Company

Learn how the founder of All Things Real Estate scaled from a single product idea to a thriving in-person and online business with the help of some well-timed financing.

If some of your products are a fit to ship internationally, and others aren’t, how can you clearly communicate that to avoid customer confusion?

When it comes to adding new products to your store, it’s easy to think that you’ll need to make an upfront investment in new inventory to do it.

But before you make a big investment in more inventory, it’s important to get data and feedback about which products your audience really wants to buy. You can do that without a major new product order, and there are even ways to do it without holding any inventory at all. That’s what we’re tackling today in Ask Shopify.

Commercial insurance is one of those things you need to think about as a business owner, but it’s also something most of us know nothing about.

That’s why we put together this primer on commercial insurance, including who needs to think about it, and how to buy it if you do.

Starting a business often carries risk. As the saying goes, " You have to spend money to make money. "

While that's not always true, there is one very effective way to lower your risk: do a break-even analysis. A break-even analysis will tell you exactly what you need to do in order to break even and make back your initial investment.

It's Monday, and you know what that means. It's time for Ask Shopify, a series where ecommerce experts tackle real questions from store owners who are trying to launch, build, and scale their stores. We’re here to help with every aspect of your store, from marketing to HR to accounting.

And today, we're especially here to help you with your shipping and fulfillment.

Welcome to Ask Shopify, a series where ecommerce experts tackle real questions from store owners who are trying to launch, build, and scale their stores. We’re here to help with every aspect of your store, from marketing to HR to accounting.

Who’s we? We’re the ecommerce experts both inside and outside of Shopify. Between our team, who spend all day immersed in the world of ecommerce (and who sometimes run stores themselves!) our squad of Shopify Experts, and our amazing customers, we have access to world-class expertise—and now you do too. So let’s dig in and get to your questions, because they’re good ones.

Today's Question:

Our business is at the point where it is about to explode. How do you transition from a small shop (fulfilling orders from your basement) to fulfilling orders with major retailers too? What are the biggest pitfalls to watch for?

Check out the answer, from a serial ecommerce entrepreneur who's sold in major big-box stores, in today's post.

If you rely on revenue from a few months to sustain your business all year, forecasting your revenue and expenses isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a must.

And yes, “forecasting revenue and expenses” sounds exactly like a line from that accounting and finance course you didn’t take (or didn’t like) in school, but it’s not as hard as it sounds. After all, forecasting is just a fancy word for planning.

Tax season is here, and whether it's your first year in business or your tenth year, it always feels like there’s an endless list of tasks to get through to file your return. If you live in the US, this step-by-step guide will help you get organized so you can get a jump start and file your 2016 tax return well before it’s due.

Customer disputes are a reality of accepting payments. But that doesn’t make them any less frustrating. Chargebacks are the result of a customer questioning or disputing a transaction with their issuing bank. The issuing bank collects evidence from the customer and categorizes the chargeback using the appropriate, card network-specific, reason code.

By understanding the reason code associated with the chargeback, you’ll be able to submit a response that includes the appropriate compelling evidence. In this post, we’ll review the categories of reason codes merchants will see most often, the specific reason codes associated with the category, and what compelling evidence to include to submit a response.

Note: This post applies to U.S. based merchants only. 

Nearly every U.S.-based product seller is going to have a sales tax due date in January. Some sellers have to file sales tax often and have the whole sales tax thing licked. But many only have to file sales tax once per year. For those sellers, January and it’s many sales tax due dates can be a cold and unwelcome wake up call after the fun and profitable holiday season.

But never fear, the sales tax compliance process can be broken down into five manageable steps. Start here and you’ll be sales tax compliant in no time.

Whether you're starting a brand new business or you're an established company, taking your business online is a fantastic and exciting growth opportunity.

In fact, there has never been a better time to start an ecommerce business.

However, with all of the advantages an online business brings, there are also some complex legal issues that go along with them. Different countries have different laws and knowing which ones apply to you is critical. In addition to the large variety of laws to take into account, you must remember that the law is fluid and subject to change. In order to reap the rewards that a successful online store can bring, it's important to stay informed and protect yourself and your business.

And that's exactly why we created this guide.

The Definitive Legal Guide to Ecommerce is a comprehensive - but easy to understand - resource that outlines the most common legal issues online business owners face.