Shopify's B2B functionality has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years. What was once a workaround-heavy experience — apps stacked on apps to approximate wholesale pricing, customer-specific catalogues, and net terms — is now a first-class feature set built directly into Shopify Plus.
For brands running both DTC and wholesale on a single Shopify store, this is a significant development. This guide covers everything you need to evaluate Shopify B2B for your business in 2026.
What Is Shopify B2B?
Shopify B2B is the platform's native wholesale and business commerce feature, available exclusively on Shopify Plus. It allows merchants to create a separate B2B purchasing experience — with custom pricing, payment terms, catalogues, and checkout flows — without needing a separate store or a stack of third-party apps.
The key capabilities, as of early 2026:
How Company Profiles Work
The Company Profile is the foundational B2B object in Shopify. A company represents a business customer — a retailer, distributor, or wholesale buyer. Under each company, you can have multiple locations (e.g., regional distribution centres) and multiple contacts (e.g., procurement manager, accounts payable).
Each location can have its own shipping address, payment terms, and price list. This makes Shopify B2B genuinely useful for complex wholesale relationships — not just a single-tier "wholesale customer" tag applied to a Shopify account.
Contacts can be assigned as Location Admins (can manage orders and team members for that location) or standard buyers. This permission structure handles most real-world B2B purchasing hierarchies without custom development.
Custom Pricing and Price Lists
Shopify's native price list system allows you to create:
- Percentage-off price lists — e.g., 30% off all products for Tier A wholesale accounts
- Fixed price lists — specific prices per SKU for specific customers or customer segments
- Volume pricing — different prices at different quantity thresholds (via the new quantity rules feature)
- Currency-specific pricing — price lists in different currencies for international wholesale accounts
The key limitation: price lists are still somewhat binary — you assign a price list to a company location, and that's their pricing. For very complex pricing models (e.g., prices that change based on quarterly volume commitments, or multi-variable pricing matrices), you'll still need custom development or a third-party app.
Net Terms and Payment
Net payment terms are one of the most-requested B2B features, and Shopify now handles them natively. You can configure Net 7, Net 15, Net 30, Net 60, or custom terms per company. When a B2B customer checks out on terms, an invoice is generated automatically and tracked in the Shopify admin.
Important nuance: Shopify's native net terms work well for tracking and invoicing, but they don't include automated dunning (payment reminders) or collections workflows. For high-volume B2B with payment risk, you'll likely want to integrate a dedicated accounts receivable tool.
The Wholesale Checkout Experience
B2B customers get a dedicated checkout experience that differs from DTC in several ways:
- Purchase order number field is displayed and stored with the order
- Payment methods show only what's configured for that company (net terms, credit card on file, etc.)
- No Shop Pay or consumer payment methods are shown
- Minimum order quantities and order quantity rules are enforced at checkout
When to Choose Shopify B2B vs. Custom Development
Shopify B2B is the right choice when:
- Your wholesale pricing model is tier-based or fixed per account (not dynamically calculated)
- You want to run DTC and wholesale on the same storefront with a single product catalogue
- Your B2B volume doesn't require deep ERP integration at checkout
- You're comfortable with Shopify's invoicing and payment tracking (or will integrate a separate AR tool)
Custom development is worth considering when:
- Your pricing model is highly dynamic — e.g., real-time price calculations based on ERP data, contract commitments, or stock levels
- Your B2B customers require deep EDI or ERP integration that goes beyond what Shopify's API can handle efficiently
- You need complex approval workflows for large orders before they're confirmed
Our Assessment
In 2024, we would have recommended a dedicated B2B platform (like Magento or a custom build) for any brand with sophisticated wholesale requirements. In 2026, Shopify B2B handles the majority of real-world B2B use cases — particularly for brands doing less than £10M/year in wholesale, or brands where the product catalogue and content are shared between DTC and wholesale channels.
The platform is still maturing in the areas of complex pricing logic, ERP integration depth, and payment automation. But the trajectory is clear, and for most brands we work with, native Shopify B2B is the right starting point.
If you're evaluating Shopify B2B for your business and want a frank assessment of whether it covers your requirements, book a scoping call — we'll work through your specific use case.