B2B ecommerce
B2B ecommerce is the online selling of products or services from one business to another.
Glossary
B2B Wholesale Glossary: Terms for Selling Wholesale on Shopify
A glossary of the pricing, onboarding, tax, order and access terms Shopify wholesale sellers meet, each with a short definition, an example and links to the guides that use it.
Basics
B2B marketplace
A B2B marketplace is an online platform where many sellers list products for business buyers, who browse and order from several suppliers in one place.
Blended store
A blended store is a single online store that sells both to consumers (D2C) and to business buyers (B2B).
Distributor
A distributor is a business that buys products in large volume from manufacturers or brands and sells them on to retailers, resellers or other businesses.
Drop shipping
Drop shipping is a way of selling in which the seller does not hold stock: when a customer orders, the supplier ships the product directly to them.
ERP integration
An ERP integration connects an online store to the seller's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, so that products, prices, customers, stock and orders move between them automatically instead of being keyed twice.
Wholesale
Wholesale is the sale of goods in bulk to businesses, such as retailers or other resellers, rather than to individual shoppers.
Pricing
Buyer group
A buyer group is a set of business customers who share the same pricing, terms or access, such as distributors, retailers or salons.
Catalog
In B2B ecommerce, a catalog is the set of products, and often prices, that a particular buyer or market can see and buy.
Contract pricing
Contract pricing is a price agreed between a seller and a buyer for a set period, often with a volume commitment.
Customer-specific pricing
Customer-specific pricing is a price set for one named customer or company instead of for a whole group.
Keystone pricing
Keystone pricing is a retail pricing rule in which the shop sets the retail price at twice the wholesale cost.
MAP pricing
MAP stands for minimum advertised price: the lowest price a reseller may publicly advertise for a brand's product.
Markup
Markup is the amount added to a product's cost to reach its selling price, usually shown as a percentage of cost.
MSRP
MSRP stands for manufacturer's suggested retail price: the price a manufacturer recommends retailers charge shoppers.
Price list
A price list is a set of prices assigned to a customer group, market or account in place of the standard retail prices.
Quantity break
A quantity break is the point at which a lower unit price starts, such as 10 units or more.
Tiered pricing
Tiered pricing charges a lower unit price as the quantity bought rises, using set ranges such as 1 to 9 units, 10 to 49 units and 50 or more.
Volume pricing
Volume pricing lowers the price per unit when a buyer orders more, either by the quantity in one order or by total spend.
Wholesale discount
A wholesale discount is the reduction from the retail price that a seller gives business buyers who buy to resell.
Wholesale price
A wholesale price is the price a business pays when it buys goods in bulk to resell or use, normally lower than the retail price.
Onboarding
Approval workflow
An approval workflow is the series of steps a seller uses to review a new wholesale applicant and decide to approve, reject or ask for more information before the buyer can see wholesale prices or order.
B2B portal
A B2B portal is a login area of an online store where approved business buyers see their own prices, place and repeat orders and check their order history.
Company location
A company location is a branch, store or address of a business customer.
Company profile
A company profile is the record of a business customer in a seller's B2B system.
Credit application
A credit application is a form a business buyer completes to ask for credit terms, such as Net 30.
Customer tag
A customer tag is a short label attached to a customer account in Shopify, such as wholesale.
New customer accounts
New customer accounts are Shopify's current customer account system, where buyers sign in with their email and a one-time code instead of a password.
Reseller
A reseller is a business that buys products from a supplier in order to sell them to its own customers.
Trade account
A trade account is a customer account for a business that buys wholesale or on trade terms.
Wholesale application
A wholesale application is the form a business fills in to ask for a wholesale or trade account.
Tax
ABN
ABN stands for Australian Business Number: the 11-digit identifier a business registers on the Australian Business Register.
EIN
EIN stands for Employer Identification Number: the nine-digit tax number the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assigns to a business.
GST number
A GST number is the registration number a tax authority gives a business registered for goods and services tax.
Resale certificate
A resale certificate is a document a US business gives a seller to buy goods it plans to resell without paying sales tax on the purchase.
Tax exemption
A tax exemption lets an eligible buyer purchase without sales tax or VAT being charged.
Tax ID
A tax ID is the number a tax authority assigns to a business, such as an EU VAT number, a US EIN, an Australian ABN or an Indian GST number.
VAT number
A VAT number, also called a VAT ID, is the unique identifier a tax authority gives a business registered for value added tax.
VAT reverse charge
Under a VAT reverse charge, the buyer rather than the seller reports and pays the VAT due on a sale.
VIES
VIES stands for VAT Information Exchange System: the European Commission's online tool for checking whether a VAT number is valid for sales between EU member states.
Order rules
Backorder
A backorder is an order for a product that is temporarily out of stock, accepted now and shipped when new stock arrives.
Case pack
A case pack is the fixed number of units a product is packed and sold in, such as 12 bottles per case.
Credit limit
A credit limit is the maximum unpaid balance a seller allows one buyer to carry at a time.
Deposit
A deposit is a part of the order total that the buyer pays up front, with the rest due later under the agreed payment terms.
Early payment discount
An early payment discount is a reduction in the invoice total that a seller offers if the buyer pays within a short window.
Incoterms
Incoterms are standard three-letter trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Invoice terms
Invoice terms are the payment conditions printed on an invoice: the due date or net period, accepted payment methods, any early payment discount and late fee, and the buyer's PO number.
LTL freight
LTL (less than truckload) freight is a shipping method where a carrier moves palletized goods that do not fill a whole truck, sharing trailer space with other shippers' freight.
Maximum order quantity
A maximum order quantity is the largest number of units a buyer may order of a product in one order.
MOQ
Minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest number of units a seller will accept for an order or for one product.
MOV
Minimum order value (MOV) is the smallest order total a seller will accept, regardless of how many units it holds.
Net 30
Net 30 means the full invoice is due 30 days after the invoice date, or after delivery if the agreement says so.
Net 60
Net 60 is a payment term that gives a buyer 60 days from the start date, usually the invoice or order date, to pay an invoice in full.
Net terms
Net terms are a payment arrangement where the buyer receives the goods first and pays the invoice within an agreed number of days, written as Net followed by the days, such as Net 30.
Pre-order
A pre-order is an order for a product that has not been released or is not yet in stock, taken in advance and fulfilled on a later date.
Purchase order (PO)
A purchase order (PO) is a document a business buyer issues to authorize a purchase.
Quantity increment
A quantity increment is the step a buyer must follow when choosing a quantity, such as multiples of 6.
Ordering
Bulk order
A bulk order is a large purchase by a business buyer, either many units of one product at a lower unit price or many different SKUs in one order.
Draft order
A draft order is an order a merchant creates in Shopify admin on behalf of a customer.
EDI
EDI (electronic data interchange) is a standard way for companies to exchange business documents, such as purchase orders, invoices and shipping notices, between their computer systems in a fixed machine-readable format, with no manual keying.
Line sheet
A line sheet is a short document that lists the products a brand offers to wholesale buyers, with pictures, SKUs, wholesale prices and order rules.
Pro forma invoice
A pro forma invoice is a preliminary invoice that a seller sends before an order is fulfilled, showing the goods, prices, shipping and terms the buyer is agreeing to.
Quick order form
A quick order form is an order page where a buyer enters many products and quantities at once, often by SKU, instead of browsing product pages one by one.
Reorder
Reordering lets a buyer repeat a previous order with a few clicks instead of rebuilding it.
Request for quote (RFQ)
A request for quote (RFQ) is a buyer's request for a price on a list of products or quantities.
Sales rep
A sales rep is a person on the seller's team who manages wholesale accounts and often takes orders for them by phone, email or in person.
Access
Gated catalog
A gated catalog is a set of products or prices visible only to approved buyers, such as logged-in wholesale customers.
Hide price
Hiding a price means removing the price, and usually the Add to cart button, from visitors who do not qualify, often until they log in.
Passcode
A passcode is a shared code a visitor enters to unlock content, such as wholesale prices or a private page, without creating an account.
Secret link
A secret link is a web address with a hidden token that lets anyone who has it view a restricted page or collection without logging in.
Looking for how it works in practice? Start with the Shopify B2B guide.