Shopify

Who it's for

These guides are for merchants who sell on Shopify and want to take wholesale (B2B) orders. You can run B2B alongside retail in one store, or set up a separate store just for B2B. To choose, see Shopify B2B store setup. To see the B2B experience first, try our demo.

How it works

You install SparkLayer Wholesale from the Shopify App Store. In your Shopify admin, it's a sales channel under Sales channels: click it to open Home, and the menu items below it open each area, such as Setup, Pricing and Customers. The same screens are in the SparkLayer Dashboard at app.sparklayer.io (opens in a new tab).

SparkLayer adds a B2B layer over parts of your store: product pricing, the cart and the account area. Customers become B2B customers when you tag them b2b in Shopify. Their rules (price lists, payment methods, order limits) come from their customer group. New to price lists and customer groups? How SparkLayer works explains them in a few minutes.

Get set up on Shopify

Most stores are set up in under 15 minutes. After you install, the Setup checklist at SparkLayer Wholesale,Setup (in your Shopify admin) takes you through the SparkLayer steps and ticks each one off as you go.

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 guide

Install SparkLayer Wholesale

Add the app from the Shopify App Store (opens in a new tab), choose a plan and check your customer accounts version. See Install SparkLayer on Shopify.

Create a price list

The prices your B2B customers see: for example 20% off your retail prices, or exact prices uploaded by CSV. Click Create a price list on the Setup step. See Set up a price list.

Assign it to a customer group, and add your first buyer

Choose the group's Price list, then tag a customer b2b in your Shopify admin. They see your trade prices when they sign in. See Assign a price list and Add your first buyer.

Check your theme, and publish it

On most themes, SparkLayer's blocks are added for you. Click Review theme setup to check them, then publish the theme. If something isn't right, our team installs SparkLayer for you, free. See Theme setup.

Test, then launch

Place a test order as a B2B buyer with SparkLayer Wholesale,Try it out (in your Shopify admin). It doesn't count towards your plan. Then invite your customers with the Launch checklist.

We can set it up with you

On every plan, our team installs the storefront widgets for you, free. On a paid plan, an onboarding session can also set up your first price lists with you. Click Book setup call at the top of Setup. See Contact support.

What's specific to Shopify

Most of SparkLayer works the same on every platform. These are the parts that work differently on Shopify, or only exist there.

Topic	What to know
Customer tags	SparkLayer identifies B2B customers by the `b2b` tag on their Shopify customer record, plus a second tag for a customer group other than Base (for example `b2b-vip`). See Add B2B customers on Shopify.
Customer accounts	SparkLayer works with both Legacy and new Shopify customer accounts. New customer accounts need a small extra step. See Install SparkLayer on Shopify.
Orders	Orders paid by card go through the Shopify checkout. Orders with offline payment methods, such as Pay by Invoice, arrive as Shopify draft orders. See Shopify payment methods.
Shopify Companies	Optional. SparkLayer works alongside Shopify's B2B companies, and links its draft orders to the right company, contact and location. See Shopify Companies.
Shopify Markets	Needed to sell to B2B customers in more than one currency. See Shopify Markets and currencies.
B2B theme	Our B2B version of Shopify's Dawn theme comes with the SparkLayer widgets installed, plus a B2B login page and B2B-only products. See Shopify B2B Dawn theme.
Metafields	Product, customer and order settings such as pack sizes, RRP and credit limits are stored as Shopify metafields. See Shopify metafields and data mapping.
B2B Catalogs	A free SparkLayer app, only for Shopify, that controls which products each customer group can see. See B2B Catalogs.

Known limitations

The limitations most stores meet are:

Shopify discounts can't be used alongside SparkLayer. Use SparkLayer's own discounts instead.
Every product variant needs a SKU, and each SKU must be unique.
Duties, prices that include tax, and orders that mix taxable and tax-exempt products need a workaround, often a separate B2B store.

See Shopify limitations for the full list, including the cart's line item limit.