Managed Sellers
Create and manage seller accounts on behalf of vendors who can't manage their own. Perfect for curated marketplaces with non-technical sellers like local artisans, small farmers, or elderly producers. A managed seller still verifies their own Stripe account later to receive payouts.
Quick answer
Why Managed Sellers?
Some marketplace sellers aren't comfortable with technology. Without managed sellers, the marketplace owner would have to list everything under a single seller account — making them the legal seller of record for all products and creating a tax and accounting nightmare.
With managed sellers, each vendor remains a separate legal entity with their own Stripe Connect account for direct payouts, while the marketplace owner handles all the technical work.
How It Works
You do the technical work — the seller only signs the payout form
Create the account
Add the seller with name, email & country. No effort on their side.
List & send Stripe link
Create listings on their behalf, then generate a Connect onboarding link.
Verify & get paid
They open the link, confirm identity & bank, then payouts flow to them.
Each seller ends up with their own Stripe account — you just carry them to the finish line.
Create the Seller Account
Go to Store Settings → Managed Sellers tab and click Add Seller. Fill in:
- First name & last name (required)
- Email (required) — used for Stripe Connect payouts and for the seller to sign in later
- Country (required) — must be a Stripe Connect supported country
- Business name (optional)
- Phone (optional)
- Internal notes (optional) — only visible to you
Create Listings on Their Behalf
In the managed sellers table, click Create Listing next to the seller's name. You'll see the full listing creation form with a banner confirming which seller the listing is for.
- Upload images, videos, and digital files
- Set pricing, stock, categories, and all listing fields
- Listings skip the approval workflow — they're auto-approved since you're the owner
- Publish immediately or save as draft
After creating listings, you can manage them from the Sellers tab → Seller Listings section. Drafts appear under the Drafts tab where you can edit, duplicate, publish, or delete them.
Each listing also has a Duplicate button on the Listings tab — handy when a seller posts several similar listings (e.g. recurring sessions). It creates an editable copy as an unpublished draft with “(Copy)” added to the title, attributed to the same seller. Images carry over and nothing goes live until you publish.
Set Up Stripe Payouts
Click Connect Stripe next to the seller's name to generate a Stripe Connect onboarding link. A modal will open where you can:
- Copy the link and share it via SMS, WhatsApp, or any channel
- Send it via email directly to the seller — uses your custom sender email if configured
- Open it together with the seller and help them fill in their details
- Complete it on their behalf if you have their bank info and documents (with their consent)
Deferred Payouts
Sellers can make sales before completing Stripe Connect onboarding. When a customer buys from a seller who hasn't onboarded yet:
- The payment is processed normally and the money is held on the platform
- The Pending Earnings column in the managed sellers table shows how much is waiting
- Once the seller completes Stripe Connect onboarding, all pending earnings are automatically transferred to their account
Sell first, finish the Stripe paperwork later
Sale made
A customer buys before the seller has onboarded.
Money held
Held on the platform - shows under Pending Earnings.
Seller onboards
They verify identity & bank via the Stripe link.
Auto-payout
All pending earnings transfer to them automatically.
This means you can start selling immediately after creating a seller — no need to wait for Stripe setup.
Seller Self-Management
A managed seller can later manage their own account by signing in to the marketplace:
- The seller goes to the marketplace sign-in page
- They enter their email address (the one you used when creating their account)
- They receive a magic link and click it to sign in
- They now have full access to their seller dashboard — listings, orders, messages, etc.
All listings, orders, and Stripe payouts remain linked to their account. Nothing changes — they just gain the ability to manage things themselves.
Per-Seller Commission Override
By default, all sellers share the same commission rate set in your payment settings. With per-seller commission override, you can set a different rate for individual sellers directly from the Managed Sellers table.
A per-seller rate beats the store default
Store default is 10%. Sellers with an override use their own rate; everyone else falls back to the default.
How a $100 sale splits at an 8% override
- Click the commission field next to any seller to edit their rate
- Enter a percentage between 0 and 100
- Leave empty to use the store's default commission rate
- The override applies to all future transactions for that seller
Member Since Column
The Managed Sellers table now shows a Member Since column displaying how long each seller has been on your marketplace (e.g., "3mo", "1y 2mo"). This helps you quickly see the tenure of your sellers when managing commissions or reviewing their accounts.
Edit a Managed Seller's Profile
Many managed sellers won't set up their own public profile, so you can edit it for them. From the Managed Sellers table, click Edit profile next to any seller to update:
- Tagline — short one-liner under their display name
- Bio — longer description shown on their public seller page
- Social links — Instagram, X, website, etc.
- Profile URL — a custom address for their public profile, e.g.
/sellers/noble-consultancy. Since managed sellers can't log in, this is where you claim it for them
Changes save instantly and appear on the seller's public profile page right away. The seller can still edit their own profile later if they sign in — your edits and theirs share the same fields.
Custom Fields on the Managed Sellers Form
Any custom seller fields you've defined under Sellers → Custom Signup & Seller Fields also appear on the Managed Sellers form when you create or edit a seller — including admin-only fields and fields with an approval gate. This lets you record internal scoring, niche category, vetting status, or any other data right when you onboard the seller, without asking them to fill anything in themselves.
- Visible fields — shown on the seller's dashboard too, so they can update them later
- Admin-only fields — only you ever see or edit; useful for internal scoring or notes
- Approval-gate fields — listings stay blocked until you mark the field approved
Country Requirements
The country field is required because Stripe Connect requires it for account creation. Only Stripe Connect supported countries are available in the dropdown. Make sure to select the correct country for each seller — it determines their payout currency and available payment methods.
Plan Availability
| Feature | Starter | Pro | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managed Sellers | - | ||
| Create Listings for Sellers | - | ||
| Stripe Onboarding Links | - |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do managed sellers need their own Stripe account?
Yes. Each managed seller gets their own Stripe Connect account so payouts go directly to them, keeping every vendor a separate legal entity. You send them a Stripe onboarding link to verify their identity and bank details when they're ready.
Can a managed seller take over their own account later?
Yes. A managed seller can sign in anytime with the email you used to create their account. They request a magic link, click it, and get full access to their seller dashboard - listings, orders, and messages. Everything stays linked to their account.
Can I make sales before a seller finishes Stripe onboarding?
Yes. Sales can happen before a seller completes Stripe Connect onboarding. The payment is processed and held on the platform, shown under Pending Earnings, and all pending earnings transfer automatically once the seller finishes onboarding.
Can I set a different commission rate for one seller?
Yes. The per-seller commission override lets you set a custom rate for an individual seller from the Managed Sellers table. It takes precedence over your store-wide commission and applies to all of that seller's future product orders and service bookings.
Which plans include managed sellers?
Managed Sellers is available on the Pro and Business plans. It covers creating seller accounts, creating listings on their behalf, and generating Stripe Connect onboarding links.