B2B ecommerce is a large market, and a wholesale channel gives a brand a second route to revenue next to direct-to-consumer sales. Shopify now includes core B2B features on all plans — not just Plus. Here’s how to set up a Shopify wholesale channel and where the plan limits are.
The honest plan breakdown: you don’t need Shopify Plus to start a Shopify wholesale channel. But you’ll hit limits at around 100 wholesale accounts. Know the ceiling before you build the floor.
Key Takeaways
- Shopify B2B features are now available on all plans — company profiles, payment terms, and basic catalog pricing
- Shopify Plus ($2,300/month) is needed for unlimited catalogs, dedicated B2B storefront, and advanced customer accounts
- Net payment terms (Net 15/30/60) are available without Plus — a major April 2026 feature expansion
- Per-product quantity rules (minimum, maximum, increment) are built in on every plan; a minimum order value (cart total) still needs an app or, on Plus, custom checkout validation
Shopify B2B: What’s Available on Each Plan
Basic, Grow, Advanced: Core B2B Features
Shopify expanded B2B features to non-Plus plans in April 2026. On Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans, you can now:
- Create company profiles for wholesale customers
- Set up wholesale pricing via catalogs (up to 3 active catalogs, assigned through B2B markets)
- Configure payment terms (Net 15, 30, or 60 days)
- Create volume discounts (tiered pricing by quantity)
- Enable draft orders for wholesale quote-to-order workflows
This is a significant expansion from the previous model where B2B functionality was effectively Plus-only. A brand with 10–50 wholesale accounts can now operate a functional wholesale channel on a $79–399/month Shopify plan.
Shopify Plus ($2,300/Month): What It Adds for Wholesale
Shopify Plus adds:
- Unlimited catalogs: non-Plus plans are limited to 3 catalogs; Plus has no limit
- Direct catalog assignment: assign a catalog to a specific company or company location; non-Plus plans assign catalogs only through B2B markets
- Dedicated B2B storefront: a separate storefront with a different URL for wholesale customers, with distinct navigation, content, and checkout experience
- Advanced customer accounts: richer account portal with order history, invoicing, and reorder functionality
- Checkout Extensibility for B2B: custom checkout logic specific to wholesale orders
- Multi-location fulfillment rules for B2B: assign specific warehouses to specific wholesale accounts
Decision Point: When to Upgrade to Plus for Wholesale
Upgrade to Plus when any of these apply:
- You need more than 3 price lists, or a price list for an individual company
- Your wholesale customers require a separate storefront experience from DTC
- You have 100+ wholesale accounts with complex tiered pricing requirements
- Your order volume from wholesale requires dedicated API capacity
Below 100 wholesale accounts with straightforward pricing, the non-Plus B2B feature set is sufficient.
Say a gourmet condiment brand sells DTC on Shopify Advanced, and wholesale inquiries start arriving from specialty food retailers. It can set up the native B2B features without upgrading to Plus: up to 3 catalogs across its B2B markets (for example, standard wholesale at 35% below retail and volume pricing at 40% below retail for 12+ units per SKU), with Net 30 payment terms for accounts with purchase orders. Custom pricing for one specific retail partner would need Plus, because assigning a catalog directly to a company is Plus-only. Until the account list or the requirements outgrow that, the non-Plus features cover what it needs.
Setting Up Company Accounts in Shopify
Creating a Company Profile
In Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies > Create company.
Fill in:
- Company name
- Billing and shipping addresses
- Payment terms (select from Net 15, 30, or 60, or payment on delivery)
- Catalog (on Plus, assign one directly; on Basic, Grow, and Advanced, the company gets its pricing through the catalogs of its B2B market)
- Tax exemption status (if applicable)
Once created, the company profile is the B2B customer record. All orders, invoices, and contacts for that wholesale account are linked to the company.
Adding Company Contacts and Buyer Permissions
Each company can have multiple contacts — the buyers who actually place orders. Add contacts by linking existing Shopify customer records to the company, or create new customer records during the company setup.
Each contact gets a permission at each company location: Ordering only (places orders and sees their own) or Location admin (also sees every order for that location and can edit its addresses). A location can also be set to submit all orders as drafts for your review. Configure these based on your wholesale account’s structure — a small retailer may have one buyer as location admin; a large chain may give regional buyers ordering-only access at their own locations.
Assigning Payment Terms to a Company Account (Net 15/30/60)
Payment terms are set at the company level. Each company can have different terms:
- Standard retail accounts: Net 30
- New accounts (no credit established): payment on delivery or in advance
- Premium key accounts with long track record: Net 60
When a company with Net 30 terms places an order, the order appears in your Shopify admin with a payment due date 30 days from fulfillment. Payment reminder emails are not on by default: you can schedule them under Settings > Notifications to go out on or after the due date.
Payment collection on Net terms orders is currently manual — you’ll follow up with your standard invoicing process when payment is due. Shopify doesn’t auto-collect payment on the due date for Net terms orders.
Shopify Wholesale Pricing — Three Methods
Method 1: Customer-Specific Price Lists (Catalog Pricing)
Create a catalog in Shopify admin: Products > Catalogs > Create catalog. A catalog is a modified price list for all or selected products.
For each catalog, you can set prices three ways:
- Percentage off: all items 35% below retail price
- Fixed price: specific prices per SKU, overriding retail
- Fixed amount off: dollar amount reduction per item
On Plus, assign the catalog directly to specific companies or company locations; on Basic, Grow, and Advanced, assign it to a B2B market. A company buying through the “Standard Wholesale” catalog sees those prices when logged in; DTC customers see retail prices.
Method 2: Volume Discounts (Tiered by Quantity)
Volume discounts apply across your entire catalog when a customer meets a quantity threshold. Set in Shopify admin > Products > Discounts (volume pricing section).
Example structure:
- 1–5 units: retail price
- 6–11 units: 10% off retail
- 12–23 units: 20% off retail
- 24+ units: 30% off retail
Volume discounts work alongside catalog pricing — a wholesale customer with a catalog can also get additional volume discounts on top of their catalog price.
Method 3: Fixed Percentage Off Standard Pricing
The simplest implementation: create a wholesale customer tag (e.g., “wholesale”) and apply an automatic discount for all customers with that tag. This works without the catalog system and is faster to set up.
Trade-off: a fixed percentage off doesn’t allow customer-specific variations, can’t be excluded from specific products, and is less controllable than catalog-based pricing. Use this for simple setups; migrate to catalogs as your wholesale tier complexity grows.
Which Method Fits Which Business Model
Simple wholesale (all accounts, same discount): Fixed percentage or single catalog Tiered wholesale (different discount levels by account size): Multiple catalogs Volume-based wholesale (discount scales with order size): Volume discounts layered on catalogs Key account pricing (custom price per SKU for specific accounts): Individual catalogs per major account (direct catalog assignment requires Plus)
Most established wholesale operations use a combination: a standard wholesale catalog (35% off) for most accounts, a volume discount layer on top, and, on Plus, custom catalogs for 2–3 key accounts with negotiated pricing.
Setting up Shopify wholesale correctly requires thinking through your pricing architecture before you build it. Our Shopify for B2B and wholesale team handles setup from catalog logic to payment terms configuration.
Enforcing B2B Rules
Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ) — Native Support or App?
Per-SKU minimums are native. Shopify B2B quantity rules (minimum, maximum, and increment) are available on Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus: set them per variant inside a catalog, so a wholesale buyer can’t order fewer than 6 units or anything other than full cases of 6.
A minimum order value (for example, a $250 minimum cart) is a different rule. On non-Plus plans it needs either:
- A third-party app (Wholesale Helper, B2B Wholesale Club)
- Custom theme code that validates cart contents before checkout proceeds
- Manual order review (impractical at scale)
On Shopify Plus, Checkout Extensibility allows custom checkout validation rules that can enforce minimum order values natively.
Login-Gated Wholesale Storefront
Wholesale pricing should not be visible to the public. The standard approach on non-Plus Shopify: require customers to log in to a wholesale-approved account before wholesale prices are shown.
Configure this by:
- Setting wholesale catalog pricing to be visible to logged-in customers only
- Requiring account approval before wholesale access (manually approve each wholesale application)
- Using the wholesale application form to collect business credentials before granting access
Hiding Retail Prices From Wholesale Customers and Vice Versa
Shopify’s catalog system automatically shows each customer the price list they’re assigned to. A wholesale customer sees their catalog prices; DTC customers see retail prices. This is handled at the account level — no theme modifications required.
However, on non-Plus plans, the checkout process shows DTC-formatted elements for wholesale orders. If you need a completely separate wholesale checkout experience, Plus’s dedicated B2B storefront is the solution.
Wholesale Application Form Setup
Create a standard Shopify page with a contact form (or use a form app) where potential wholesale buyers submit their business credentials: company name, resale certificate or business license number, estimated order volume, and business description.
Link to this page from your footer with a “Wholesale Inquiry” link. Review applications manually, approve via company account creation, and notify the buyer when their account is activated.
Payment Terms and Invoice Management
Net Payment Terms in Shopify: Setup and Customer Experience
Net terms are configured per company account. When a wholesale buyer checks out with Net 30 terms:
- They complete the order without paying upfront
- The order is placed with payment status “Payment pending”
- Shopify sends an invoice email with the payment due date
- You fulfill the order and track payment separately
You’ll need an invoicing workflow outside Shopify for following up on outstanding invoices and recording payments when received.
Order Invoicing Workflow
Shopify generates an invoice PDF for each order. For B2B orders, the invoice shows the company details, order date, items, totals, and payment due date. Send this to the buyer’s email at order creation and again 7 days before payment is due.
For higher-volume wholesale operations, integrating with an accounting system handles the invoice follow-up and payment tracking more efficiently than manual email.
Integration With QuickBooks and Xero for B2B Accounting
Both QuickBooks and Xero have Shopify integration apps that sync:
- Order data (including B2B orders with Net terms)
- Customer records (including company account details)
- Payment status
- Inventory data
The sync allows your accounting software to track outstanding receivables (unpaid Net terms invoices), generate aging reports, and reconcile payments against orders. For wholesale operations processing 50+ orders per month, this integration is essential — manual reconciliation at that volume is error-prone and time-consuming.
Tax Exemption for Resale Customers (Resale Certificates)
Wholesale customers purchasing for resale are typically tax-exempt — they’ll charge sales tax to their end customers. To apply tax exemption in Shopify:
- Request a valid resale certificate from the wholesale account
- In the company account settings, toggle tax exemption on
- The company’s orders will generate without sales tax
Keep copies of all resale certificates on file. Tax authorities may request them during audits. File them organized by state — resale certificates are state-specific and may have expiration dates.
B2B Storefront Strategy for Your Shopify Wholesale Channel
Single Storefront vs. Separate B2B Subdomain
Non-Plus stores serve wholesale customers through the same storefront as DTC customers — just with different prices when logged in. This works for most small and mid-size wholesale operations.
Shopify Plus adds the ability to create a dedicated wholesale storefront on a subdomain (e.g., wholesale.yourstore.com). This subdomain has:
- Separate navigation optimized for B2B browsing
- B2B-specific content (pack quantities, case pricing, ordering guides)
- Separate checkout flow with B2B-appropriate payment options
- Ability to show products only relevant to wholesale (not available DTC)
If your wholesale catalog significantly overlaps with DTC but the buying experience needs to be completely different — showing pack sizes, ordering minimums prominently, and streamlining large-quantity checkout — a dedicated subdomain is worth Plus’s additional cost.
Content and SEO Strategy for Wholesale Landing Pages
Create a dedicated wholesale program page (/pages/wholesale) that explains:
- Who qualifies as a wholesale customer
- Minimum order requirements
- How to apply
- Benefits (pricing, terms, support)
This page serves two purposes: it converts potential wholesale partners who find your store online, and it ranks for searches like “[your brand] wholesale” or “[your product category] wholesale suppliers.”
Imagine a pet supplement brand adding a wholesale channel some time after launching DTC. It creates a wholesale page, links it to a Shopify application form, and sets up catalog pricing with Net 30 terms. The common gap: nobody sets quantity rules on the wholesale catalog, so retailers can order single units at wholesale prices. Adding per-variant minimums and case increments to the catalog closes that gap at no extra cost.
When to Use a Third-Party Wholesale App
Apps for Non-Plus Stores: Wholesale Pricing Discount, B2B Wholesale Club
If the native Shopify B2B features feel limiting — particularly around minimum order values, tiered pricing complexity, or wholesale application management — these apps extend functionality:
Wholesale Pricing Discount by Wholesale Helper: Adds MOQ enforcement, custom tiered pricing beyond Shopify’s catalog limits, and a wholesale registration form. Starting at approximately $19/month.
B2B Wholesale Club: More comprehensive, includes customizable wholesale application workflow and additional pricing control. Starting at approximately $20/month.
Wholesale Gorilla: Full wholesale management suite with order forms, MOQ, and a dedicated wholesale order experience. Approximately $24/month.
Feature Gaps These Apps Fill
Primary use cases:
- Minimum order value (cart total) enforcement
- Wholesale registration/approval workflow automation
- Order form interface (bulk ordering by SKU, not product-page browsing)
- Per-unit and per-case pricing in the same catalog
Total Cost Comparison: App Subscription vs. Shopify Plus Upgrade
Third-party wholesale app ($20/month) + Shopify Advanced ($399/month) = $419/month
vs.
Shopify Plus ($2,300/month)
The cost difference is $1,881/month — justifiable only if Plus adds features beyond B2B that you need (advanced checkout, dedicated support, API limits, etc.). For wholesale alone, apps on Advanced are almost always the more cost-effective path until you hit scale where Plus features become genuinely necessary.
Conclusion
The B2B revenue opportunity is real. Wholesale accounts have higher order values, more predictable revenue patterns, and lower acquisition costs than DTC customers. And the setup cost is now substantially lower than it was before Shopify’s April 2026 feature expansion.
The path to setting up a Shopify wholesale channel: configure company profiles, create your catalog pricing structure, set up payment terms, build your wholesale application page, and start onboarding accounts. Set quantity rules on the catalog for minimums and case sizes; add a $20/month app only if you need a minimum order value. For most brands building from zero to 50 wholesale accounts, this is everything you need on a non-Plus plan.
Upgrade to Plus when the feature gap (unlimited catalogs, per-company catalogs, dedicated storefront) is actually costing you deals or creating operational friction that a $1,900/month plan premium resolves. Until then, the math doesn’t support it.
Our Shopify for B2B and wholesale service designs and builds wholesale Shopify setups from catalog architecture through launch. We scope wholesale configuration with you, covering company accounts, catalog pricing, payment terms, and application workflows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Shopify Plus for wholesale?
No. Shopify expanded core B2B features to Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans in April 2026. Company profiles, catalog pricing (up to 3 catalogs), Net payment terms, and volume discounts are all available on Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans. You need Plus for unlimited catalogs, direct catalog assignment to individual companies, a dedicated B2B storefront, and advanced customer account portals — features that become relevant above 100 wholesale accounts or when B2B requires a completely separate customer experience.
Can I offer different prices to different customers on Shopify?
Yes. On Basic, Grow, and Advanced, Shopify’s catalog system allows up to 3 active price lists with different prices per product, assigned through B2B markets. A “Standard Wholesale” catalog at 35% off retail works on any plan; a “Key Account” catalog assigned directly to one major account requires Shopify Plus, which also removes the 3-catalog limit.
How do I set up net payment terms on Shopify?
Go to Customers > Companies > [Company] > Edit. In the payment terms section, select Net 15, Net 30, or Net 60. This applies to all future orders from that company. When they checkout, orders are placed without upfront payment and show a payment due date in the order summary.
Can I have both a retail and wholesale store on Shopify?
Yes. With the catalog system and customer account gating, wholesale customers see wholesale prices when logged in and retail customers see retail prices without logging in. A dedicated wholesale storefront (separate URL/subdomain) requires Shopify Plus. On non-Plus plans, both audiences use the same storefront but see different prices based on their login status and the catalog that applies to their company.
What’s the minimum order quantity feature on Shopify?
Shopify B2B includes quantity rules on every plan: a minimum, maximum, and increment per variant, set inside a catalog, so per-SKU minimums and case quantities need no app. A minimum order value (a minimum cart total before checkout) is not a quantity rule; on non-Plus plans it needs a third-party app (Wholesale Helper, B2B Wholesale Club) or custom code. On Shopify Plus, Checkout Extensibility allows custom validation logic that can enforce it as part of the checkout flow.