E-commerce
Hire a Filipino Shopify virtual assistant
A Shopify virtual assistant runs the daily operations of your store: customer support, orders, product listings, inventory and the apps that keep it all connected.
What they take off your plate
- Answer customer emails and chats about orders and products
- Process refunds, exchanges and order edits within your policy
- Add and update products, variants, prices and collections
- Write product descriptions and optimize titles for search
- Keep inventory counts in sync with suppliers or your warehouse
- Check app integrations and flag problems
- Report weekly on tickets, returns and top-selling products
The store behind the storefront
A Shopify store looks simple from the outside. Behind it, someone answers tickets, edits orders, adds products, fixes inventory mismatches and keeps a dozen apps working together. For many founders, that someone is them, late at night. A Shopify VA takes over the daily operations so the founder can work on products and growth.
Store experience, not general admin
Store work has its own rhythm: order volume spikes after campaigns, supplier changes ripple through inventory, and small listing errors quietly cost conversions. We scout Shopify VAs who have worked in stores before and test them inside a practice store, so they’re productive from the first week.
Protect the customer experience
Give your VA a refund limit, a list of your top customer questions with approved answers, and a clear rule for when to escalate. With those three things, support gets faster without risking your margins or your reviews.
How we vet for this role
The skills test
The skills test runs inside a practice Shopify store: add three products with variants from a supplier sheet, write the descriptions, process a mock refund and answer five customer tickets. We check accuracy in the admin, description quality and customer tone.
It is one of eight checks, alongside a portfolio review, a past employment check, a live English interview, a paid trial task, a background check and an NDA. You interview the shortlist at the end.
See all eight checksGetting started
What the first 30 days look like
- Week 1
Staff account created with limited permissions. Your VA learns your products, policies and saved replies.
- Week 2
Customer support moves over, with tickets reviewed daily at first.
- Week 3
Product updates and new listings are handled from a request board.
- Week 4
First weekly report on tickets, returns and listing issues, with suggested fixes.
Measuring it
Numbers worth watching
Agree on these in week one so you both know what good looks like.
- First response time on customer tickets
- Refund and return rate by reason
- Products listed or updated per week
- Errors found in listings or inventory
Industries
Where this role often works
FAQ
Questions about hiring a shopify virtual assistant
Should a Shopify VA have owner access to my store?
No. Create a staff account with only the permissions they need. You can restrict access to payments, payouts and settings, and see what each staff member changed.
Can a Shopify VA set up apps and themes?
They can install and configure most apps and make theme settings changes. Custom theme code is better handled by a web developer.
Can the VA handle both Shopify and Amazon?
Sometimes, for smaller stores. Amazon has its own rules and account health system, so larger sellers usually benefit from a dedicated Amazon VA.
What's the first thing to hand over?
Customer support, in most stores. It's frequent, easy to check, and the fastest way to protect reviews.
Related roles
Often hired alongside
- Amazon virtual assistantAn Amazon virtual assistant keeps your Seller Central account healthy: listings, inventory, buyer messages, account health checks and the daily fixes that protect sales.
- Customer service representativeA customer service rep answers your customers quickly and clearly across email, chat and phone, and knows when an issue needs you.
- Graphic designerA graphic designer turns your ideas into on-brand social posts, ads, decks and PDFs, fast enough to keep up with your marketing calendar.
Tell us what your shopify virtual assistant should own.
Book a 30-minute discovery call. Bring your task list and a budget range, and we'll show you what to delegate first.
Book a discovery call