Custom role examples
When the roles managed by Shopify and the predefined roles don't match a job in your store, you can build a custom role that combines only the store permissions that the job needs. You can create and manage custom roles from the Users settings in your Shopify admin.
The following examples show how to combine permissions for common jobs. Use them as a starting point, and adjust the permissions to fit how your business works. To build a role, refer to creating a role.
Warehouse and fulfillment role
A warehouse or fulfillment role suits a user who picks, packs, and ships orders and keeps stock levels accurate. This user works with orders and inventory, but they don't need customer data, financial access, or store settings.
Combine the following store permissions for a warehouse and fulfillment role:
- Home permissions, so the user can open the admin home page
- Orders permissions to view, fulfill, and ship orders
- Inventory permissions to manage inventory and transfers
- View-only access to Products, so the user can look up items without editing them
Leave out the Finance and Customers permissions, as well as store settings. A fulfillment role doesn't need financial data or the ability to change how the store operates.
Bookkeeper and finance role
A bookkeeper or accountant role suits someone who reconciles payouts, reviews orders, and exports data for taxes. These users read financial and order data, but they don't change products or store settings.
Combine the following store permissions for a bookkeeper or accountant role:
- Home permissions, so the user can open the admin home page
- Finance permissions to view payouts and billing
- Analytics permissions to view reports
- View and export access to Orders, without the ability to edit, refund, or cancel them
If your store is part of an organization or on the Shopify Plus plan, then billing access is managed through organization permissions instead of the store-level finance permissions.
Collaborator access
A collaborator is an external Shopify Partner, such as an agency, freelance developer, or marketer, who works on your store without being a staff member. Unlike the previous examples, you don't build a role for a collaborator. Instead, the Partner requests collaborator access, and you control what they can do through collaborator account permissions.
When you approve a collaborator request, grant only the permissions that the project needs. Depending on the type of collaborator you work with, they might request the following permissions:
- A developer usually needs Online store permissions and app and channel permissions to work on themes and apps.
- Someone helping with content usually needs Content permissions.
Grant access for the scope of the project, and remove the collaborator account from your store when the work is done.