Glossary: Pricing
Contract pricing
Contract pricing is a price agreed between a seller and a buyer for a set period, often with a volume commitment. The price stays fixed for the term even when the seller's list price changes.
In detail
Contract pricing gives a buyer a predictable price over a period, usually 6 to 12 months, in return for something the seller wants, such as a minimum yearly volume, exclusivity or a longer relationship. It is common in industrial supply, food service, packaging and other markets where buyers reorder the same items on a plan.
A contract price list usually covers a defined set of items, the price for each, the start and end dates, any minimum quantity or spend, and what happens if the buyer misses it. Many contracts also say when and how the seller may change the price, for example after a cost increase of more than a set percentage or at renewal.
For the seller, the work is keeping the contract price from drifting. Records should show which customers are on contract, which items and prices apply, and when the contract ends, so the price goes back to the list or the account is renewed. For the buyer, the price should appear in the store on every order without a manual step.
Contract pricing is account-level, so it is closely related to customer-specific pricing. The difference is time and conditions: a contract price has dates and obligations, and a customer-specific price may be open-ended. Both depend on a clear rule for which price wins when several apply.
Example
A buyer agrees a 12-month contract at $4.20 a unit for 5,000 units per quarter. The list price rises to $4.60 in month 4, but the buyer keeps $4.20 until the contract ends or is renewed.
On Shopify
Shopify's B2B Help Center does not describe contracts as a feature. You can represent contract prices with a catalog assigned to a company location (direct assignment is Plus only) or with a custom price on a B2B draft order. Rollouts can schedule status changes only for catalogs created from markets, so catalogs assigned directly to companies or locations cannot use rollouts to start or end on a date.
Sources: Shopify Help Center: Catalogs and pricing in B2B (read October 4, 2026); Shopify Help Center: Creating catalogs (read October 4, 2026); Shopify Help Center: Creating B2B orders using draft orders (read October 4, 2026).
In BSS B2B apps
BSS B2B Solution's Custom Pricing sets fixed prices for a customer, a customer tag or a company location. Where more than one rule applies to a product, the priority from 0 to 99 decides which wins, and a lower number wins.
Learn more
Read the Wholesale pricing hub for guides, use cases and setup docs, or the complete Shopify B2B guide.