Quick answer
A Shopify B2B setup usually starts with companies and company locations, then adds customers, catalogs, payment terms, tax settings, checkout rules, shipping, and testing. Do not treat B2B as only a theme setting. It is a store setup, data setup, and operations setup.
Before you start
Write down how the B2B business actually works. Shopify can support many B2B patterns, but the admin setup should match the business rules.
- Do buyers belong to one company or multiple companies?
- Does each company have one location or many locations?
- Do locations need different pricing, payment terms, or shipping addresses?
- Should customers check out normally or submit orders for review?
- Does the store sell B2B only, or both DTC and B2B?
Step 1: Choose blended or dedicated
A blended B2B store sells to DTC and B2B customers in one store. A dedicated B2B store is separated for B2B buying. The right choice depends on pricing visibility, customer experience, operations, and whether the same products and content should serve both audiences.
Step 2: Create companies and locations
In Shopify B2B, the company is the business customer. Company locations represent the purchasing locations or buying units. Shopify documentation describes locations as places where catalogs, payment terms, checkout options, and shipping addresses can differ.
Step 3: Add customers and permissions
B2B customers need to be attached to the correct company and location. Permissions matter because a customer might only place their own orders, or they might need location-level visibility.
Step 4: Set up catalogs and pricing
Catalogs control which products and prices B2B customers can access. On Shopify Plus, catalogs can be assigned directly to companies and company locations. This is one of the most important parts of the setup because it controls what the buyer can see and buy.
Step 5: Configure payment, tax, and checkout rules
- Payment terms if buyers do not pay immediately.
- Tax exemptions or tax IDs where needed.
- Checkout settings such as allowing one-time shipping addresses.
- Draft order review if orders should not complete automatically.
Step 6: Test like a buyer
Do not only test as an admin. Create a test company, a test location, and a test customer. Log in as that customer and confirm products, prices, payment terms, checkout, shipping, and order history.
Common setup mistake
Only testing the admin
Many B2B setups look correct in the admin and still fail for the buyer. Always test the login, company selection, product access, pricing, checkout, and order confirmation path as a real B2B customer.