Question about email contents

In the starter version, is it possible to edit the contents of the emails the customer gets through the process? Or do you have to upgrade to one of the commercial versions?

Emails can be customized via the menu System->Emails in the Business edition. The edition via that interface creates overrides so that you don't loose your modifications when you update.

If you edit the files directly in the folder media/com_hikashop/mail, you will have to back them up each time you update.