Before offering your SaaS as a Shopify app, decide which ecommerce task it will help with and who will use it. Then define the data exchange, setup, failure handling, pricing, and support. Those decisions make the development scope clearer.
Even if your SaaS already has the required features, connecting stores and supporting everyday operations need their own design. This guide explains what SaaS business and product teams can decide before commissioning development.
Choose one ecommerce task to solve first
Go beyond saying that your service “integrates with Shopify” and choose a specific merchant task. For example, if the task is exporting orders to CSV, importing them into your SaaS, and checking the result, decide which steps the app should handle and where a person still needs to review the work.
Make the evaluation criteria concrete too: information that must be entered again, effort spent finding failed orders, or screens staff need to check. Compare the workflow before and after a trial instead of promising time savings or sales results in advance.
Once that first task is clear, you can scope the app around receiving the necessary data and showing merchants the result. You do not need to bring every SaaS feature into the app. The examples below are planning examples, not descriptions of completed implementations.
Decide between a dedicated client integration and wider distribution
Choose a distribution method based on future customers as well as the number of initial users. An integration for a specific client and a product for many Shopify businesses need different preparation.
| Option | Audience and discovery | What to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Custom distribution | One specific store, or multiple stores within the same Shopify Plus organization | The client's store structure, setup, and operations |
| Public distribution, fully visible | Discovery through App Store search, categories, and other indexed listings | Review, listing information, setup, and support for different merchants |
| Public distribution, limited visibility | Direct access to the App Store listing, with discovery through search and similar surfaces limited | Public-app review and requirements still apply, even when invitations are targeted |
Check the custom-distribution conditions even when you have only one client, particularly if that client has several independent stores. Shopify states that the distribution method cannot be changed after selection. Do not plan on starting with custom distribution and later switching to general availability through a simple setting change. (Distribution methods and conditions, Selecting a distribution method)
A public app's listing visibility can, however, be changed between fully visible and limited visibility. Limited visibility is not a separate, review-free distribution method. (App Store listing visibility)
Define the required data and how failed synchronization is handled
Work backward from the chosen task to identify the required fields. An order workflow might need names and addresses, or it might only need order references, products, and quantities. Give each field a purpose instead of collecting more because it might be useful later.
| Decision | Questions for an order integration |
|---|---|
| Records and fields | Which orders are included? Which fields does processing require? |
| Authoritative source | Which system owns each type of information—for example, Shopify for order details and the SaaS for processing results? |
| Direction and timing | Is data only received from Shopify, or are results written back? When are updates reflected? |
| Historical data | Are only new orders included? If older orders are needed, what period is covered? |
| Failures | Where can someone see the affected order, the reason for failure, and who will retry it? |
Plan how to retry an order without processing it twice and how to prevent stale values from overwriting newer ones. Merchant-facing status should show how far processing has progressed and which orders need attention, as well as whether the connection exists. Shopify also requires apps that synchronize data to do so accurately and consistently. (App Store functionality requirements)
For a public app using protected customer data, include access requests, review, and the required safeguards in the plan. Names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses have additional requirements. Limiting the data also makes it easier to define and explain its purpose and storage scope. (Protected customer data requirements)
Assign owners for setup and ongoing operations
During setup, identify which store connects to which SaaS account or business location. The SaaS subscriber and the person operating Shopify might be different people. Separate the roles of authorizing the connection, checking field mappings, and confirming the actual processing result.
For example, a merchant might select the destination account, the SaaS team might check field mappings, and the app operations team might investigate synchronization errors. A shared view of where setup has stopped helps route support questions. Prepare both the instructions shown in the app and the team's response procedures.
Displaying an existing SaaS screen inside Shopify Admin does not, by itself, satisfy the App Store requirements. The described features must work, the app must integrate with Shopify's data or functionality, and merchants need an operational interface. Assess which existing screens can be reused against that workflow and the applicable requirements. (App Store requirements)
Plan pricing, support, and cancellation together
Choose a charging unit that merchants can understand, such as stores, processing volume, or available features. Match it to both your costs and how merchants use the service. Be able to explain trial limits, what happens when a limit is reached, and how plan changes work.
App charges for apps distributed through the Shopify App Store must generally use a Shopify-provided billing solution. Current guidance makes Shopify App Pricing the default for new public apps, with Billing API options for unsupported pricing models and other specified cases. (Official app billing guidance)
If the SaaS already has contracts and invoicing, document which features and fees belong to the core SaaS service and which belong to the Shopify app. Do not assume that an existing contract automatically permits external billing for app charges; check the current requirements against the specific offering. Custom-distribution apps cannot use Shopify's app billing system, so do not assume the same billing implementation applies to both distribution methods. (Billing requirements for listings, Distribution limitations)
For support, choose a contact point for connection problems, missing updates, and billing questions. Assign first response, investigation, coverage hours, and responsibility for updates to merchants. Make it clear where merchants should ask for help whether the issue is in the SaaS or the app.
For cancellation, explain how uninstalling the app, ending the SaaS contract, stopping charges, and deleting stored data relate to one another. Define when integration stops, what happens to orders in progress, which records remain, and who handles deletion. Also check what can be restored if the merchant reconnects.
App Store distribution requires a privacy policy explaining data collection, use, and storage, along with handling of data access and deletion notifications. The notification requirements also apply to apps that do not collect personal data. Include SaaS storage and logs in the design as well as the cancellation instructions shown to merchants. (Privacy requirements, Mandatory privacy notifications)
Define a small starting scope and the conditions for expanding
Limit the first version's task, participating stores, data, and synchronization direction. For example, begin with importing new orders into the SaaS and showing the results in the app, then consider historical imports or automatic updates as the need becomes clearer. A small scope still needs to meet the review, data, and billing requirements of the chosen distribution method.
Before expanding, check more than the feature count. Can merchants finish setup? Can failed processing be found and recovered? Can the team handle support and cancellation? If wider distribution is planned, work toward public-distribution requirements while keeping the initial trial scope focused.
Your team can prepare a list of the target task, initial users, required data, existing SaaS features and contracts, and operational owners. That gives a starting point for deciding what can be reused and what needs to be built. To discuss distribution, data handling, or pricing boundaries, talk to Popaz about turning your SaaS into a Shopify app.
