Shopify Wholesale Setup: Native B2B on Plus vs Apps

Key takeaways

• Shopify Plus has had native B2B since 2022 - company-level accounts, customer-specific pricing, payment terms, and B2B-specific storefronts.
• Since April 2026, standard plans include foundational B2B features such as company profiles and volume pricing. Apps (Wholesale Club, SparkLayer, BSS Commerce) fill the remaining gaps.
• The biggest mistake: building a separate wholesale store. Native B2B 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 numbers on their orders. Build for those expectations.

To set up wholesale on Shopify Plus, create companies for your buyers, assign each a B2B catalog with its own prices, add payment terms, then choose a blended or separate B2B storefront. For stores on standard plans, the B2B features Shopify now includes and the apps that fill the gaps are covered below.

Why you can trust us

Jacques has over 15 years of development experience, and we have spent four years working on B2B and wholesale Shopify stores across categories. We build Fudge, the AI operator for Shopify stores, with a 4.9 rating on the Shopify App Store.

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: Open Companies in Shopify admin

B2B buyers are managed under Customers → Companies in the Shopify admin. If you don’t see it, check which B2B features your plan includes or contact your Plus support.

Step 2: Create companies and customer accounts

For each B2B customer:

1. Create the company.
2. Add the customer(s) as users of the company.
3. Set the company location’s catalog, payment terms and checkout settings.

Step 3: Set up catalogues and pricing

• Create a B2B catalogue (subset of products, or all).
• Assign the catalog to each company location, with prices set as a percent off retail or as 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: one storefront, with B2B pricing shown to signed-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

• Let buyers add a PO number at checkout.
• Configure payment terms per company.
• Set minimum-order quantities if applicable.

B2B on standard Shopify plans

Since April 2026, Shopify has brought foundational B2B features, such as company profiles and volume pricing, to standard plans. Check what your plan includes before paying for an app. For the gaps, 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. Fudge builds it in your theme as a draft, along with a wholesale application form if you need one. Decent for small B2B (1-10 customers); doesn’t scale.

The honest answer: if B2B revenue is meaningful (>10% of total), compare your plan’s native B2B with Plus before stacking apps. Apps fill gaps, and native B2B on Plus covers more than most app-based setups.

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 check out - 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 numbers

Buyers need a purchase order reference for their own accounting. They can add a PO number at checkout, and it shows on the order in your admin.

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 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.

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