How to Launch a Profitable B2B Channel on Your Existing Shopify Store (No Second Store Needed)

What’s the main advantage of using one store?

It keeps everything simpler. You’ll manage one inventory, one set of analytics, and one storefront,  all while giving each customer type the right experience. It’s cleaner, easier, and far more scalable in the long run.

When you run two separate stores, inventory management becomes a headache. You’re constantly shifting stock or trying to sync updates between both stores, which often leads to overselling, stock shortages, and lost profits.

Having data split between two systems makes it tough to see the full picture. You can’t easily track how much a customer spends over time or forecast what you’ll need in stock. Everything feels disconnected.

Managing two Shopify stores is a nightmare of duplication. Every product launch, every design change, every shipping update means twice the work, twice the tedious data entry. It absolutely kills your time and steals your focus from the sales and strategy that actually matter.

For a comprehensive guide on launching a successful Shopify store, read Virtina's Shopify Development Checklist, which covers everything from initial planning to post-launch optimization.

⇨ 5-Step B2B Implementation Checklist

Setting up B2B right on your regular Shopify store needs a smart, organized plan so you don't mess up your inventory or accidentally show wholesale prices to retail customers. Always seek help from a Shopify expert for implementation.

1. Establish Customer Segmentation 

You need a strict system right out of the gate to stop pricing mix-ups. Crucially, demand that every new B2B applicant uses a specific registration form to submit their necessary business info, like their EIN or Tax ID, so you can manually approve and properly tag them. Upon approval, apply the necessary Customer Tags (Standard Plans) or create the Company Profile (Plus).  

2. Configure B2B Pricing & Access

Install and configure your chosen Wholesale Pricing App (Path B) or set up native Price Lists and Catalogs (Path A). Crucially, assign these custom prices only to the specific customer segments to maintain pricing privacy. 

3. Implement Access Control

Use an app or Liquid code to hide the Wholesale Navigation Menu and Catalog from non-logged-in or untagged retail customers. This ensures B2B buyers have a professional, dedicated portal.

4. Optimize Checkout and Terms

Set up Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs) at the cart or product level. For Plus, activate Net Payment Terms (Net 30/60). For standard plans, integrate an external invoicing or quote management tool to handle these credit terms.

5. Test and Train

Create a dummy wholesale account with the B2B tag/profile and place several test orders. Verify that the retail customer sees standard pricing, the wholesale buyer sees their custom pricing, and the checkout process (including tax exemption and MOQs) functions perfectly.

⇨ The Foundation: Company Profiles & Locations

The core innovation is moving away from individual accounts to the powerful Company Profile. This lets you handle complex corporate buying structures seamlessly. You get one master record for the company, which can include multiple contacts with specific permissions (like assigning an "Admin" role) and even support several independent buying locations, each with its own negotiated pricing and shipping address.

⇨ Personalized Pricing & Catalogs

Forget about manually creating discount codes. With Shopify Plus B2B, you can manage pricing and product visibility directly within the platform.

⇨ Price Lists

You can set up as many price lists as you need, whether it’s fixed wholesale prices or percentage discounts for certain products or collections. Once assigned to a company account, the right prices show automatically when that buyer logs in.

⇨ Customer-Specific Catalogs

For manufacturers with regional distributors or exclusive product lines, you can assign an entire product catalog to a specific company, effectively restricting visibility of certain products from both your retail customers and other B2B clients.

⇨ B2B Checkout & Payments

B2B buyers have different needs at checkout, most notably the requirement to order on credit.

⇨ Net Payment Terms (Net 30, Net 60)

The crucial B2B feature is now native to the checkout. You can assign terms (e.g., Net 30, Due on Fulfillment) to a Company Location. When a B2B buyer checks out, the payment due date is automatically calculated and tracked in the admin, replacing manual invoicing.

⇨ Purchase Orders (PO) & Vaulted Credit Cards

B2B Checkout includes custom fields for entering Purchase Order numbers, a non-negotiable requirement for many corporate buyers. Buyers can also securely vault credit card information at the company level for faster re-ordering.

⇨ Automation with Shopify Flow

For Plus merchants, Shopify Flow is the key to scaling without hiring. You can use this native automation tool to:

⇨ Wholesale Tagging

Automatically tag a new customer who submits a B2B registration form and assign them a default Price List.

⇨ Payment Reminders

Automatically send emails when a Net 30 payment is due or past due.

⇨ Draft Order Creation

Automate the generation of a draft order and send it to a sales rep when a high-value quote request is received.

⇨ The Core Mechanism: Customer Tags & The Tiers

Without native Company Profiles, your customer segmentation relies entirely on the basic Shopify feature of Customer Tags.

⇨ The Foundation

Every approved wholesale client must be manually or automatically tagged with a label like “Wholesale Customer.” This tag acts as the key that all your B2B apps will look for to trigger special pricing, access, and features.

⇨ Tier 1: Pricing & Discounts

Since standard Shopify doesn't support customer-specific pricing, you must use a dedicated B2B pricing app.

⇨ Functionality

When the app detects the tag, it dynamically changes the displayed price on the product page and in the cart to the pre-set wholesale rate.

⇨ Tiered Pricing

Apps can also support volume pricing (e.g., 10% off for 50 units, 15% off for 100 units), which is critical for incentivizing bulk orders from B2B clients. Importantly, the app ensures retail customers see only the standard price, providing the necessary privacy.

⇨ Tier 2: Access & Gating (The Security App)

To keep your sensitive wholesale prices and products hidden, you need a content gating app.

⇨ Functionality

Apps can be configured to restrict access to specific pages or collections. For instance, you could create a collection titled "Wholesale Catalog" and set the app to only unlock that collection for customers logged in with the "Wholesale Customer" tag. Public visitors will be redirected to a dedicated B2B login or registration form.

⇨ Bulk Ordering & Quote Requests

The retail "Add to Cart" button is inefficient for B2B buyers who need 50 units of 12 different SKUs.

⇨ Quick Order Forms

Integrating apps into a streamlined, one-page bulk ordering spreadsheet. Customers can enter quantities by SKU/variant for multiple products and add them to the cart instantly, eliminating unnecessary page loads and accelerating the purchasing process.

⇨ Quote-to-Order

For custom orders or complex negotiations, utilize a Quote Request app. This allows a B2B lead to submit a wishlist of items. Your team then reviews the request, manually sets the price, and converts it into a Shopify Draft Order, which is sent to the customer for easy payment.

⇨ The Wholesale Registration Funnel

Your B2B customers cannot simply use the standard retail sign-up form. A robust approval process is mandatory.

Step 1: Custom Registration Form

Create a dedicated, customized registration form using an app (for standard plans) or a dedicated customer account page (for Plus). This form must collect required business-specific information: Company Name, EIN/Tax ID, Resale Certificate upload, and business website.

Step 2: Manual Approval & Tagging

Once submitted, the application should not grant immediate access. Your team must manually review the application (checking for a valid business license/resale certificate). Upon approval, your team manually applies the "Wholesale Customer" tag (Standard plans) or creates the new Company Profile (Plus). Only then is the customer invited to log in and access their special pricing.

⇨ Tax Exemptions

Sales tax is the single biggest complexity when selling B2B. Wholesalers and resellers are typically tax-exempt.

Handling Exemption

After the customer provides their valid resale certificate, you must flag their account.

⇨ Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs)

B2B sales rely on scale. You must enforce minimum purchase rules to maintain profitability.

Enforcement

MOQs can be enforced at the:

Implementation

Shopify Plus handles quantity rules natively within the price list/catalog settings. Standard plans require the Tier 1 pricing app to manage these rules and block checkout if the requirements are not met.

⇨ B2B Storefront UX

A seamless user experience is critical for retaining B2B customers. They should never see a feature meant for retail.

Gated Navigation

Use conditional logic in your theme's Liquid code or your access control app to create a distinct Wholesale Navigation Menu. This menu, visible only when a B2B customer is logged in, should link directly to their bulk order forms, account management portal, and private catalogs, effectively hiding all retail-specific links and promotions. This provides a professional, dedicated environment that feels like a standalone portal.