FAQs

SparkLayer gives you an easy way to enable B2B (wholesale) on your existing website. You don't need to create a new store or spend time and money trying to customise your B2B experience. SparkLayer does all this for you and, once you're set up, you'll be able to:

And so much more! SparkLayer has over 100 B2B features right out of the box. Plus our team can get everything set up for you with our free onboarding service.

Yes! Please see Try our Demo

SparkLayer works Shopify and BigCommerce with more platforms coming soon! For Shopify, our officially approved 5-star rated SparkLayer Shopify App means you can integrate with SparkLayer with total confidence. SparkLayer also integrates with a range of other systems, from payment gateways to multi-channel operations platforms.

A good question! There are many B2B solutions on the market and each offer a variety of benefits that may suit specific use-cases or customer types. Beyond functionality and features, there is one major benefit of SparkLayer that makes it compelling - you get to use your existing website and SparkLayer simply 'layers' on top (hence the name, SparkLayer!). Many other solutions are built as 'web portals' meaning customers have to use an entirely separate website. Whilst this may be useful, if you already have an existing website (e.g. for your DTC retail customers) or you use an eCommerce platform you're already familiar with, you'll need to manage multiple systems and tools which can add operational complexity. We'd be happy to discuss this in more detail!

Please refer to our pricing for more details.

Our head office is located in the beautiful English city of Bath and our team is all based in close proximity. Since we're UK based, we typically operate our support on UK timezones (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) however we are able to accommodate specific requests should you require assistance outside of these hours. Please speak to our team and we'll be happy to advise.

For Shopify and BigCommerce, you'll simply need to install our official Shopify or BigCommerce app and go through our simple onboarding process. When your SparkLayer account is created, our online onboarding process guides you through all the elements of installing SparkLayer on your store and we're here to help if you require assistance.

If you're using our built-in tools to manage your pricing and customers, it's possible to set up SparkLayer in a matter of hours (or less!). Our team is on-hand to guide you through the set up process and can even help set up on your Shopify store for you. For most extensive integrations - typically merchants using our Enterprise plan that require backend connections - set up times vary and we'll work closely with you to create a full project plan.

No! SparkLayer is really simple to install and we have full step-by-step instructions once you sign up. If you have access to your Shopify storefront theme, it's possible for anyone to do. If you like, we can even install for you if you require any assistance.

Yes! It's possible to install SparkLayer onto your existing B2C store (i.e. retail), meaning you can run both B2C and B2B on the same store. We call this a 'hybrid setup'. When your B2B customers sign in, they simply see the special SparkLayer frontend widgets that allow them to see their prices and place orders.

Yes, providing you're able to integrate your platform with an external API. Learn more about the SparkLayer API

Yes, you're able to change styling such as fonts, colours (e.g. of buttons) and spacing easily via CSS to match your current eCommerce store and typically you can get SparkLayer to fit seamlessly with your website look and feel.

No, the product catalogue and category management is done through your existing eCommerce platform. SparkLayer simply 'overlays' your existing product catalogue with the B2B-specific data such as product pricing and pack sizes. It does this by associating data to the specific product SKU behind-the-scenes and then showing the appropriate content to the customer.

No. For performance, the SparkLayer Frontend only loads when a valid B2B customer successfully logs into a website; for your standard (B2C) customers, no code is loaded at all. When a B2B customer logs in, all loading of the interfaces is asynchronous which means a negligible impact on page load times and performance even though SparkLayer is a hosted third-party solution. The result is the end customer will have a rapid experience browsing products and placing orders.

Yes, SparkLayer is fully compatible with mobile, tablet, and desktop devices.

You can learn more in Frontend

No, SparkLayer does not handle payment processing and instead simply uses the payment methods set up within your eCommerce platform, e.g. Shopify. It's possible to set up both offline payment methods for your B2B customers (e.g. Pay on Account or Pay by Invoice) as well having them pay online via card.

No. With our powerful import tools, you can configure pricing and customer rules all through the SparkLayer Dashboard without the need to have a backend system in place. If you are looking to use a backend system, SparkLayer works by connecting directly to your central data sources to retrieve your B2B data. If you're using an iPaaS solution (integration platform as a service), SparkLayer can connect directly to this instead, negating the need to connect to an ERP directly. If you have the technical expertise, the SparkLayer API lets you connect to any system and we also have a range of 'ready-made' integrations

The short answer, it depends! If your online store is already connected to your ERP system, there's a good chance that no further integration work is required to connect SparkLayer. When orders are placed via SparkLayer, they'll simply be created like any other which your ERP system can then subsequently import. The same also applies to product stock data, SparkLayer will use stock levels already available on your eCommerce store. If you're looking for a more in-depth integration, such as synchronising B2B pricing, this would require an integration

Yes. Within the SparkLayer Dashboard, you can manually create price lists and upload pricing data for each one you create. You can learn more in Pricing FAQs

Yes. SparkLayer's powerful pricing engine lets you create automated rules for your B2B price lists. For example, if you're using Shopify, you can easily set up a B2B price list that applies 20% off your Shopify prices.