Shopify B2B Without Shopify Plus: The Complete Guide for 2026

The most common question we hear from wholesale merchants on Shopify is some version of: "Do I need Shopify Plus to do B2B properly?" The answer, in almost every case, is no.

Shopify has done a good job of marketing their Plus B2B features, but what they have not been as clear about is that every meaningful B2B capability (customer group pricing, NET payment terms, product visibility control, purchase order management) is available on Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans through third-party apps built on Shopify Functions.

This guide covers what B2B actually requires, what Plus gives you versus what you can get on a standard plan, and how to set it all up.

What Shopify Plus B2B actually includes

Before deciding whether Plus is worth $2,000 a month, it helps to understand exactly what you are getting. Shopify Plus B2B includes:

• Native company accounts with multiple locations under one business
• B2B-specific price lists that override your standard catalogue
• Payment terms (NET 30/60/90) built into the checkout natively
• A B2B-specific checkout with fewer consumer-facing elements
• Volume pricing on a per-product basis

These are all genuinely useful. The question is whether they are worth an extra $1,700 to $1,900 per month compared to what a third-party app provides at a fraction of the cost.

What you can do without Plus

Using an app like Miko B2B Wholesale House, you can implement the following on any Shopify plan:

Customer group pricing

Create named customer groups (Wholesale, Dealer, Distributor, VIP, or whatever fits your business) and assign pricing rules to each group. You can apply a percentage discount across your entire catalogue (with the ability to exclude specific products or collections), or set custom per-product prices for each group independently. Customers tagged to a group see their negotiated prices from the product page through to checkout without any manual intervention.

NET payment terms

Offer NET 30, NET 45, NET 60, or NET 90 payment terms to specific customer groups. When an eligible buyer reaches checkout, they see the deferred payment option alongside standard payment methods. The order is placed, fulfilled, and invoiced, with payment due on the agreed date. This is the feature merchants most often assume requires Plus. It does not.

Product visibility by customer group

Control which products each customer group can see. Hide wholesale-only SKUs from retail shoppers. Show a trade catalogue only to verified trade accounts. Make specific products invisible to customers who are not logged in. This is particularly useful for businesses with separate retail and wholesale product lines that should not cross.

Purchase order management

Accept purchase orders from wholesale customers via CSV upload. Customers upload their PO, you review and approve it, and the order is created in Shopify. This removes the friction of wholesale buyers having to enter large orders manually through the standard checkout.

POS integration

Customer group pricing applies at the Shopify POS as well as the online store. When a wholesale buyer walks into your showroom or trade counter, their account-specific pricing is applied automatically when they are looked up in the system.

When does Shopify Plus actually make sense for B2B

There are scenarios where Plus is genuinely the right choice. Be honest about whether these apply to you:

• You have complex multi-location company accounts where multiple buyers at the same business need separate credentials, shared credit limits, and location-specific catalogues
• Your order volume is high enough that the 0.5 to 0.6% transaction fee savings on Plus offset the subscription cost
• You need Shopify's B2B checkout natively integrated with their enterprise account management features
• You need features that only exist at the Plus tier such as Shopify Audiences, multiple storefronts, or advanced checkout customisation through Shopify Functions at scale

If none of those apply, you are paying for features you do not need.

Setting up B2B on a standard Shopify plan

Step 1: Install Miko B2B Wholesale House

Install the app from the Shopify App Store. The app will guide you through the initial configuration and request the permissions it needs to apply pricing at checkout using Shopify Functions.

Step 2: Create your customer groups

Create your groups in the app dashboard. Give each one a clear name that reflects how you think about your wholesale tiers. Common setups are Wholesale / Distributor / Key Account, or Bronze / Silver / Gold for value-based tiers. You can create as many groups as your business needs.

Step 3: Set pricing for each group

For each group, decide between percentage pricing and per-product pricing. Percentage pricing is faster to set up and easier to manage. Per-product pricing is more precise and better when different products have different margins or when you have negotiated rates per SKU with specific accounts.

If you use percentage pricing, set your exclusions at this stage. Some products (new releases, already-discounted items, third-party brands) may need to be excluded from the wholesale discount.

Step 4: Tag your wholesale customers

Customer group membership is managed through Shopify customer tags. Tag each wholesale customer with the name of their group in Shopify Admin or via a CSV import. Customers can also self-apply by registering through an account approval flow if you want to automate onboarding.

Step 5: Enable NET terms (optional)

If you offer deferred payment to any customer groups, enable NET terms in the app settings and specify which groups are eligible and what terms apply. Options typically include NET 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90.

Step 6: Configure product visibility (optional)

If you have products that should only be visible to certain groups, set up your visibility rules. Products that are restricted will be hidden on the storefront for anyone who does not belong to an eligible group.

Step 7: Test before going live

Create a test customer account, tag it with one of your wholesale groups, and go through the full purchase flow. Verify the prices are correct at the product page, in the cart, and at checkout. Test the NET terms option if you enabled it. Test a product that should be hidden. Find any issues in testing, not after launch.

Comparing costs: Plus versus a B2B app

• Shopify Advanced plan: $399/month
• Miko B2B Wholesale House: from $29/month
• Total: approximately $428/month

Versus Shopify Plus at $2,000+/month. For most wholesale merchants, the $1,500+ per month saving is significant. The question is not really whether Plus is better. It is whether Plus is $1,500 per month better for your specific business. For most merchants under $5M in annual revenue, the answer is no.

If you run Odoo alongside your Shopify store and want to keep your wholesale pricing and inventory in sync automatically, our complete guide to Shopify Odoo integration covers exactly how to set that up.

Questions