Agency Reporting for Shopify Clients: A Template and Its Pitfalls

Agency reporting for Shopify should tell the client what changed, what needs attention, and which decision comes next. Start with store results, add channel evidence, and finish with an action owner and an approval request. Use the template below, then keep the metric definitions attached when you reuse it for another client.

Start with the decision the client needs to make

Agree on the business goal before choosing the report's charts. A client deciding whether to expand acquisition needs different evidence from one trying to protect margin. Keep the main report focused on that decision, with supporting detail available separately.

Write the store name, reporting dates, comparison dates, currency, and report owner at the top. Use the previous comparable period and, where seasonality matters, the corresponding period last year. Mark an unfinished month clearly so the client does not compare it with a completed month.

Start with Analytics, then Reports in Shopify to locate the store's source reports. Our guide to creating custom Shopify reports covers adapting a report to the question. Record the source report and its filters beside the figures you take from it.

Copy this Shopify client report template

Copy these fields into a document or spreadsheet and replace the blanks for each client. Keep the same structure across accounts, but choose metrics that match the agreed goal.

Client and store: [name and store]

Period and comparison: [dates, comparison dates, currency]

Goal and result: [agreed goal, actual result, and whether the result met the goal]

Headline: [what changed and why the client should care]

Evidence behind the headline: [source report, relevant product or channel, and any uncertainty]

Agency action: [task, owner, and review date]

Client decision: [approval needed, decision owner, and due date]

Dependency: [stock, product costs, creative, or access needed before work starts]

Use orders and average order value, or AOV, to explain the sales movement. More orders with smaller baskets calls for a different discussion from fewer orders with larger baskets. Keep net sales and total sales distinctly labeled, including what the chosen figure covers.

For acquisition, show spend beside new customers and the storefront conversion trend. Break out channels only where they explain a decision. Treat ad-platform attributed revenue as that platform's claim, with its attribution setting stated beside it.

For economics, read margin alongside refunds and discounts. Say when product costs are incomplete, and distinguish gross profit from money remaining after advertising and other expenses. A larger basket alone does not establish profitable acquisition.

Add product or inventory detail when it changes the explanation. A bestseller running out of stock may limit the next campaign, even when the current sales headline looks healthy. The Shopify analytics features guide helps identify which supporting views the client needs.

Keep the retention label when you copy the template

A template field called “retention” is too vague to compare across accounts. Name the buying behavior and its window before adding a benchmark or a target.

Repeat purchase rate asks whether customers bought more than once within the selected window. Returning customer rate asks whether buyers had first purchased before that window. These measures answer different questions, even when their dates match.

These are background benchmarks, not monthly targets or evidence that an agency caused an improvement. The gap between the medians is not the gap for a particular store. Compare the client's result with its own history using the same definition before discussing outside context.

Check the pitfalls before the client call

Keep store results separate from channel attribution claims. Several platforms may claim credit for the same purchase, so adding their attributed revenue can overstate the store's sales. Present the store total separately and use channel figures to investigate performance.

Check dates, currency, and sales definitions when sources disagree. Note differences in refund treatment and the attribution window before describing a tracking failure. A useful report makes an unresolved discrepancy visible instead of choosing whichever total looks better.

Consider a client whose sales rose during a discount campaign while gross profit fell. Calling the campaign a success from sales alone misses the trade-off. Check the product mix, discounts, refunds, and costs before recommending another promotion.

Keep each client's files, access, and commentary separate when duplicating the report. Check the store name in the source as well as the cover. Compare each client against its own agreed goal; an agency portfolio ranking can confuse differences in products and buying cycles with performance.

Choose a sharing method, then automate delivery

Choose the format around how the client reviews results. A spreadsheet supports checking figures and adding notes. A dashboard supports exploration, while a fixed report preserves the version discussed on the call.

Ask the store owner to grant the access needed for the work. Check current permissions rather than sharing the owner's login or assuming a report link restricts access. Test what the recipient can open, and remove customer details the report does not need.

Before buying a reporting tool, test a real client report with it. Check the required metrics, current plan limits, export format, access controls, and delivery destination. Use the analytics app buying checklist to assess fit; agency branding is a separate requirement to verify.

AgencyAnalytics lists branded client reports and client access. Two Minute Reports lists Google Sheets and dashboard destinations. If those are essential requirements, test the relevant option with the client before choosing a tool.

By the Numbers supports shared dashboards, switching between stores you can access, and scheduled report exports. Its reporting support for agencies is an option when those tasks match the workflow. Confirm the plan and export permissions before setting up delivery.

Automate delivery after reviewing the report's dates, filters, and recipients. Open a sample export as the recipient would see it and confirm it contains only the intended store. Keep a record of the version sent and give someone responsibility for failed deliveries. If AI helps write the commentary, check its claims against the source report and remove explanations the evidence does not support.

End with an owner and an approval request

End the report with a decision the client can answer. “Improve conversion” leaves the next step unclear; a task, owner, and dependency make the work reviewable.

For example: “The agency will review the mobile product page before proposing a test. The store owner will confirm stock availability and approve the offer before launch.” Add the agreed review date and explain which result will determine whether to continue.

Separate the agency's deliverables from the client's decisions about pricing, stock, and acceptable margin. Open the next review with those commitments and their outcomes. That makes the report a record of decisions as well as a summary of results.

Methodology

These benchmarks use anonymized, aggregated data from Shopify stores in the By the Numbers network. No individual store is identifiable from any figure. Stores that use an analytics app are not a random sample of all Shopify stores, so read the figures as a reference point, not as an average for the whole market.

Keep reading

If you want the full picture on Shopify analytics and reporting, start with the Shopify reporting framework.

Related reading: Shopify Analytics App Benefits You Should Know, Shopify Analytics App Checklist to Use Before Buying and Shopify Analytics Features That Actually Matter.

By the Numbers builds this into the dashboard. See Shopify analytics reporting.