Everything an Irish business needs to know before opening a Shopify store: euro payments, An Post and courier shipping, VAT and EU sales, click and collect, and what it costs. Built and looked after from Cork since 2006, for shops anywhere in Ireland.
Shopify Payments supports Irish businesses, so you can open the store and take money the same week without applying to a separate merchant provider. Settlements land in your Irish bank account in euro. If you already use another provider, these all connect too. See which Irish payment providers work with Shopify for the detail.
An Post, DPD, Fastway and DHL all connect to Shopify, directly or through an app, so labels print from the order screen and tracking goes to the customer automatically. You can set flat rates, free shipping over a threshold, or live rates by weight and destination.
Click and collect is built in: mark a location as a pickup point and customers choose it at checkout. For shops with a counter, Shopify POS runs the till from the same stock list, so a sale in the shop comes off the website too.
We cover the setup step by step in An Post shipping on Shopify and Irish shipping providers that work with Shopify.
Shopify applies the right Irish VAT rate to each product and can show prices VAT inclusive, which Irish customers expect. For sales into other EU countries, the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme lets you charge the customer’s local rate and file one quarterly return with Revenue. Shopify’s tax settings handle the rates once OSS is switched on.
Selling into the UK since Brexit means UK VAT and customs declarations. Shopify can collect duties at checkout so the customer has no surprise bill at the door.
You do not need a VAT number to open a Shopify store, but you do need one once your turnover passes the Irish threshold. See how Shopify handles VAT for Irish businesses selling to EU customers. Your accountant has the final say on when to register.
Shopify charges a monthly plan fee in euro, lower if you pay yearly, plus a card processing fee on each sale. The figures change from time to time, so take the current prices from Shopify’s own pricing page rather than from a blog post.
On top of the plan, budget for a theme (free, or a one-off payment), any apps you add (most are a few euro a month), and the design and build of the store itself. Our guide to the monthly cost of running a Shopify store breaks the running costs down, and our Shopify web design page explains how we quote a build.
We build and look after Shopify stores from Cork for businesses across Ireland. Everything happens over a shared screen and the phone, so where you are makes no difference to how the project runs.
Cork businesses are welcome to call in to us, and the phone number is 021 212 6076.
Not to open an account. Plenty of Irish businesses set up a simple store themselves on a free theme, and that is a fine way to start.
You need help when the store has to look like your brand, carry hundreds of products, connect to a stock system or a shop till, or be set up correctly for Irish payments, shipping and VAT from day one. That is the work we do: a Shopify web designer in Ireland with a fixed written quote, and a WordPress to Shopify migration service if you are moving an existing site.
Shopify POS runs the till in your shop from the same product list as the website. Sell a jumper over the counter and the stock count on the site drops by one. Gift cards, discounts and customer accounts work in both places.
For a shop that already has a till, Shopify connects to most Irish stock and EPOS systems through an app, so you keep what works and the website reads from it.
Shopify looks after the servers, security and software updates, which is the main reason Irish shops pick it over a self-hosted platform. What it does not do is add your new products, tidy the theme, speed up the pages or answer the phone when something looks wrong.
We do that on a monthly care plan, for the stores we build and for stores built elsewhere. Ask about it when you get in touch.
Yes. Shopify is fully available to Irish businesses. Plans are priced and billed in euro, Shopify Payments works with Irish bank accounts, and the admin, checkout and support are all in English. There is no Irish-only version; it is the same platform used in over 175 countries.
Yes. Irish businesses can use Shopify Payments to take Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay without a separate merchant account. Payouts go to your Irish bank account in euro. Stripe and PayPal can be added alongside it if you want them.
Yes. An Post connects to Shopify through its own app, so you can print labels from the order screen and send tracking to the customer automatically. DPD, Fastway and DHL connect in the same way. We cover the setup in our guide to An Post shipping on Shopify.
Not to open the store. You need to register for VAT once your turnover passes the Irish threshold, and sooner if you sell into other EU countries above the EU-wide distance selling limit. Shopify handles the rates once you enter your VAT details. Check the current thresholds with Revenue or your accountant.
Yes. You keep your .ie domain with your current registrar and point it at Shopify by changing two DNS records. Email on the domain keeps working as it is. Shopify adds the security certificate automatically.
No. A sole trader can open a Shopify store under their own name. You will need a business name registration if you trade under a name other than your own, and a VAT number once you reach the threshold. Shopify Payments asks for identity and bank details, not a company number.
Yes. Since Brexit, UK orders are exports, so they need a customs declaration and may attract UK VAT and duty. Shopify can collect duties and taxes at checkout so the customer is not charged at the door. An Post and the couriers generate the customs paperwork from the order.
For most small shops, yes. There is nothing to host or update, Irish payments and shipping are straightforward to set up, and the monthly fee is predictable. It suits a business that wants to sell rather than manage a website. The trade-off is less control over the code than WordPress gives you.
A monthly plan fee in euro, lower if paid yearly, plus a card fee on each sale. Add a theme, any apps and the cost of the build. Shopify changes its prices from time to time, so take the current figures from Shopify’s pricing page. Our guide to the monthly cost of a Shopify store goes through each item.
Yes, it is built in. Set your shop or warehouse as a pickup location and customers can choose collection at checkout instead of delivery. You get a notification when the order is packed and ready, and the customer gets an email to come and collect.
Get a free quote or book a free 15-minute call and we will tell you what your Shopify store involves, in plain terms and with a fixed price.
