In this guide · 8 sections
- 01What a B2B ordering portal needs to do
- 02Shopify B2B: what each plan includes
- 03Price lists, minimum orders and reorders
- 04Credit terms vs card payment for trade customers
- 05Invoices, InvoiceNow and accounting sync
- 06Before you build: rules to decide on paper
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
For a small or mid-sized distributor, a Shopify store with B2B turned on (Basic plan and up) gives trade logins, price lists, quantity rules, net payment terms and quick reorders. Per-customer price lists need Shopify Plus. Connect it to Xero or QuickBooks so invoices and payments reconcile.
What a B2B ordering portal needs to do
Retail online stores show one price to everyone and take card payment at checkout. Wholesale works differently: trade customers expect their agreed prices, ordering in cases, payment on 30-day terms and a fast way to repeat last week's order. A portal is worth building when these orders already arrive in a predictable pattern and someone on your team spends hours keying them in.
| Feature | Why distributors need it |
|---|---|
| Trade login and approval | Only approved businesses see wholesale prices |
| Customer-specific price lists | Different prices for key accounts, outlets and new customers |
| Minimum, maximum and increment quantities | Sell in cartons of 12, not single units |
| Volume price breaks | Cheaper per unit at 10 or 50 cartons |
| Net payment terms | Order now, pay in 7, 30 or 60 days by invoice |
| Reorder and quick order list | Repeat orders in a minute, by SKU |
| PO numbers on orders | Buyers' accounts teams need them to approve payment |
| Accounting sync | Invoices and payments flow into Xero or QuickBooks |
Shopify B2B: what each plan includes
Shopify's B2B features by plan page, updated October 2026, says B2B is available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Shopify Plus plans, and not on Starter or Retail. You can run B2B and retail sales from one store or open a separate B2B-only store.
| Feature | Basic / Grow | Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companies, locations, buyer permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| B2B catalogs (price lists) for markets | Up to 3 | Up to 3 | Unlimited |
| Catalogs assigned to a specific company | No | No | Yes |
| Quantity rules and price breaks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Net terms, vaulted cards, payment reminders | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deposits and partial payments | No | No | Yes |
| Quick order list, reorders, PO numbers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Plan prices from Shopify's Singapore pricing page, as of October 2026: Basic S$39 a month paid monthly or S$29 paid yearly, Grow S$132 or S$99, Advanced S$531 or S$399. Shopify Plus starts from US$2,300 a month. Our Shopify store cost guide breaks down apps and payment fees.
Price lists, minimum orders and reorders
Most small distributors do not really need one price list per customer. Grouping customers into two or three price tiers is easier to maintain and fits Shopify's standard plans. Write the tiers down first: which customers sit in each, the discount or fixed price, and who can move a customer between tiers.
Quantity rules set a minimum, maximum and increment per product, so a buyer cannot order 7 bottles from a carton of 12. Price breaks lower the unit price at higher volumes. Both sit inside a catalog, so they change with the customer's tier.
Reorders are where buyers feel the benefit. Shopify's quick order list lets a buyer enter quantities against a list of SKUs on one page, and customer accounts show past orders to repeat. For outlets that order the same items weekly, this replaces the WhatsApp photo of a handwritten list.
Credit terms vs card payment for trade customers
Decide payment rules per customer, not per store. New customers often pay by card or PayNow until they have a track record, and established accounts get terms.
Card or PayNow at checkout
- Cash in before you ship
- No credit risk or chasing
- Suits new and small accounts
Net terms (pay by invoice)
- Expected by established trade buyers
- Needs credit checks and limits
- Overdue invoices need reminders and follow-up
Shopify's net terms let a company check out without paying, and the order becomes an invoice due in the set number of days. Shopify can also store a card on file for the company. Payment reminders can be sent automatically, and the same reminders can run from your accounting system: see our guide to automating invoice reminders in Xero and QuickBooks.
Invoices, InvoiceNow and accounting sync
Trade customers who are GST-registered need a valid tax invoice to claim input tax, and most want PDF invoices with your UEN, GST number and their PO number. Our GST tax invoice requirements guide lists the fields.
If you are GST-registered, the IRAS GST InvoiceNow requirement will also apply to you. According to the IRAS GST InvoiceNow Requirement page, businesses that register for GST voluntarily from 1 April 2026 must already send invoice data through InvoiceNow, and existing GST-registered businesses are phased in from 1 April 2028 to 1 April 2031. The practical consequence for a portal: the invoice should end up in an InvoiceNow-ready accounting system, not only as a PDF from your store. IMDA explains the network on its nationwide e-invoicing framework page, and our InvoiceNow setup guide covers the steps.
Pick the system of record for invoices
Usually Xero or QuickBooks. The store creates orders; the accounting system issues the tax invoice and sends it through InvoiceNow when required.
Map products, tax codes and accounts
Match each product type to the right revenue account and GST code before syncing, or every invoice lands in the wrong place.
Connect the store
Use the official integration, for example the Shopify integration by Xero, and decide whether to sync each order or a daily summary.
Sync company records
Make sure each trade customer exists once in both systems with the same name, UEN and billing email.
Test with three real orders
Run a card order, a net-terms order and a refund, and check the invoice, payment and GST lines in your books.
Our guide to connecting Shopify, Stripe or HitPay to Xero explains the clearing-account method that keeps payouts and fees reconciled.
Before you build: rules to decide on paper
The software is the easy part. Portals fail when nobody has agreed the business rules, so settle these before setup starts.
B2B portal decisions
Do it yourself or get help?
If you already run a Shopify store, switching on B2B, creating companies and a couple of catalogs is manageable in-house over a few weeks. Bulk-importing customers, price tiers and quantity rules, plus the accounting mapping, is where errors creep in.
Our Online Store Pro package (S$3,490) builds a store with B2B catalogs, trade logins and a quick order page. Add Xero / QuickBooks Integration (S$390) for the accounting sync, and InvoiceNow (Peppol) Setup (S$190) if you are GST-registered.
Frequently asked questions
Not any more for the basics. As of October 2026, Shopify B2B is available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans. Standard plans allow up to three active B2B catalogs assigned to markets. You need Plus for unlimited catalogs, price lists assigned to individual companies, deposits and partial payments.
Yes. Shopify B2B supports net payment terms, so an approved company can check out without paying and the order becomes an invoice due in the agreed number of days. Set terms per company, combine them with a credit limit policy, and send reminders automatically from Shopify or your accounting software.
Yes. Shopify lets you run B2B and direct-to-consumer sales in one store, where logged-in trade buyers see their catalog prices and quantity rules. Some distributors prefer a separate B2B-only store to keep wholesale prices completely hidden and keep the two catalogues simpler to manage.
Only if the GST InvoiceNow requirement applies to your business. New voluntary GST registrants from 1 April 2026 must already comply, and existing GST-registered businesses are phased in from April 2028 to April 2031. The usual approach is to let InvoiceNow-ready accounting software issue and send the invoice, with the store syncing orders into it.
For an existing Shopify store with clean product data, switching on B2B and setting up tiers can take a few weeks. A new store with a few hundred products, customer imports and accounting sync often takes one to two months, mostly spent on product data, pricing rules and testing real orders.