Introduction

Finding the best shopify b2b app is one of the fastest ways to turn a retail Shopify store into a scalable wholesale channel. The right app reduces manual quoting, enforces customer-specific pricing, enables net terms or PO-based checkout, and segments catalogs for different buyer groups. A typical wholesale setup can boost average order value by 2x to 5x and shorten sales cycles for repeat buyers.

This article explains what B2B features matter, which apps address them, and how to evaluate and implement a solution in 30-90 days. You will get concrete vendor recommendations, approximate pricing ranges, an implementation timeline, and an actionable checklist to launch or improve your Shopify B2B offering. These steps are tailored to store owners and entrepreneurs who need measurable outcomes: higher AOV (average order value), simplified order processing, and predictable recurring revenue from wholesale relationships.

Best Shopify B2b App

This section answers “which app should I pick” with a practical shortlist and when to use each option. The choices below map to common B2B needs: pricing by customer group, minimum order quantities, quote requests, purchase orders, net terms, and hidden wholesale catalogs.

Top picks and when to pick them

Shopify Wholesale Channel (Shopify Plus)
Best for: Brands already on Shopify Plus or planning enterprise-scale B2B.
What it does: Native wholesale channel, separate storefront with customer authentication, bulk pricing and custom catalogs.
Pricing: Included with Shopify Plus. Shopify Plus pricing typically starts at enterprise rates (contact Shopify for exact fees).
Why choose it: Deep integration, Shopify support, and no third-party app conflicts.
Wholesale Club (by Pixel Union or similar established developers)
Best for: Merchants wanting role-based pricing and wholesale price tiers without heavy customization.
What it does: Apply wholesale prices to specific customer tags, hide retail prices, and create tiered discounts.
Pricing: Most apps in this class use a mid-tier subscription pattern; expect monthly fees in the mid-range and a free trial.
Why choose it: Simple setup and reliable vendor support.
Wholesale Gorilla
Best for: Stores that need advanced B2B features like net terms, order minimums, and PO checkout.
What it does: B2B registration forms, net terms management, wholesale price tiers, and quoting tools.
Pricing: Typically positioned as a mid-tier B2B app; pricing often starts in the low-to-mid monthly range.
Why choose it: Focused features for wholesale workflows.
Bold Custom Pricing or Bold Wholesale (Bold Commerce)
Best for: Stores needing complex pricing rules per customer or product, volume discounts, and dynamic price adjustments.
What it does: Per-customer pricing rules, volume-based discounts, and API hooks for integrations.
Pricing: Bold Commerce apps commonly use monthly subscriptions with higher tiers for advanced features.
Why choose it: Mature platform that handles complex pricing logic.
Locksmith or similar access-control apps
Best for: Merchants that need to lock pages, hide products, or require registration approvals.
What it does: Restrict access by customer tag, password, or other rules. Useful for staged wholesale rollouts.
Pricing: Low to mid monthly pricing; usually flexible.
Why choose it: Lightweight, reliable access control without heavy pricing changes.

How to choose from this list

If you run Shopify Plus, start with Shopify Wholesale Channel because it reduces third-party complexity.
If you need quick setup with customer-specific pricing and limited support staff, choose a vendor like Wholesale Club or Wholesale Gorilla.
If you need complex per-customer rules and integrations with ERP or ERP-like systems, choose Bold or a solution that exposes APIs for automation.

Each app choice should be validated with a pilot: test with 5-10 key customers, measure order value and error rates, and iterate.

What B2B Features Matter and How to Evaluate Them

Wholesale merchants commonly need five core capabilities. Evaluate apps against these features with real acceptance criteria and sample metrics.

Customer-specific pricing and tiered discounts

What you need: Ability to assign prices by customer group or tag and support volume breaks (for example, 1-24 units = $10, 25-99 = $8, 100+ = $6).
Acceptance criteria: Create 3 tiers for a sample SKU in under 10 minutes; customer sees correct price when logged in.
KPI: Price mismatches should be 0% on first 20 transactions in pilot.

Order minimums and minimum order quantities (MOQ)

What you need: Enforce minimum cart values, product-level MOQs, and enforce multiples (pack sizes).
Acceptance criteria: System rejects checkout if cart < $500 or an item quantity is not a multiple of 12.
KPI: Reduce manual order corrections by 90% after enforcement.

Quoting and purchase orders

What you need: Accept quote requests, convert quotes to orders, and accept purchase order numbers at checkout.
Acceptance criteria: Sales rep converts a quote to an order in 2 clicks; PO number is stored on order metadata.
KPI: Quote-to-order conversion rate greater than 40% if actively managed.

Net terms, credit limits, and invoicing

What you need: Grant net 30/60 terms, capture credit limits, send invoices and record payments.
Acceptance criteria: Customer X approved for net 30 via Shopify admin or app; invoice emailed automatically after order.
KPI: Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) decreases by 10-20% in 3 months with automated reminders.

Catalog segmentation and storefront control

What you need: Hidden wholesale storefront, segmented catalogs, or per-customer storefront pages.
Acceptance criteria: Wholesale customers see only wholesale SKUs and wholesale prices after login. Retail customers see retail storefront.
KPI: Increase wholesale conversion rate and reduce admin time managing manual SKU lists.

How to test apps quickly

Create a staging shop or password-protected storefront and install the app.
Create 3 test customer accounts: Retail, Small Wholesaler, and Distributor.
For 5 SKUs, set up tiered pricing, MOQ, and a net term for Distributor. Run 10 test orders across combinations and verify price, checkout flow, and order metadata.
Timeline for evaluation: Aim for a 7-10 day test window with decision at day 10.

Example: If SKU A has retail price $25, configure wholesale tiers: 10 units = $18, 50 units = $14. Place orders for 9, 10, and 50 units to verify enforcement.

Implementation Plan and 90-Day Rollout Timeline

A structured rollout prevents order failures and preserves customer relationships. The timeline below assumes an existing Shopify store and a small internal team (owner + 1 ops person + 1 salesperson).

Day 0-7: Discovery and app selection

Tasks: List required features, shortlist 2-3 apps, read reviews, contact vendor support.
Deliverables: Selected app and initial plan. Budget set for monthly app fees and any dev hours.

Day 8-21: Setup and configuration in staging

Tasks: Install app in a staging or development store, create wholesale customer groups and tags, configure 3 sample SKUs with tiers and MOQs, set up registration form.
Deliverables: Working staging wholesale flow with sample orders.

Day 22-35: Integration and automation

Tasks: Integrate with accounting (Xero, QuickBooks, or QuickBooks Online), configure order routing for fulfillment, set up email templates for invoices and quotes.
Deliverables: Orders create correct invoices in your accounting system; 2 automated email templates tested.

Day 36-50: Pilot with 5-10 customers

Tasks: Invite 5-10 existing wholesale leads to pilot, provide onboarding call, collect feedback on pricing visibility, checkout, and invoicing.
Deliverables: Pilot feedback, bug fixes, adjustments to tiers or terms.

Day 51-70: Iterate and document procedures

Tasks: Implement feedback, train sales and operations staff, document SOPs for approving accounts, credit checks, and handling disputed orders.
Deliverables: SOPs, training checklist, and final storefront tweaks.

Day 71-90: Launch and scale

Tasks: Open wholesale registration publicly or targeted outreach, run targeted email campaign to past wholesale buyers, monitor KPIs daily for first two weeks.
Deliverables: Public wholesale channel launched, weekly reports on AOV, conversion, and DSO.

KPIs to track weekly during rollout

Wholesale revenue
Average order value (AOV)
Conversion rate of wholesale storefront
Quote-to-order conversion
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)

Example targets for a first 90 days

Achieve 50 wholesale orders and $25,000 in wholesale revenue.
Increase overall AOV by 30% for wholesale segment.
Reduce order correction time by 75% after automating MOQs and pricing.

Managing Pricing, Catalogs, and Payments

Price transparency and clean catalog management reduce disputes and accounting overhead. This section gives actionable rules, examples, and app-role suggestions.

Pricing strategies for B2B

Tiered volume discounts: Set tiers based on typical reorder sizes. Example: 1-24 = $12/unit, 25-99 = $10/unit, 100+ = $8/unit.
Customer-specific negotiated pricing: Use customer tags to assign a negotiated flat price or percent discount.
Contract pricing: Create contract accounts with fixed prices for a term, such as 12 months, then review.

Actionable pricing checklist

Audit top 50 SKUs: Identify 20 SKUs that represent 80% of wholesale revenue and set explicit tiers for each.
Decide rounding and currency rules: For cross-border B2B, decide if you round to nearest whole currency unit to avoid cents-heavy invoices.
Automate price visibility: Ensure wholesale customers see only wholesale prices; avoid exposing internal cost pricing to retail visitors.

Catalog segmentation and product visibility

Use a hidden wholesale storefront or apps that swap collections based on customer tag.
Hide retail-only SKUs from wholesale customers and vice versa to avoid confusion during ordering.
Example: Create a collection “Wholesale SKUs” and restrict access via customer tag or locked storefront.

Payments and invoicing workflows

Net terms: Approve net 30 or net 60 for customers after credit checks. Use apps that flag overdue accounts and block checkout for customers past credit limit.
Purchase orders: Allow checkout with PO number entry and store this on the order record for reconciliation.
Invoicing: Integrate with an invoicing system or use apps that send PDF invoices automatically after order placement.

Recommended integration pattern

App for pricing and storefront control: Wholesale Club, Wholesale Gorilla, or Shopify Wholesale Channel.
Access control: Locksmith or built-in app controls.
Accounting: QuickBooks Online or Xero integration through a connector like A2X or Mechanic workflows.
Payments and invoicing: Use Shopify Payments for card capture plus manual invoicing for net terms. For larger customers consider third-party payment processors that support ACH or wire transfers.

Example: A distributor on net 30 places a $12,000 order using PO checkout. Your system captures PO number, creates an order in Shopify, pushes invoice to QuickBooks Online, and sets a due date 30 days out. A reminder triggers at day 25 if unpaid.

Tools and Resources

This list focuses on specific apps, vendor roles, and pricing patterns. Prices change frequently; treat the numbers below as indicative ranges and verify on the Shopify App Store.

Shopify Wholesale Channel (Shopify Plus)
Role: Native wholesale storefront for Shopify Plus merchants.
Availability: Shopify Plus customers. Contact Shopify sales for pricing of Plus plans.
Cost: Included with Shopify Plus merchants. Shopify Plus pricing is enterprise-level.
Wholesale Club (various vendors such as Pixel Union)
Role: Customer-tag-based wholesale pricing and tiered discounts.
Availability: Shopify App Store.
Pricing: Typical pricing is mid-range subscription with free trials; expect monthly fees in a moderate band depending on features.
Wholesale Gorilla
Role: B2B features including net terms, PO checkout, MOQ, and quote tools.
Availability: Shopify App Store.
Pricing: Positioned as a focused B2B app with subscription tiers; expect monthly pricing suitable for SMB wholesale operations.
Bold Custom Pricing (Bold Commerce)
Role: Complex pricing rules, per-customer pricing, and volume discounts.
Availability: Shopify App Store; enterprise options available.
Pricing: Higher-tier monthly subscription; enterprise pricing for advanced features or large catalogs.
Locksmith
Role: Access control and content restriction; hide pages or collections behind login or tag rules.
Availability: Shopify App Store.
Pricing: Low-to-mid monthly subscription; flexible rules engine.
Accounting connectors and ERP integrations
Examples: A2X, QuickBooks Online integrations, and Sync With Xero.
Role: Automate reconciliation and transfer orders to accounting systems.
Pricing: Connectors often run $19-$79/month, depending on transaction volume.
Payment and invoicing tools
Examples: QuickBooks Online invoicing, Xero invoicing, or apps that generate PDF invoices for Shopify orders.
Role: Send invoices for net terms and record payments.
Pricing: Accounting services typically billed monthly; additional app fees may apply.

Selection tips

Trial apps for at least 7 days and run real-world tests with 3-5 customers.
Prefer apps that expose webhooks or APIs if you expect to integrate with an ERP later.
Budget for: app monthly fees, any one-time setup costs, and 10-40 hours of configuration and testing.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Avoid these 4 common pitfalls when launching B2B on Shopify.

Skipping a staging environment

Pitfall: Deploying wholesale rules on live store causes pricing errors or broken checkout.
How to avoid: Use a development store or password-protected staging site. Test customer tags, pricing tiers, and checkout flows with sample orders.

Underestimating accounting integration complexity

Pitfall: Orders and invoices fall out of sync, creating reconciliation headaches.
How to avoid: Define your accounting workflow first and test the connector with at least 10 real orders. Confirm tax treatment for wholesale orders.

Overcomplicating early pricing rules

Pitfall: Setting dozens of per-customer exceptions creates admin overhead.
How to avoid: Start with core tiers for top SKUs and add per-customer overrides only for strategic accounts. Revisit pricing quarterly.

Not training staff and customers

Pitfall: Sales reps do not know how to approve accounts or process PO checkouts, and customers place orders incorrectly.
How to avoid: Create short SOPs for approval, account creation, and handling net terms. Run a pilot with selected customers and provide a 15-minute onboarding call.

Ignoring fulfillment constraints

Pitfall: Wholesale orders can be large and break packing processes or stock levels.
How to avoid: Add inventory thresholds, backorder rules, and set expectation-led messaging for lead times. Coordinate with fulfillment partners for pallet-level shipments and freight quotes.

FAQ

What is the Difference Between Shopify Wholesale Channel and Third-Party B2B Apps?

Shopify Wholesale Channel is a native solution for Shopify Plus merchants that provides a separate wholesale storefront and integrates in-platform. Third-party apps run on any Shopify plan and offer specific features like net terms, quote systems, or access control, often with faster setup for SMBs.

Can I Offer Net Terms Like Net 30 on Shopify?

Yes. Many B2B apps support net terms, credit limits, and invoicing flows. Implement net terms with an app that tracks credit limits and integrates invoicing to your accounting system, and perform credit checks before enabling terms for a customer.

How Much Will a B2B Setup Cost Monthly?

Costs vary. Expect a low-end DIY route at $20-$50/month for simple pricing apps, mid-range $50-$200/month for apps with quotes and net terms, and enterprise-level solutions or Shopify Plus bundles that can cost significantly more. Also budget for integration and setup hours.

Do I Need Shopify Plus to Run B2B on Shopify?

No. Many third-party B2B apps work with standard Shopify and Shopify Advanced plans. Shopify Plus provides native wholesale features and deeper control, but SMB merchants can create functional B2B channels using apps.

How Long Does It Take to Launch a Wholesale Channel?

A basic wholesale setup can go live in 2-3 weeks with clear requirements and a small test group. A thorough rollout with integrations, SOPs, and pilot customers typically takes 6-12 weeks.

Will B2B Apps Break My Existing Storefront or Apps?

They can if not tested. Conflicts happen when multiple apps modify the same templates or checkout behavior. Use a staging store and an implementation checklist to validate interactions before going live.

Next Steps

Run a 10-day pilot

Install one shortlisted app in a staging store, configure 5 SKUs and 3 customer groups, and place test orders. Evaluate pricing visibility and checkout behavior.

Audit your top 50 SKUs

Identify the 20 SKUs that drive 80% of projected wholesale revenue and define tiered pricing and MOQs for those items.

Integrate with accounting

Choose an accounting connector (QuickBooks Online or Xero) and test 10 orders to ensure invoices and payments reconcile automatically.

Launch a 90-day plan with KPIs

Use the 90-day timeline in this article; track wholesale revenue, AOV, conversion, and DSO weekly and adjust pricing or terms based on early results.

Checklist for immediate action

Shortlist 2-3 apps and verify free trial availability.
Prepare a staging environment or password-protected storefront.
Create sample customer tags: retail, wholesale, distributor.
Set up and test tiered pricing for at least 5 SKUs.
Draft SOPs for account approval, net terms, and invoicing.

This plan gives a practical path to choose and implement the best shopify b2b app for your business, reduce friction for wholesale buyers, and scale predictable B2B revenue without overloading operations.

Best Shopify B2b App for Wholesalers and Distributors