How SparkLayer works
How it works in 5 steps
SparkLayer sits alongside your store. Here's what happens, from connecting your store to fulfilling an order:
- SparkLayer connects to your store. It links to your eCommerce platform, such as Shopify, and syncs product and customer information.
- You set your B2B rules. Create price lists and set rules for each customer group, such as which payment methods they can use. Manage them in the app. You can also automate them from an ERP or CRM with the SparkLayer API.
- Customers order on your website. SparkLayer's frontend interfaces give signed-in B2B customers self-service ordering: their prices, quick ordering, re-ordering and an account area. Retail customers see your store as normal.
- Your sales team can help. With sales agent ordering, your team manages B2B accounts and orders for customers. The Quoting Engine covers the full quote-to-order process.
- Orders arrive in your admin. B2B orders are created in your platform's admin. You review, edit and fulfil them with the processes you already use. SparkLayer's Orders page shows your B2B sales over time.
When a B2B customer signs in
SparkLayer matches them to a customer group by their tags, and applies that group's rules to everything they see and order.
B2B customer
Customer group
Rules
Storefront
Order
Key concepts
The ideas SparkLayer is built on, grouped by area. Jump to one, or read on: each takes a minute.
Your store and SparkLayer
Your eCommerce platform
SparkLayer runs on top of your store on Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, WooCommerce or Magento. You keep managing products, stock, customers and fulfilment there. SparkLayer adds the B2B layer: trade pricing, B2B ordering rules and self-service ordering.
Products and SKUs
SparkLayer matches B2B prices to your products by SKU (stock keeping unit). That's the product code you set on each product and variant in your platform. Every product you want B2B customers to buy needs a SKU, and each SKU must be unique. See Check your products have unique SKUs.
Data sync
SparkLayer keeps a copy of the product and customer data it needs. It updates the copy automatically when you change something in your platform. If a product doesn't look right in SparkLayer, look it up at Integrations,Product sync (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab). Customers that didn't sync show in a banner at Customers (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab). See Monitoring data sync.
The SparkLayer app
You set up and manage everything in the SparkLayer app: price lists, customer groups, orders and settings. It comes in 2 versions with the same screens.
| Version | Where | How it's laid out |
|---|---|---|
| SparkLayer Dashboard | app.sparklayer.io (opens in a new tab), on any platform | A sidebar with grouped pages, such as Pricing > Price lists. |
| Shopify app | SparkLayer Wholesale, under Sales channels in your Shopify admin | One menu item per area, with that area's pages as tabs. |
The Help Center shows the path for the version you use. See Find your way around SparkLayer.
Pricing
Price lists
A price list is a set of B2B prices for your products, keyed by SKU. A price list can be:
| Type | How prices are set |
|---|---|
| Automatic | Calculated from another price source, such as your store's retail prices, with a percentage change (for example, 40% off). |
| Manual | Uploaded as exact prices by CSV, or edited in the Price editor. |
| Integration | Sent from another system, such as an ERP, through the SparkLayer API. |
You can combine them, for example an automatic price list with exact prices uploaded for a few products. Prices are shown excluding tax, and tax is added at checkout.
Quantity pricing and discounts
On top of price lists, you can set quantity breaks and pack sizes and discounts for B2B customers.
Customers
B2B customers
A B2B customer (a buyer) is a customer account in your platform that SparkLayer recognises as trade. Retail customers who aren't tagged keep shopping as normal.
- Shopify: a customer tagged
b2b. - Wix: a contact with the
b2blabel. - Other platforms: see Assign customers to a customer group.
Customer groups
A customer group is a set of ordering rules shared by a group of B2B customers:
- Which price lists they see
- Which payment methods they can use, such as card upfront or payment on account
- Order limits, such as a minimum order value
- Other rules, such as shipping and checkout options
Every account starts with a Base customer group. B2B customers are in it unless you put them in another group. To move a customer to another group, give them a second tag that matches it, such as b2b-vip. Customer groups are under Customers in the app.
Company users
A B2B customer can invite colleagues to share their account as company users. The whole team then sees the same orders, addresses and shopping lists. The main user can approve orders placed by limited users.
Sales agents
Sales agents (sales reps) are members of your team who sign in to your store and order on behalf of the customers they look after. Each agent's role controls what they can do.
The storefront
Frontend interfaces
The frontend interfaces (or widgets) are the parts of SparkLayer your customers use:
- B2B product pricing
- A quick-order product matrix
- The My Cart checkout
- The My Account area, for reordering, invoices and addresses
They sit inside your existing theme and only appear for signed-in B2B customers. To choose how they look, see Customising the design.
Checkout and payment
B2B customers check out in the My Cart interface. Depending on their payment methods, they either:
- Pay upfront by card in your platform's checkout
- Place the order on account, by invoice or as a quote request
Either way, the order arrives in your platform's admin.
Going live
Testing
To see SparkLayer as a buyer before your customers do, use Try it out. It signs you in to your own store as a test B2B customer, and the test order doesn't count towards your plan.
To try changes on a second, test store, use Test mode.
Plans
What you can use depends on your plan, and a few features also depend on your platform. Every paid plan has a 14-day free trial. See Plans and features, Your plan and usage and Compare platforms.
Under the hood
For the more technical: how SparkLayer's 3 parts connect your store, your website and any back-office systems, such as an ERP. You don't need this to get started.
Backend
B2B-specific data
- Price lists
- Product pack sizes
- Customer rules
Sent directly from a backend system or uploaded manually.
eCommerce platform
Core functions
- Order management
- Catalogue management
- Customer management
- Analytics
- Marketing & promotions
- CMS
SparkLayer connects to your eCommerce platform, e.g. Shopify.
Website storefront
Core templates
- Homepage
- Collections
- Products
- Static pages
- Blog
Core pages work as normal.
B2B widgets
- Product pricing
- Buy button
- Quick order form
- Checkout & ordering
- My Account area
SparkLayer overlays your website with these B2B features.
SparkLayer Backend
Stores the B2B data you send to it.
SparkLayer Connector
Connects to your eCommerce platform.
SparkLayer Frontend
Updates specific parts of your website.
See it in action
Try SparkLayer for yourself as a B2B buyer on our demo stores, or your own store.
SparkLayer works with Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, WooCommerce and Magento. See Platforms for what's supported on each, and Architecture for the technical detail.
Next steps
You're ready to set up SparkLayer. The first step is installing it on your platform.
Not sure where to start?Answer 4 quick questions and get a setup guide made for your store: the guides you need, in the order you need them.Build my guideLast updated