Shopify multi-entity lets one Shopify Plus store take payments through more than one legal business, with each entity paid out to its own bank account in its own currency. For a UK brand with a US company, an EU subsidiary, or separate companies for retail and wholesale, it can replace the extra stores that used to be the only way to keep the money apart. This guide explains how multi-entity payouts work, who can use them, how they compare with expansion stores, and the limits to check before you switch. Everything here comes from Shopify’s own help centre, developer docs and changelog. We are a Shopify Partner, not accountants, so take tax and accounting questions to your accountant.
| The short answerMulti-entity is a Shopify Plus feature. You register each legal entity in your Shopify organisation, give each one its own Shopify Payments account and bank account, then assign an entity to each market. Orders from that market are processed by that entity, and Shopify pays each entity out separately, to a domestic bank account in the entity’s own currency. Since May 2026 you can also run more than one entity in the same country, for example separate companies for online and retail, or for B2B and direct to consumer. It does not file taxes for you, and some features, including subscriptions, most third party payment providers and Shopify’s reports, still only work for your primary entity. |
What Shopify multi-entity is
A business entity in Shopify is the legal organisation that takes the payment for an order. Most stores only ever have one. Multi-entity, which Shopify calls selling with multiple entities, lets a single store work with several, and decide which one processes each order based on the market the customer is buying in.
Typical uses include:
- International companies. A UK company for UK customers, a US company for the US, an EU company for Europe, all running from one store.
- Online and retail as separate businesses. Your website and your shops trading through different legal entities in the same country.
- A separate company per retail location. Where each shop trades as its own business.
- B2B and direct to consumer kept apart. Wholesale invoiced and paid out through one company, retail through another.
In each case the aim is the same: sales, payouts and compliance land in the right company, without running a separate store for each one.
How multi-entity payouts work
Every entity has its own Shopify Payments account and its own bank account. Shopify’s help centre says you receive payouts to a domestic bank account for each of your entities, in that entity’s domestic currency. So a UK entity is paid in pounds to a UK account, a US entity in dollars to a US account, and an Irish or Dutch entity in euros to an account in that country.
The link between an order and an entity is the market. In the Markets settings you assign one business entity to each market, and submarkets inherit their parent market’s entity unless you override it. When a customer buys in your US market, the US entity processes the payment and the money arrives in the US entity’s payout. Each entity’s payouts follow its own Shopify Payments schedule and currency.
Two details catch people out:
- Routing follows the market, not the delivery address. Shopify says you cannot route orders based on the shipping address. If a customer buys in your UK market and ships to Germany, the UK entity takes the payment.
- Changes only affect new orders. If you change the entity on a market, existing orders keep the entity they were placed under.
Each order records which entity took it. For developers, the entity is exposed on orders, draft orders, markets and Shopify Payments payouts through the Admin API, which is how ERPs and accounting connectors can split sales by company.
Who can use multi-entity
- Plan. Shopify says selling with multiple entities is available only to organisations on the Shopify Plus and Shopify Enterprise Commerce plans. It is not available on Basic, Grow or Advanced.
- Countries. Each entity has to operate in a country where Shopify Payments is supported, because each one needs its own Shopify Payments account.
- Verification. Each entity goes through Shopify Payments onboarding, including identity verification where it is required.
- Same country entities. Shopify’s developer docs say you can assign only one legal entity for each country. In May 2026 Shopify announced that eligible merchants can now sell from multiple legal entities in the same country using Shopify Payments, for example online and retail, or B2B and direct to consumer. Check which applies to your account before you plan around it.
Separately from multi-entity, Shopify Payments also offers Multi-Currency Payouts on the Advanced and Plus plans, which let a single entity be paid out in more than one currency to accounts that accept them. Shopify charges a fee of 1% to 1.5% on non-domestic currency payouts, depending on plan. Multi-entity is different: each entity is paid in its own domestic currency, because it is a separate company with its own account.
Multi-entity vs expansion stores
Before multi-entity, the usual way to sell through several companies was an expansion store per entity. Shopify Plus includes your main store plus nine expansion stores, with further stores at £250 a month each. Both routes still work, and they suit different businesses.
| Multi-entity in one store | Expansion store per entity | |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | One store, one admin | A separate admin for each store |
| Catalogue, theme and apps | Shared, managed once | Duplicated, unless you sync them |
| Payment routing | By market, assigned in Markets settings | Each store has its own payments |
| Payouts | Separate per entity, in each entity’s domestic currency | Separate per store |
| Reporting | Limited: Shopify lists reporting and analytics as supporting the primary entity only | Full reports in each store |
| Subscriptions and most third party payments | Primary entity only | Work in every store |
| Best for | Brands that sell the same range across markets or channels and want one operation | Brands that need different ranges, sites or apps per company, or rely on subscriptions |
If your entities sell broadly the same products to different markets, multi-entity usually saves a lot of duplicated work. If each company needs its own catalogue, its own site or features multi-entity does not yet support, separate stores are still the safer choice. Our Shopify vs Shopify Plus guide covers what else comes with Plus.
Limits to check before you switch
Shopify’s help centre and developer docs list several things that do not work, or only work for the primary entity:
- Managed markets and automated tax filing. Multi-entity is not compatible with either, so you handle tax registration and filing yourself or through your accountant.
- Payment methods. Shopify Payments, PayPal Express and manual payment methods work across entities. Other third party payment methods only show in markets assigned to the primary entity.
- Subscriptions. Subscription payments are processed only through the primary entity.
- Post-purchase apps. These may not behave as expected. Shopify warns that purchases made through them can route to the primary entity regardless of the market.
- Reporting and analytics. Shopify’s developer docs say reporting and analytics support only the primary entity, so plan how you will report on the others.
- Retail and currency. Multi-currency exchange management is not available with retail locations.
Shopify keeps extending multi-entity. In January 2026, for example, it added offline payments support for multi-entity setups on Shopify POS, and in May 2026 it added same country entities. Check the current help centre page before you plan, because the list changes.
How to set up multi-entity on Shopify Plus
1. Register your entities. Add each legal entity in your Shopify organisation settings.
2. Add Shopify Payments to each entity. Each one needs its own Shopify Payments account and a domestic bank account for its payouts. Complete identity verification where Shopify asks for it.
3. Assign entities to markets. In Markets settings, choose the business entity for each market. One entity per market, and submarkets inherit from their parent unless you change them.
4. Check your apps and payment methods. Confirm subscriptions, post-purchase offers, third party payment methods and any app that touches checkout behave correctly in every market, given the limits above.
5. Test an order in every market. Place a test order through each market and check it records the right entity, and that the payment lands in the right Shopify Payments account.
6. Set up your accounting. Your bookkeeping needs to split sales and payouts by company. Accounting connectors such as A2X have added multi-entity support, and the entity recorded on each order and payout is what makes the split possible.
Tax, VAT and accounting
Multi-entity decides which of your companies takes the payment. It does not decide where you are registered for VAT or sales tax, it does not file returns, and Shopify says it is not compatible with automated tax filing. Before you assign entities to markets, agree with your accountant which company should be selling into which country, how stock and costs move between your companies, and how each one will be invoiced. Getting that structure right is a finance decision first and a Shopify setting second.
Is multi-entity worth it?
It is worth looking at if you already run, or are about to set up, more than one company, and you are either running duplicate stores to keep the money apart or pushing every sale through one company that should not be taking them all. It is less useful if you have one company selling internationally, where Shopify Markets and Multi-Currency Payouts on a single entity usually do the job.
If you are weighing up multi-entity against separate stores, our Shopify consultants can work through it with you and your accountant before anything changes. Our Shopify Plus agency team can then set up the markets, payments and testing, and our Shopify migration agency handles store consolidation when several stores become one.
Frequently asked questions
Multi-entity, which Shopify calls selling with multiple entities, lets one Shopify Plus store process payments through more than one legal business. Each entity has its own Shopify Payments account and bank account, and you assign an entity to each market so orders from that market are processed by the right company.
No. Shopify says selling with multiple entities is available only to organisations on the Shopify Plus and Shopify Enterprise Commerce plans. Each entity must also operate in a country where Shopify Payments is supported.
Each entity is paid out separately by its own Shopify Payments account. Shopify pays each entity into a domestic bank account in that entity’s domestic currency, on that account’s payout schedule. Which entity takes an order depends on the market the customer buys in, not the shipping address.
Yes, for eligible merchants. In May 2026 Shopify announced that you can sell from multiple legal entities in the same country using Shopify Payments, for example one company for online sales and another for retail, or separate companies for B2B and direct to consumer.
Multi-entity suits brands selling broadly the same range through several companies, because it keeps one catalogue, theme and admin. Expansion stores suit companies that need different ranges, sites or apps, or rely on features multi-entity only supports for the primary entity, such as subscriptions, most third party payment methods and Shopify’s reports.
Shopify Payments, PayPal Express and manual payment methods work across entities. Other third party payment methods only appear in markets assigned to your primary entity, and subscription payments are processed only through the primary entity.
No. It routes payments to the right company, but tax registration and filing remain your responsibility, and Shopify says multi-entity is not compatible with automated tax filing or managed markets. Agree your structure with your accountant before you set it up.
Related reading: What is Shopify Plus?, Shopify vs Shopify Plus, Shopify Plus migration and Adobe Commerce vs Shopify Plus.
| Running more than one company through Shopify?A 30 minute call with the co-founders who run our Shopify Plus projects. We will look at your stores, markets and companies and tell you whether multi-entity, expansion stores or a mix of the two fits best. Book a growth call. |