your Shopify Balance account, click on Move Money. You’ll need to add an account using the routing number or connect a bank account (if available).
Transfers are sent immediately, but they can take up to three business days to be delivered.
For merchants that receive payouts in PayPal, you can also choose to automatically transfer them to your Balance account. This can help you manage your payouts in one place.
How to Receive Online Store Payouts to the Shopify Balance Account
You can change the account that your Shopify Payments earnings are deposited into at any time. Simply go to your Balance account and select your payout account. You’’ confirm your old account and enter your new account information, then save it.
How to View Shopify Balance Insights
While you’re in your Balance account you may also want to view cash flow insights from the home page. You can see the last two months of cash flow and see your top five spending categories. You’ll also be able to view your upcoming Shopify bill.
How to Use the Shopify Mobile App
If you have a Shopify Mobile App, you may want to use the Shopify Mobile App for your iOS or Android phone. It will allow you to monitor account details such as your account balance, lock your account, view your transactions or transfer limits, and transfer funds to or from your Shopify Balance account.
Shopify Balance Account Review
As a commerce platform, Shopify can make it easy for small businesses to set up an ecommerce store, and to also accept cards in-person using a variety of point of sale devices.
Shopify Balance is a value-added service that helps small business owners with Shopify stores manage their business finances, whether or not they have a traditional bank account. It can be especially helpful for smaller businesses and those without established business banking relationships.
While Shopify Balance rewards offer cash back rewards, they are limited to a fairly narrow list of eligible purchases, and are capped at $2000 per year. Business owners with higher spending needs will want to consider a business credit card that offers unlimited cash back on all types of purchases for maximum value.
Dashfi offers up to 10 - 20x higher limits, unlimited virtual cards and advanced spend controls along with unlimited cash back rewards.
