Key takeaways
- Shopify Plus has native B2B since 2023 - company-level accounts, customer-specific pricing, payment terms, and B2B-specific storefronts.
- For stores below Plus, B2B is possible via apps (Wholesale Club, Sparklayer, BSS Commerce) but with limits. Mid-tier wholesale is a strong reason to consider Plus.
- The biggest mistake: building a separate wholesale store. The native B2B in Plus lets one Shopify store handle DTC and B2B without duplicating product data.
- B2B buyers expect minimum-order quantities, volume discounts, NET 30/60 payment terms, and PO uploads. Build for those expectations.
This guide covers setting up wholesale on Shopify Plus. For non-Plus stores, the practical alternatives are mentioned.
Why you can trust us
15+ years of dev experience, four years inside Shopify with multiple B2B/wholesale setups across categories.
Native Shopify Plus B2B
The current state of native B2B on Plus:
- Company accounts. Customers are part of a company; multiple users per company.
- Customer-specific pricing. Different pricing per customer or per company.
- Volume discounts. Tiered pricing based on quantity.
- Payment terms. NET 15, NET 30, NET 60, etc. Customer-specific.
- B2B-specific storefronts. Separate storefront for B2B traffic; can share or fork from your DTC theme.
- Bulk ordering. UI for adding many SKUs at once.
- Quote requests. Customers request quotes; you fulfil.
This covers most B2B use cases natively. Apps fill remaining gaps.
Setting up native B2B on Plus
Step 1: Enable B2B in Shopify admin
Settings → Customers → Enable B2B. (Plus stores only; if you don’t see this, contact your Plus support.)
Step 2: Create companies and customer accounts
For each B2B customer:
- Create the company.
- Add the customer(s) as users of the company.
- Set the company’s customer group, pricing rules, and payment terms.
Step 3: Set up catalogues and pricing
- Create a B2B catalogue (subset of products, or all).
- Assign pricing rules per company or per group: percent off retail, or specific prices per SKU.
- Set up volume tiers if applicable.
Step 4: Set up the B2B storefront
- Decide: same storefront as DTC (with B2B-only sign-in), or separate B2B-only storefront.
- For most stores: same storefront, B2B-only sign-in for logged-in B2B customers. Simpler to maintain.
- If you need a fundamentally different storefront (different products, different aesthetic), use the separate B2B storefront option.
Step 5: Configure checkout
- Enable PO uploads.
- Configure payment terms per company.
- Set minimum-order quantities if applicable.
Non-Plus B2B paths
For stores below Plus that need wholesale, the practical options:
- Wholesale Club. Works on standard Shopify. Adds B2B pricing, minimum orders, customer-specific pricing.
- Sparklayer. Mid-tier B2B with strong UX.
- BSS Commerce B2B. Comprehensive feature set.
- Custom-built B2B page - via Fudge or a developer. Decent for small B2B (1-10 customers); doesn’t scale.
The honest answer: if B2B revenue is meaningful (>10% of total), Shopify Plus is the right move. Apps fill gaps but the native B2B on Plus is materially better than any app-based setup.
Operational best practices
Minimum order quantities
B2B customers expect MOQs. Set them per product or per product type. Below the MOQ, the customer can’t checkout - they receive a message.
Volume discounts
Tiered pricing - “buy 50, get 5% off; buy 100, get 10% off”. Encourages larger orders, common B2B expectation.
Payment terms
NET 30 is the default in most B2B categories. Larger / longstanding customers might get NET 60 or NET 90. Implement via Plus’s native terms feature.
PO upload and reference
Customers want to attach a PO to their order for their own accounting. Native feature in Plus B2B.
B2B-specific catalogue
Show B2B customers different products than DTC if your assortment differs. Common in fashion (wholesale-only SKUs) and food (different pack sizes).
Order limits and approvals
For companies with multiple buyer-users, you can set order limits per user (subject to admin approval above the limit). Useful for large B2B customers.
What to avoid
- Building a separate Shopify store for B2B. Doubles your product-data work. Use Plus’s native B2B on one store.
- Promising features to B2B customers that don’t exist. EDI, complex tax rules, international VAT - some of this is app territory. Test before promising.
- Treating B2B onboarding as a DTC signup flow. B2B onboarding involves credit checks, payment terms negotiation, tax exemption certificates. Build a real onboarding process.
For wider context see Shopify multi-currency setup and Shopify ecommerce glossary.
FAQ
Is Shopify Plus required for B2B wholesale?
Not strictly - apps like Wholesale Club, Sparklayer, BSS Commerce enable B2B on standard Shopify. But Plus’s native B2B is materially better. If B2B is more than 10% of revenue, Plus is usually the right call.
Can I run DTC and B2B on the same Shopify store?
Yes. Plus’s native B2B is built around this - one store, both customer types, separate pricing and catalogue logic.
How does Shopify B2B handle payment terms (NET 30, NET 60)?
Natively on Plus, per customer or per company. Set the term, customer can checkout without immediate payment, you invoice and collect later.
Do B2B customers need to log in to see wholesale pricing?
Yes - that’s how the system identifies them. B2B pricing is account-level, shown only to logged-in B2B customers.
Can B2B customers upload purchase orders to Shopify?
Yes, natively on Plus. PO attached to the order; visible to you in the admin.
