Bulk set up B2B companies from your existing wholesale customers

Companies are the businesses that you sell to using B2B on Shopify, and can have multiple locations and B2B customers attached to them. Each company location can also be assigned specific pricing, product selections, payment terms, checkout options, shipping addresses, and more.

By using the B2B on Shopify bulk company setup tool, you can complete the following actions:

• Set up your wholesale customers as B2B customers.
• Create one company and one location for each customer that you select.
• Populate company and location with information and settings from existing customer records.

Setting up companies

You can use the bulk setup tool in the Customers section of your Shopify admin to set up B2B companies from your existing wholesale customers. You can select up to 250 of your wholesale customers at the same time, or complete the process in smaller groups.

Depending on how many customers you select, the bulk customer setup tool might need to run in the background to complete the setup process. You'll receive an email when setup is complete, with any errors that need to be resolved if applicable.

Steps

1. From your Shopify admin, in the Customers section, click Add filter and select your Plus wholesale channel customer tag.
2. Click the checkbox next to each customer that you want to set up B2B companies for. You can select all customers, or complete the process in stages by selecting a subset of customers.
3. Click the ... menu, and then click Add to company.
4. Choose the company settings that you want to use, and the customer information that you want to add.
5. Click Set up companies.

Importing customer information

During bulk company setup, you can choose whether to import the following information and settings for your customers:

Customer information and company settings

Setting	Description
Past orders	You can choose whether to add all of a customer's past orders to a company location. If you select this option, then customers can view their past wholesale orders when they log in. It's recommended to import past orders if the customers you've selected already represent B2B relationships.
Tax exemptions	You can choose whether to carry over customer tax exemptions to a company location. If the same exemptions for a wholesale customer apply to the B2B company, then you should carry over tax exemptions.
Allow customers to ship to any address	By default, a company's shipping address is pre-populated during checkout, and companies are restricted from changing it. If you choose this setting, then companies can change the shipping address during checkout.
Submit all orders as draft for review	By default, orders are submitted at checkout. If you choose to submit all orders as draft, then orders from the customer will be submitted as draft orders.
Payment terms	You can choose the payment terms that you want to offer to your customers. If you want companies to pay for the orders at checkout, then choose No payment terms.

If you don't import these settings during bulk company setup, then you can manually update the settings for individual companies later. Learn more about B2B company settings.

FAQ

How do I change company names in bulk?

When you migrate from the Plus Wholesale Channel to B2B on Shopify, your customer's first and last name are used to create a company name. This might result in some company names that need to be updated. Company names can be updated individually by editing a company's details, but they can't be edited in bulk in the Shopify admin.

If you need to edit multiple companies in bulk, then consider using a third-party app.

How do I find my wholesale customers on the Customer page when I’m ready to migrate my customers to companies?

To identify your Plus Wholesale Channel customers in the Customer page, filter by a customer tag that was created for a Plus Wholesale Channel price list. If you're not sure what tags you used for your price lists, then you can find them by going in your Shopify admin to Sales channels > Wholesale > Price lists.

Can I add multiple customers to the same company?

Yes. If you want to combine multiple existing Plus wholesale channel customers under a single B2B customers, then you need to first create a company based on the primary customer.

After you create a company, you can add a customer to the company. You can also migrate your customers and their order history to an existing company and company location.

Do I need to send a B2B access email to our current Plus Wholesale Channel customers so they have access to B2B on Shopify?

Sending an email is recommended, but not required. B2B on Shopify uses new customer accounts, which means that they use a different login page, and customers no longer use a password to log in. Instead, they're sent a one-time 6-digit code to their email address. Due to this change, it's recommended to email your B2B customers to inform them of the new login page and process. To facilitate this, you can choose to send a B2B access email directly from the Shopify admin, or send an external email with the new customer account URL for logging in.

Can I set up multiple locations for the same company?

Yes, companies can have multiple locations. However, the bulk company set up tool will only automatically create one location, based on the customer's default address. If you want to create multiple locations for a company, then you can add more locations by selecting Add location on the company page.

Can I choose to add only some past customer orders to a company?

You can choose to add either all of a customer's past orders to a company, or none of them. You can't add only some orders.

If your customer's order history includes both wholesale and personal orders, then all orders are added to the company.

What if I select the wrong customers and set up companies by mistake?

If you select the wrong customer to set up a company for, or want to remove a company, then you can delete the company from B2B. Deleting a company also deletes that company's location, and removes the customer's association with the company.

If you've added past customer orders to a company, then that company can't be deleted.

Does B2B on Shopify have sales representative functionality?

Note

Sales staff for B2B is in early access and isn't available by default. To add sales representative functionality to your B2B store, contact Shopify Plus Support.

Yes. B2B on Shopify offers sales representative functionality through Companies staff permissions. You can assign permissions to each member of your sales staff, including the following permissions:

• View companies
• Create and edit companies
• Assign other staff to company locations
• Delete companies

You can also limit a sales staff member's view to only the company locations they're assigned to.

If you have a large staff, then you can streamline the process of granting permissions by creating a role for sales representatives.

Learn more about setting up sales staff for B2B.

In the Plus Wholesale Channel, a customer could create their own account that was automatically approved and given access. How can I achieve this on B2B on Shopify?

You can streamline the process of creating a B2B customer account by using the Shopify Forms app. Customers can submit a form on your online store to request access as a new B2B customer, and provide information such as company name, company location, and customer name.

Although the creation of a B2B customer account is largely automated, the account must be manually approved by a staff member before the customer can access your B2B store and place orders.

Learn more about using Shopify Forms to create company account requests.

Where do I find company requests?

In your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies. This page lists all company accounts, including both approved and unapproved requests. The approval status of a company is listed in the Ordering column, and is indicated as Approved for approved companies or Not approved for new requests that haven't yet been approved.

Learn more about reviewing and approving company requests.

How do potential customers access the company account request form?

To put a form in your online store, create a new page in the online store editor. You can then put your form on that page, and provide links to the page in your menu or footer.

Learn more about using Shopify Forms.

How do I set a minimum order value for my B2B customers?

To set a minimum order value for B2B customers, you can use a combination of metafields and cart validation Functions.

Steps:

1. Create a custom metafield on the company locations called minimum order total.
2. Add a minimum order total to the company location metafield.
3. Create a checkout validation Function to confirm whether the total order is equal to or greater than the minimum order total at checkout.

If the order total is less than the minimum order total, then the Function prevents checkout completion.

Alternatively, you can install a third-party app to specify that customers with a specific tag must meet or exceed a minimum order total before checking out.