B2B ecommerce software: price lists, quotes and buyer accounts

Start with the customer organisation

A business buyer can represent more than one branch, department or delivery location. The person signing in is therefore not always the full commercial identity of the order. Your software needs to establish which organisation and location they are buying for, and which prices, addresses and permissions apply.

Shopify’s company documentation distinguishes a parent company from its locations and contacts. It also describes choosing a location when a buyer can access several. That is a useful model to discuss even if you choose another platform: where does the commercial context live, and how does the system prevent an order being placed for the wrong account?

Separate price lists from a public discount

A public promotion changes an advertised buying offer. A trade price list may define which products a particular customer can purchase and the prices that apply to that relationship. Ask how the system assigns the list, what happens when several lists overlap and when a change takes effect.

Shopify’s B2B catalogue guidance describes catalogue-based product and pricing access, with different plan limits and assignment capabilities. Check the current named package rather than relying on an old claim that every B2B feature belongs to the same tier. Keep catalogue count, direct assignment and quantity rules as separate requirements.

Use a two-branch customer as the evaluation brief

Imagine a fictional maintenance company with branches in Leeds and Bristol. Both buy the same replacement filters, but Bristol also buys a specialist component. The purchasing manager can order for either branch; a local colleague should only work with their branch. The two locations have different delivery addresses and agreed arrangements.

Ask each shortlisted supplier to show the manager switching context, placing a permitted order and trying to access the specialist item from the other branch. Then change a price list and inspect a saved basket or draft quote. These are proposed evaluation tasks, not claims about the default behaviour of any named platform.

Decide where a quote becomes an order

Some customers know the exact product and can order immediately. Others need a negotiated quote, technical clarification or approval. Write down which action creates a request, which action commits an order and who can accept a revised price. A button labelled request quote does not establish the complete handover.

Include the version of the requested items, attachments, delivery expectation and expiry where relevant. When someone changes the quantity after a quote is prepared, decide whether pricing and approval must be revisited. If configured products are involved, the accepted specification needs to travel with the commercial document, not remain in an isolated email thread.

Make the back-office connection explicit

A trade storefront can depend on an ERP or another system for customer references, stock, contract pricing and fulfilment. Establish the owner of each value before commissioning an integration. If two systems can both overwrite the price, the project needs an agreed rule for which update wins.

Test an account change and a failed handover as well as a successful order. Ask how someone finds an accepted storefront order that did not reach the receiving system. The useful outcome is an identifiable exception with an owner, rather than a general claim that the platforms integrate. Include product and account identifiers in the handover notes.

Compare the package that supports the retained workflow

The quote should identify the platform plan, B2B capabilities, catalogue or account capacity, required apps, implementation, integrations and ongoing support. Ask separately about staff and buyer permissions, payment services and any usage-based components. A low storefront subscription can be only one part of the operating service.

Use the Shopify, Adobe Commerce and BigCommerce profiles as starting points, then price the same trade-customer brief on each. If the sales process includes complex configured items, read our configuration checklist before treating a price list as a complete quoting solution.

Frequently asked questions