How selling a Shopify store works, step by step.

A few facts are enough for a first answer.

• The store address. The public domain or the myshopify.com address.
• Total sales to date. The total sales figure from the Analytics section of your Shopify admin, with the date range set to the store's full history.
• Recent activity. Whether the store is trading, and if not, when it last took orders.
• What it sells. The main products and where your customers are.
• Your price. A figure you have in mind, if you have one. It is optional.

If the store fits, we will ask for screenshots of your Shopify analytics so we can confirm the figures.

We reply within two business days of receiving your store. The reply is an offer, a question about your figures or a clear no.

Each offer is based on the store itself: its sales history, its products, the state of the storefront and the work needed to grow it. An offer is made in writing, by email, and you are free to decline it.

When you accept an offer, both sides sign a purchase agreement. Nothing is transferred and nothing is paid before that.

• The price. The amount we will deposit in escrow.
• What transfers. The Shopify store and anything else agreed, such as the domain name.
• What stays with you. Your company, bank accounts, social media profiles and remaining stock, unless agreed otherwise.
• Your confirmations. That you own the store, may sell it and have given accurate figures.
• The handover. The steps and the order in which they happen.

Every Scalquire purchase is paid through Escrow.com, an independent escrow service. It holds the money so that neither side has to go first on trust.

• Both sides agree the terms of the transaction with Escrow.com.
• We deposit the full price. Escrow.com confirms it has received the funds.
• You transfer the store to us on Shopify.
• We confirm the transfer is complete.
• Escrow.com releases the payment to you.

Escrow.com charges a fee for the transaction. We share it equally with you.

Source: How website escrow works, Escrow.com

Shopify has a built-in way to hand a store to a new owner. You start it from your own admin, and we accept it from ours.

Before you transfer

• Settle any outstanding Shopify bills. After a transfer, unpaid bills become the new owner's responsibility.
• Withdraw any Shopify Balance funds. The balance must be empty before a transfer.
• Check for Shopify Capital or Shopify Credit. A store with either cannot be transferred until it is cleared.
• Export your billing history and payout records for your own files.
• If the domain is part of the sale, have access to where it is registered.

The transfer itself

• In your Shopify admin, open Settings, then General, and find the Transfer store section.
• Choose to transfer the store to a new owner outside your business.
• Confirm your login and enter the email address we give you.
• We receive an invitation by email and accept it. Ownership passes to us at that point.

After the transfer we replace the billing, payout and contact details with our own.

Shopify may change these steps. Its Help Center has the current version: Transferring store ownership, Shopify Help Center

Once the transfer is accepted you no longer have owner access to the store, and Escrow.com releases your payment.

Keep your copy of the purchase agreement, the escrow confirmation and the records you exported. You will need them for your accounts. How the sale is taxed depends on where you are based, so speak to an accountant. Scalquire does not give tax advice.