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Shopify Payments Evidence Checklist

Before You Respond to a Shopify Payments Hold

Use this checklist to organise evidence that may be relevant to a Shopify Payments review. You do not necessarily need every item. Start with Shopify's specific request and prioritise the records that directly address what Shopify is asking you to verify.

The goal is not to submit the most documents. The goal is to submit the right evidence, organised around a clear and consistent explanation.

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01Business Identity

Check for consistency

02What You Sell

Products or services shown on the website should match actual transactions, and the business model should be explainable simply. The website should not make claims that contradict the evidence.

03Suppliers and Inventory

For physical-product businesses:

Supplier names should be identifiable, invoice dates should make sense relative to customer orders, and quantities should be reasonably explainable against what was sold.

04Order Fulfilment

Order dates, fulfilment dates, and tracking information should correspond to the correct customer and order, and any delays or unusual events should be explainable.

05Refunds, Returns, and Chargebacks

For each disputed transaction

06Transaction Activity

If sales or transaction activity changed significantly, document when it occurred, what changed, and why: product launches, advertising campaigns, seasonal activity, large orders, a new supplier, a new market, or a change in average order value.

For each important explanation, there should be supporting evidence, and the explanation should match the transaction data without contradicting the website or customer-facing information.

07Shopify Payments and Account History

Major changes should be explainable, and previous statements should be consistent with the current explanation. Identify any material discrepancies before responding.

08Customer and Business Operations

Where relevant, document how the business actually operates: customer support, order processing, fulfilment process, warehouse or inventory process, and any third-party arrangements.

Could someone unfamiliar with the business understand how a customer goes from purchase to fulfilment? If not, the evidence package may need a clearer explanation.

09Financial Records

If requested or relevant: business bank statements, profit-and-loss statement, sales reports, accounting records, and payment processor statements.

Do not include financial records simply because they exist. Include them when they help establish a relevant fact or address a specific request.

10Transaction-Level Reconciliation

For important or unusual transactions, confirm you can connect the complete chain:

CUSTOMEROrder identified
PAYMENTPayment identified
PRODUCTProduct/service identified
FULFILMENTDelivery or completion established

11Consistency Review

Before submitting, review the entire package. Business names and addresses match, or differences are explained. Product descriptions, prices, and website information match actual activity. Order, shipping, fulfilment, and refund records are consistent. The written explanation matches the evidence, and no part of it contradicts another part.

12Evidence Index

Before submitting a large evidence package, create a simple index so a reviewer can see what each document establishes.

EvidenceWhat it establishesPeriod
Business registrationBusiness identityCurrent
Supplier invoicesProduct sourcingRelevant range
Order recordsCustomer transactionsRelevant range
Tracking recordsFulfilmentRelevant range
Bank statementBusiness/payment activityRelevant range

The index does not prove anything on its own. It makes the evidence package easier to follow.

13Final Evidence Test

For every major claim in your response, ask what evidence supports it, and whether someone unfamiliar with your business would understand why that evidence supports the claim.

Do not alter documents, manufacture evidence, submit contradictory explanations, hide material discrepancies, or submit irrelevant documents simply to increase volume. A smaller, coherent evidence package is generally more useful than a large collection of unrelated documents.
Does this evidence package tell one clear, truthful, and internally consistent story about the business?

If yes, you are in a much better position to explain the facts of the business. If no, identify the inconsistency before submitting.

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This checklist is for general information and preparation. It does not guarantee that Shopify will release funds or change a decision.