Charge the right shipping on B2B orders
By default, B2B customers see your store's own shipping methods at checkout, with nothing to set up. Use SparkLayer's own shipping rates when B2B customers need different rates from retail, or different rates for each customer group.
Before you start
- Your B2B shipping costs, for example £20 under £99 and free above.
- The countries you ship to, and which customer groups get which methods.
- Product weights, if you charge by weight. Weight bands always use grams.
Set up your shipping
Choose where your rates come from
| Use | When |
|---|---|
| Your store's shipping methods (the default) | B2B and retail pay the same, or your rates need complex rules or a shipping app. On Shopify, B2B-only methods need an app such as Intuitive Shipping. |
| SparkLayer shipping rates | Different B2B rates for each customer group, by order total or weight, especially when retail and B2B share one store. |
B2B customers get one or the other, never both. To compare them, see How it works and What SparkLayer shipping rules can do.
If you keep your store's methods, skip to step 5.
Turn on SparkLayer shipping rates
Go to Settings,Shipping (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab), tick Use SparkLayer shipping rates and click Save. Wix and BigCommerce need an extra step. See Turn on SparkLayer shipping rates.
Create a shipping method
Click Create shipping method, give it a name customers will understand, such as "Standard Shipping", and choose its countries and, if it's only for some groups, its customer groups. For every field, see Create a shipping method.
Add shipping bands
A method only shows at checkout once it has a band. Add bands by order total or weight until every order is covered, with no gaps: the first band an order matches sets its cost. For the fields and an example (£20 under £99, free above), see Add shipping bands.
Choose which method is pre-selected
Shopify only
SparkLayer pre-selects one of your Shopify shipping methods at checkout. Customers can pick another. To stop a free rate becoming the default, go to Settings,Shipping,Automatic shipping selection (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab), choose Prefer cheapest paid method and click Save. See Choose which method is pre-selected.
BigCommerce, Wix, WooCommerce, Magento only
Automatic shipping selection is for Shopify. With SparkLayer shipping rates, set each method's Priority order to choose the order customers see them in, with 1 first.
Test your shipping rates
Sign in as a B2B customer and go to Review & Pay with different countries, customer groups, order values and weights. Check the right methods and costs show. See Test your shipping rates.
Shopify only
Try it out opens your store as a test buyer, and test orders don't count towards your plan.
Check it worked
- Each test order shows the methods you expect for its country and customer group.
- Each cost matches the band for its order total or weight, including the free band.
- The pre-selected method is the one you chose.
If something's not right
- No shipping methods show at checkout. The customer doesn't match any method, or the order falls in a gap between bands. See No shipping methods show at checkout.
- Free shipping isn't applied, or the wrong band wins. The first band the order matches sets the cost, so check for overlapping ranges. See Free shipping isn't applied, or the wrong rate shows.
- Free shipping is pre-selected when you'd rather it wasn't. On Shopify, choose Prefer cheapest paid method. See Choose which method is pre-selected.
- B2B customers see the same rates as retail. That's how Shopify shipping works. Use a shipping app that sets rates by customer tag, or SparkLayer shipping rates. See Show B2B-only shipping methods on Shopify.
- Shipping set up during a trial still shows after you change plan. Contact our support team to switch it off. See If you set up shipping during a trial.
- Costs at checkout don't match your bands. Check your products have valid weights and prices, then contact support. See Shipping costs don't match the shipping bands.
Next steps
Last updated