How Process Wholesale works: customer tags, discounts and checkout
Process Wholesale decides who gets wholesale prices with Shopify customer tags. The tag B2B marks a customer as an approved wholesale customer (B2B customer), and a second tag, the discount tag, decides which of your discounts that customer gets. Process Wholesale keeps a set of Shopify automatic discounts that read those tags at cart and checkout and apply the wholesale price. Theme blocks only display prices and forms, and settings add checkout rules such as minimums and net terms. This works the same on every plan; the plan decides which discount types and rules you can use.
At a glance
- Wholesale customer: a customer with the tag
B2B, added when you approve them - Pending customer: an applicant with the tag
B2B_Registeration(the tag is spelled this way) - Discount tag: the name you give a discount, added to a customer to grant it
- Where prices are applied: Shopify automatic discounts named
B2B Order/Loyalty Discount,B2B Cart Quantity Discount,B2B Price List DiscountandB2B Cost Plus Markup Discount - Where prices are shown: the Product Wholesale block and Quick Buy, for logged-in wholesale customers
Customer tags decide who is wholesale#
Process Wholesale stores a customer's wholesale status as a Shopify customer tag. You can see these tags on the customer in Shopify admin.
| Tag | Meaning | Added by |
|---|---|---|
B2B_Registeration |
Pending: the customer applied and is waiting for review | The wholesale signup form, or Import customers on the Customers page |
B2B |
Active wholesale customer | Accept B2B on the Customers page |
a discount tag, for example gold15 |
The customer gets the discount with that name | Manage discount tags, Bulk assign discount, or automatic assignment on approval |
B2Bnetterms |
The customer may use net payment terms when you limit terms to specific customers | Settings > Net terms > Select Customers |
Approving a customer replaces B2B_Registeration with B2B. Rejecting removes both status tags but keeps the Shopify customer account. Approval is always manual. See Wholesale customers and customer tags explained.
A discount tag decides which discounts a customer gets#
Every Process Wholesale discount has a name, the discount tag. A flat or tier discount tag is made of lower-case letters and numbers, for example gold15. Do not use b2b in a discount tag: the flat discount, price list and cost plus markup forms do not accept it, and the tier discount form shows "'B2B' and its variations are not allowed". A wholesale customer receives a discount only when they have both the B2B tag and that discount's tag. A customer can have several discount tags; the rules for which one wins are in Which wholesale discount applies: priority and stacking rules.
Creating a discount does not give it to anyone. Add its tag to customers on the Customers page, with Bulk assign discount, or automatically on approval. See How to assign discounts to wholesale customers.
Shopify automatic discounts apply the prices at cart and checkout#
Process Wholesale does not change product prices in Shopify. It creates Shopify automatic discounts and gives them your discount configuration. At cart and checkout, Shopify runs these discounts, which check the customer's tags and calculate the wholesale price. You see them in Shopify admin under Discounts.
| Automatic discount (as named in Shopify admin) | What it applies |
|---|---|
B2B Order/Loyalty Discount |
Flat discounts, quantity tier discounts, cart value tier discounts and loyalty discounts |
B2B Cart Quantity Discount |
Cart quantity tier discounts |
B2B Price List Discount |
Price lists |
B2B Cost Plus Markup Discount |
Cost plus markup |
Process Wholesale creates these discounts for stores with an active plan, updates them right after you save a discount, and checks them again every 5 minutes. They start on 2024-06-22 and have no end date.
An order that received a Process Wholesale discount counts as a wholesale order, and Process Wholesale adds the order tag processwholesale to it.
Theme blocks display prices and forms#
The blocks you add in the Shopify theme editor show information; they do not set the price that is charged.
- The Product Wholesale block adds a table of wholesale prices and discount levels on product pages. The theme's own price stays the retail price.
- Quick Buy is an order form that calculates and shows wholesale prices before the customer checks out.
- The signup form collects applications.
- Hide price and Lock Content Redirect hide prices or pages from visitors who are not wholesale.
The price the customer pays always comes from the automatic discounts at cart and checkout.
Settings add checkout rules#
Process Wholesale adds rules to Shopify checkout for customers tagged B2B: a minimum order amount, a minimum order quantity, hidden payment methods and wholesale-only shipping rates. Net payment terms are offered on the Quick Buy order page. These need the Enterprise or Professional plan.
Worked example: one customer from signup to a paid order#
A store on the Enterprise plan has a flat discount gold15 (15% off all products) and a minimum order amount of $200.
- Application. Maya fills in the wholesale signup form. Shopify now has a customer account for her with the tag
B2B_Registeration. She sees the pending message, and you receive a new-application email. - Review. In Process Wholesale, Customers > Pending lists Maya. You select Accept B2B. Her tag changes to
B2B, and she gets the approval email if it is on. - Discount. In Customers > Active, you open Maya's row menu, select Manage discount tags and add
gold15. She now hasB2Bandgold15. - Browsing. Maya logs in. On a $40 product, the theme still shows $40.00, and the Product Wholesale block shows a row with a 15% discount and a wholesale price of $34.00.
- Cart and checkout. Maya adds 5 units ($200.00 retail).
B2B Order/Loyalty Discounttakes 15% off: $30.00, so the total is $170.00. Because $170.00 is under the $200 minimum, checkout shows "Minimum order amount for wholesale customers is: 200.00 USD". - Paid order. Maya adds a sixth unit: $240.00 retail, $36.00 discount, $204.00 total. Checkout completes. Because the order received the
gold15discount, Process Wholesale adds the order tagprocesswholesale. The order counts toward wholesale revenue on the Dashboard.
Timing you can observe#
- Discount changes: the automatic discounts are updated right after you save a discount and checked again every 5 minutes.
- Loyalty discounts: loyalty tags are recalculated every 2 hours. A new qualifying order can take up to 2 hours to unlock the loyalty discount, and a customer who no longer qualifies keeps it until the next update.
- Customer tags: approving a customer or changing their discount tags takes effect at their next cart or checkout.
Frequently asked questions#
Why does the product page still show the retail price to a wholesale customer?#
The theme's price is not changed by Process Wholesale. The wholesale price appears in the Product Wholesale block's table and is charged at cart and checkout.
Can I delete the B2B discounts in my Shopify Discounts list?#
No. B2B Order/Loyalty Discount, B2B Cart Quantity Discount, B2B Price List Discount and B2B Cost Plus Markup Discount are how Process Wholesale applies wholesale prices. Leave them active and unedited.
Does tagging a customer B2B in Shopify admin make them wholesale?#
Yes, for prices and checkout rules, because those read the tag. But no approval email is sent, no discount tags are added automatically and tax exemption is not set. Approve customers on the Customers page instead.
Do pending customers get wholesale prices?#
No. Checkout discounts require the exact tag B2B. A pending customer tagged B2B_Registeration pays retail prices.
How often do loyalty discounts update?#
Every 2 hours. See How loyalty discounts work for repeat wholesale customers.