Creating and managing B2B companies

A company in Shopify represents a company that you sell to with B2B. Companies can have multiple locations, each with separate catalogs, payment terms, checkout options, and shipping addresses. When a B2B customer logs in to your store, they choose the location that they're purchasing for and are offered the prices, payment terms, and checkout that you assigned to that company location.

To store custom information about your B2B customer, you can add metafields to a company or a location. Metafields let you customize the functionality and appearance of your Shopify store by letting you save specialized information that isn't usually captured in the Shopify admin. Learn more about metafields.

Considerations for creating companies and company locations

Before you create a company or a company location, review the following considerations:

• A company can have a maximum of 10,000 company locations.
• A company can have a maximum of 10,000 customers.
• A company location can have a maximum of 25 catalogs.
• A company location can have a maximum of 50 customers.

Create a company

Only a company name is required when you first create a company. Additional information can be added later.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies.
2. Click Add company.
3. Enter a company name. This name is displayed to customers when they log in.
4. Enter a company ID. You can use an existing external ID, or create a unique ID.
5. Select a main contact. You can select a customer from the profiles that already exist in your store, or create a new customer profile. Customer profiles must have an email address to be used as a main contact.
6. Enter a shipping address and a billing address.
7. Add a location ID. You can add an existing external ID, or create a unique ID.
8. In the Catalogs section, select the catalogs to apply to the company.
9. In the Payment terms section, select the payment terms for the company.
10. In the Checkout section, configure your checkout settings:
    • Optional: To allow your B2B customers to enter a flexible shipping address at checkout, in the Ship to address section, select Allow customers to ship to any one-time address.
    • To choose whether you want your customers to submit their orders as draft orders, in the Order submission section, select Automatically submit orders or Submit all orders as drafts for review.
11. Optional: In the Taxes section, add tax information:
    1. In the Tax ID field, enter the company's tax ID.
    2. In the Tax settings drop-down menu, select whether to collect tax:
       • To collect tax, select Collect tax.
       • To not collect tax, select Don't collect tax.
       • To collect tax except for applicable exemptions, select Collect tax unless exemptions apply, and then in the Select exemptions drop-down menu select the tax exemptions.
    3. Click Save.
12. Optional: In the Metafields section, add information for any metafields that you've added.
13. Click Save.

Add a location to an existing company

You can add a location to an existing company.

Steps:

Edit a company's details

You can add or update company information after a company is created. Changes made from the company page apply to all company locations in bulk, but some information, such as tax IDs and exemptions, is location-specific and must be updated from the location page.

If you need to update company information in bulk, such as the company name, then consider using bulk editor third-party apps.

Steps:

Edit a company location's details

You can add or update location information after a company location is created. Changes made from the company page apply to all company locations in bulk, but some information, such as tax IDs and exemptions, is location-specific and must be updated from the location page.

Steps:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies.
2. Click the company with the location that you want to update.
3. In the Locations section, click the location that you want to update.
4. In the company location details section, click ⋮, and then make any of the following updates to a company location:
   • To edit company location name and company ID, click Edit location details.
   • To edit company location shipping address, click Edit shipping address.
   • To edit company location billing address, click Edit billing address.
   • To edit company location tax ID, click Edit tax ID.
   • To edit company location tax collection settings and tax exemptions, click Manage tax settings.
5. Click Save.
6. In the Customizations section, make any of the following updates to a company location:
   • Add or remove catalogs from a company location:
     1. In the Catalogs section, click ⋮.
     2. Click Add catalogs or Remove catalogs.
     3. Select or search for a catalog that you want to add or remove.
   • Edit payment terms for a company location:
     1. In the Payment terms section, click the pencil icon.
     2. Select a payment term from the drop-down menu.
     3. Optional: To set up a deposit for your payment terms, select Require deposit on orders created at checkout, and then enter a percentage amount deposit requirement, such as 20%.
   • Edit checkout settings for a company:
     1. Optional: In the Ship to address section, select or deselect Allow customers to ship to any one-time address to update flexible shipping addresses.
     2. In the Order submission section, select Automatically submit orders or Submit all orders as drafts for review to update order submission rules.
   • Add or edit a note about a company location:
     1. In the Notes section, click the pencil icon.
     2. Add or edit a note.
7. Click Save.

Filtering company and company location metafields

You can filter and search company and company location metafields on the Company and Company locations index pages. Learn more about Filtering company and company location metafields.

Delete a company

When you delete a company, all locations for that company are deleted. All customers are removed from the company, but remain in your customers list unless you delete them. Companies can’t be deleted if there are any orders for that company.

Steps:

Delete a location from a company

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies.
2. Click the company that you want to delete a company location from.
3. In the Locations section, click the company location that you want to delete.
4. Click Delete location, and then click Delete location.

Allow B2B customers to enter a flexible shipping address at checkout

You can decide for each company location whether customers placing orders are able to enter a new one-time address at checkout. This setting is deactivated by default. When you create a new company or company location, you can activate the option at the same time.

You can deactivate this for a company or company location at any time by returning to the checkout settings and deselecting the option.

The shipping address that a B2B customer provides at checkout is applied only to the specific order that it was added to. It's not stored for future use. The B2B customer can't edit the shipping address for the order after you accept it.

Allow flexible shipping addresses for a company location

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Customers > Companies.
2. Click a company that you want to allow flexible shipping addresses for.
3. In the Locations section, click the company location where you want to allow B2B customers to enter a shipping address at checkout.
4. In the Checkout section, click the pencil icon.
5. Select Allow customers to ship to any one-time address.
6. Click Save.

Allow flexible shipping address for a company