Shopify B2B and wholesale stores
Shopify's B2B features (companies, catalogues, quantity rules, net payment terms, draft-order review) are included on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans as of October 2026, with a limit of three catalogues below Plus. They do not produce GST invoices or check a dealer's outstanding balance. WavX configures Shopify B2B, builds the integrations around it, and says when a custom portal fits better.
What Shopify's own B2B features cover
Shopify B2B is a set of features inside the normal Shopify admin and online store. A dealer logs in to the same store your retail customers use and sees their own prices, products and payment terms.
Many articles still describe it as a Shopify Plus feature. Shopify's own plan table, read on 2 October 2026, says B2B can be used on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans, and that most of it is the same on all four.
| Feature | Basic, Grow, Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Companies and company locations, with location-level permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Catalogues (prices and product availability for B2B buyers) | Up to 3 active catalogues, assigned to B2B markets | Unlimited, and assignable directly to a company location |
| Quantity rules (minimum, maximum, increments) and quantity price breaks | Yes | Yes |
| Net payment terms and payment reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Deposits, partial payments, payment requests per fulfilment | No | Yes |
| Order review as a draft, PO numbers, easy reorder | Yes | Yes |
| Trade theme and quick order list | Yes | Yes |
| Sales staff permissions | Yes, with some permission levels limited | Yes |
| Storefront and checkout that change by market | Advanced only | Yes |
| Shopify Flow automations | Yes | Yes |
Payment terms can be net 7, 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 days, due on fulfilment, or due on a fixed date. A dealer on terms can open the order in their account and pay at any point up to the due date.
The three-catalogue limit is the row to check first. If you have more than three wholesale price lists, you are choosing between Plus and a different approach before any other question matters.
How a dealer orders
- You create the company and its locations in the admin, assign a catalogue and payment terms, and invite the buyer.
- The buyer logs in through Shopify's customer accounts. Legacy customer accounts cannot be used for B2B.
- They see the catalogue's prices and can only order in the quantities your rules allow. The quick order list is there for bulk ordering.
- Checkout shows the company and its terms. You can require the order to arrive as a draft for your team to review before it is confirmed.
- The buyer pays at checkout or later, within the terms. Payments are not captured automatically when the terms expire; your team collects or records them.
What it does not cover for an Indian wholesale business
| Need | What Shopify does | What fills the gap |
|---|---|---|
| GST tax invoice | Shopify states it does not create a GST-compliant bill. The HSN code can be stored in the product's HS tariff code field | An invoicing app, or an integration with the system that raises your invoices. See GST e-invoicing |
| Credit limit against outstanding balance | Payment terms set a due date. They do not read the dealer's ledger | An integration that checks the balance in your books and holds the order at the draft stage. See Shopify to Tally |
| Payment by NEFT, RTGS or cheque | A manual payment method; the order stays unpaid until someone marks it paid | A reconciliation routine, or an integration that marks orders paid from bank or accounting data |
| Schemes beyond quantity breaks | Quantity price breaks | A discount app or custom logic. On plans below Plus, Shopify Functions are available only through public App Store apps; custom apps containing Functions need Plus |
| Distributor, dealer and retailer levels | A company and its locations | A custom build, if each level buys at different prices from the level above |
| Very large orders | An order or draft order fails above 500 line items | Split orders, or a custom portal |
| Field sales booking orders offline | Staff can be limited to their assigned companies in the admin | A separate sales app, which is a build of its own |
Shopify's B2B checkout also leaves out some things the retail checkout has: accelerated checkouts, local delivery, pickup points and subscriptions.
Shopify B2B or a custom portal
| Your situation | Likely fit |
|---|---|
| You already run a D2C store on Shopify and want dealers to order from the same catalogue at wholesale prices | Shopify B2B on your current plan |
| Up to three price lists, payment on terms, orders approved by one person | Shopify B2B on your current plan |
| More than three price lists, deposits or part payments | Shopify Plus, or a custom portal. Compare the yearly cost of each |
| Credit control that must follow your books, GST invoices raised in Tally or an ERP | Shopify B2B plus integrations |
| Wholesale is the whole business, with several dealer levels, period schemes and field sales | A custom B2B ordering portal |
| Dealers order by WhatsApp today and you have never tested online ordering | Shopify B2B with a handful of dealers first, before deciding anything larger |
The custom route is described step by step in how to build a B2B ordering portal.
What WavX does
| Work | What it covers |
|---|---|
| B2B configuration | Companies, locations, catalogues, quantity rules, payment terms, checkout and draft-review settings |
| Dealer and price-list import | Your dealer list and price lists loaded into companies and catalogues, checked against the source |
| Storefront | The Trade theme, or changes to your existing theme so prices and quick ordering behave correctly for logged-in dealers |
| Accounting and invoice integration | Orders, payments and invoice numbers passed between Shopify and Tally, an ERP or an invoicing service |
| Credit and approval logic | A custom app that checks a rule you define before a draft order is confirmed |
| Custom portal | A separate build when the decision table points there |
How the work runs
- Map the wholesale process as it is. Who the dealers are, how many price lists exist, who approves an order, how payment is recorded, where the invoice is raised.
- Check the plan limits against that map. The catalogue count and the need for deposits decide whether your current plan is enough.
- Configure on a copy. B2B settings are built and tested with test companies before any dealer is invited.
- Import companies and catalogues. Loaded from your lists, then spot-checked by someone in your team who knows the prices.
- Connect accounting. The invoice and payment flow is tested with real documents, including a credit note and a part-delivered order.
- Pilot. A small group of dealers orders for two or three cycles. Their problems are fixed before the rest are invited.
- Hand over. Written notes on how to add a dealer, change a price list and record a payment.
Limits to know before you start
- Dealers have to change how they order. The software is the smaller part. A portal nobody logs in to has failed, however well it is built.
- Integrations carry the risk. Shopify B2B itself is configuration. The GST invoice, the ledger balance and the payment record live in other systems, and each connection needs its own testing and upkeep.
- Shopify's limits are Shopify's. The 500-line limit, the catalogue limit below Plus and the missing checkout features cannot be worked around from inside the store.
- Features and plan limits change. The table above is what Shopify published on 2 October 2026. Check the plan table again before you decide.
When you should not hire anyone for this
If you have one wholesale price list and a short list of dealers, Shopify B2B can be set up from the admin without code. Shopify's help centre walks through it, and it is included in the plan you already pay for. Hire help when an integration, a credit rule or a migration of many dealers is involved.
If you do not run a retail store on Shopify and only need a dealer portal, starting a Shopify store for it is not automatically the cheaper route. For a planning range on a custom portal, use the software cost estimator; Shopify B2B configuration and integration work is quoted after scoping.
B2B and wholesale setup is one part of Shopify and app development at WavX.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Shopify Plus to sell wholesale on Shopify?
No. As of October 2026 Shopify states that its B2B features can be used on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans. Plus adds unlimited catalogues, catalogues assigned directly to a company location, deposits and partial payments. Below Plus you can have up to three active catalogues.
Can dealers and retail customers use the same Shopify store?
Yes. A dealer logs in and sees the prices, products and payment terms of their company; a retail customer sees the normal store. Dealers must use Shopify's current customer accounts, because legacy customer accounts cannot be used for B2B.
Does Shopify generate GST invoices for wholesale orders?
No. Shopify's help centre says it does not create a GST-compliant bill and points merchants to a third-party invoicing service or app. For wholesale this usually means an invoicing app or an integration with the accounting system that already raises your tax invoices.
Can Shopify stop an order when a dealer is over their credit limit?
Not from the dealer's ledger. Payment terms set when an invoice is due; they do not read the outstanding balance in Tally or an ERP. What Shopify does offer is sending B2B orders to draft for review, and an integration can use that step to hold an order until the balance is checked.
When is a custom B2B portal better than Shopify?
When the rules are the product: several levels of distributor and dealer, schemes that change by period and by party, credit control tied to your books, salespeople booking orders in the field, or orders with more than 500 lines. Those are built around your process, and Shopify's B2B model is built around a company buying from a catalogue.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Shopify B2B overview · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: Shopify B2B features by plan · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: B2B features · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: B2B considerations · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: B2B payment terms · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: GST in India FAQ · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: manual payment methods · read 2 October 2026
- Shopify developer docs: Shopify Functions availability · read 2 October 2026
Related
Build your own software — your way, your pricing.
WavX Solutions is here to create your own software in a fully custom way, built exactly how you work — with a pricing model that fits your business. Connect now and let's build it.