What is B2B webshop development, and how is it different from a normal webshop?
B2B webshop development is building an online shop for business buyers, where prices, payment and catalogue depend on who is logged in. A consumer webshop shows one price to everyone and asks for payment now; a wholesale webshop shows a customer's agreed price and usually sends an invoice later.
The differences show up in almost every screen. A trade buyer at a bakery supply shop does not browse; they know the article number and want thirty boxes by Thursday. They expect the price they negotiated with your account manager, a delivery to one of several addresses, and an invoice with their purchase-order number on it. Guests who are not logged in may see the catalogue but no prices at all.
- Accounts: companies with several users, each with rights such as ‘may order’ or ‘needs approval’.
- Prices: per customer or group, plus staffels (tiered quantity prices), usually excluding VAT.
- Payment: on account with terms, a credit limit, and sometimes iDEAL for first orders.
- Ordering: quick order by article number, CSV upload, saved lists and reorders.
- Back office: orders flow into the ERP; stock and invoices flow back.
If your buyers are consumers, you need a different project; our Shopify developer page covers consumer webshops for Dutch brands.
When is a groothandel ready to move phone and email orders into a B2B webshop?
You are ready for B2B webshop development when your order desk spends most of its day retyping orders that customers could have entered themselves, and when your article and price data are clean enough to publish. If your prices live only in an account manager's head, fix that first.
Some signs are obvious: orders arrive as photos of handwritten lists, the same customer phones three times a week for stock levels, and the order desk is the bottleneck every Monday morning. Others are hidden: mistakes in article numbers that lead to returns, credit notes for wrong prices, and new customers waiting days for an account.
A B2B webshop development project also forces useful housekeeping. Every article needs a unique number, a unit (piece, box, pallet), a minimum order quantity and a product description. Every customer needs a price agreement that can be expressed as a rule. That cleanup is often half the value of the project, and it helps even if the webshop takes a while to be adopted.
Ready now
Clean article list in Exact or AFAS, price agreements as groups or lists, customers who already email orders.
Ready after cleanup
Prices partly in spreadsheets, duplicate articles, units that differ between purchase and sale.
Not yet
Every order is negotiated individually, or you have only a handful of customers placing large, rare orders.
How should a B2B webshop handle customer price lists and staffel pricing?
In good B2B webshop development, each logged-in customer sees exactly the net price your agreement gives them, including quantity breaks, without any manual step. The usual structure is a base price list, customer groups with discounts, customer-specific exceptions, and staffels on top.
Staffelprijzen are quantity tiers: one price per unit from 1, a lower price from 10, lower again from 50. In B2B webshop development the tricky part is combining rules. Does a customer discount apply before or after the staffel? Does a promotion override a contract price? Is the staffel counted per article or across a product family? We write these rules down as a small table with you before building, and test them against real orders you have already invoiced, so the webshop calculates what your invoices already say.
Where prices live matters too. If Exact Online or AFAS already hold the customer prices, the webshop should read them from there rather than keep a second copy that drifts. If the ERP cannot express your staffels cleanly, the webshop can own the price logic and push the final price with the order.
- Base list price per article, excluding VAT.
- Group discount per customer category, such as installers or retailers.
- Customer-specific net prices for key articles.
- Staffels per article or per product family.
- Date-limited promotions with a clear priority order.
Before quoting we ask for five real invoices with tricky prices; if the webshop can reproduce them, the logic is right.
Ordering op rekening: credit limits, payment terms and blocked accounts
Most trade buyers expect to order on account, so B2B webshop development always covers credit rules: they receive goods and pay the invoice within agreed terms. The webshop must know each customer's terms and credit limit, and stop or flag orders that exceed it.
In practice the credit status comes from your accounting system. The webshop reads the open balance and limit for each customer on a schedule, and at checkout compares the new order plus the open balance against the limit. Over the limit, three responses are common: block the order, let it through as ‘pending approval’ for your credit controller, or ask the buyer to pay this order by iDEAL. You choose; we build it.
New customers are a special case. Many wholesalers let a new account's first orders be paid upfront by iDEAL or card, then switch the account to invoice terms after a check. That check, and deciding what terms to offer, is your business decision; the webshop simply enforces what you set. Blocked accounts, for example after an unpaid invoice, should still be able to log in and see their invoices, but not order.
Payment terms
Stored per customer or group and printed on the invoice; the webshop never overrides the ERP.
Approval queue
Orders over the limit wait in a list for your credit controller, with one-click release.
For B2B webshop development in the Netherlands, choose Shopify B2B when your price rules fit its companies, catalogues and quantity rules; WooCommerce when you want self-hosting and plugin freedom; a custom portal when prices, approvals or catalogues are too specific for either.
Shopify's own help centre states that B2B is available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans. On the plans below Plus you can assign up to three active catalogues across your B2B markets; Plus adds unlimited catalogues, catalogues assigned directly to companies, and deposits with partial payments. Quantity rules, volume pricing, net payment terms and vaulted cards are listed as available on all plans. So a wholesaler with a few customer groups may manage on a lower plan, while one with hundreds of customer-specific price lists will need Plus or a custom route.
WooCommerce itself is consumer-first; B2B behaviour comes from plugins or custom code for roles, hidden prices, quote requests and tiered pricing. That is flexible but means more to maintain. A custom portal, built in a modern web framework against your ERP, costs more upfront but mirrors your business exactly and carries no plugin stack.
The comparison table further down lays the three options side by side. For the consumer-side debate, see our Shopify vs WooCommerce breakdown.
Syncing stock, orders and invoices with Exact Online or AFAS
In B2B webshop development, the webshop should never become a second administration. Articles, stock, customers and prices come from the ERP; orders go back into it; invoices and open balances come out of it for the customer's account page.
With Exact Online, we connect through its REST API: sales orders are created in the right administration, customers are matched on their relation code, and stock is read from the item and warehouse records. With AFAS, the connection runs through the connectors AFAS provides for its software, configured in your environment. In both cases we agree which system is the master for each field, how often each flow runs, and what happens when a sync fails.
Sync frequency is a trade-off. Stock every few minutes during office hours is usually enough for wholesale; prices can sync nightly; orders should go across within a minute of being placed. We log every sync run so your staff can see when an order reached the ERP and, if it did not, why.
- Articles and descriptions: ERP to webshop, nightly or on change.
- Stock per warehouse: ERP to webshop, every few minutes.
- Customers, terms and credit limits: ERP to webshop, hourly.
- Orders: webshop to ERP, within a minute.
- Invoices and open balance: ERP to webshop account page, daily.
The detailed version, including rate limits and error handling, is on the Exact Online integration page.
Does a B2B webshop need UBL invoice export and Peppol?
If some of your buyers ask for e-invoices, yes: exporting invoices as UBL XML lets their accounting software read them without retyping. If you supply the Dutch central government, the government's business portal says you must send an e-invoice, for example through a Peppol service provider or accounting software.
UBL (Universal Business Language) is the XML format used for most Dutch e-invoices. In many setups your accounting system already creates UBL files; then the webshop just offers them as a download next to the PDF on the customer's invoice page. When the webshop itself invoices, for instance on a custom portal, we generate the UBL file from the order and send it to your accounting software or a Peppol access provider you contract.
Keep the division of roles clear. We build the file export and the connection; your accountant confirms the invoice content and any obligations that apply to your business. We do not give tax or invoicing advice, and we are not a Peppol access point.
Simplest route
Your ERP creates UBL invoices; the webshop shows them in the account area for download.
Portal route
The portal builds UBL from each invoice and passes it to your accounting software or Peppol provider.
Which B2B webshop features do trade buyers actually use?
Speed features, not browsing features, are what B2B webshop development should prioritise. Buyers who order every week want to enter an article number and a quantity, repeat last week's order, and upload a list from their own system. Product pages matter for new articles; for regular purchases, the quick-order screen is the whole shop.
When we plan B2B webshop development, we watch how your order desk receives orders today. If half arrive as emailed spreadsheets, CSV upload goes to the top of the list. If installers order from a van, the mobile quick-order screen gets the most attention. If buyers need their manager's approval, a simple approval flow saves a lot of email.
- Quick order: article number and quantity, validated as you type.
- Order lists: saved sets such as ‘weekly café order’ with editable quantities.
- Reorder: repeat any past order, with current prices and stock.
- CSV or Excel upload with a preview and error report before adding to the cart.
- Purchase-order number and delivery address per order.
- Multiple users per company with approval limits.
- Downloads: datasheets, safety sheets and invoices per order.
Features we usually leave out at first: wish lists, product reviews and consumer-style recommendations. They add screens without helping a buyer who already knows what to order.
How do new trade customers get an account?
Through a request form that your staff approve. The buyer enters company details, KvK number, VAT number and delivery address; your team checks them, links the account to a customer record in the ERP and assigns a price group. Only then do prices appear.
We can pre-check part of this automatically. A VAT number from another EU country can be validated against the European Commission's VIES service before your staff see the request, and duplicate companies can be flagged by matching address and email domain. The decision to accept a customer, and on what terms, stays with you.
For existing customers, we import the accounts from the ERP and send an invitation email with a set-password link, in Dutch or English, with text you approve. Rolling that out in waves, starting with friendly regular customers, gives you feedback before everyone gets access.
- Request form with KvK and VAT fields.
- Automatic VAT format and EU validation where available.
- Approval screen for staff, linking the account to an ERP relation.
- Invitation emails for existing customers, sent in batches.
How much does B2B webshop development cost?
With BtechWaleTech, B2B webshop development starts from US$750 on Shopify or WooCommerce and from US$900 for a custom portal. ERP sync, UBL export and approval flows are itemised as separate lines. These are starting prices; a written quote follows your scope.
Four things drive most of the cost: how complex your price rules are, how many data flows run to and from the ERP, how many articles need cleaning and importing, and how many buyer tools you want at launch. A wholesaler with one price list per group, stock sync and quick order is at the low end. One with contract prices per customer, three warehouses, approval flows and UBL generation sits much higher.
Running costs are separate and paid by you: the Shopify plan or WordPress hosting, plugin licences, ERP API or connector fees where your ERP vendor charges them, and a Peppol provider if you use one. Quotes from other developers and bureaus vary a lot, largely because they handle ERP sync differently; ask each one exactly which flows are included.
The cost table below breaks this into typical scopes. For consumer webshop budgets, see webshop cost in the Netherlands.
How long does B2B webshop development take?
B2B webshop development takes four to eight weeks for a Shopify or WooCommerce B2B webshop and six to twelve weeks for a custom portal, counted from written approval. The biggest variable is data: clean articles and price agreements make the timeline; messy ones stretch it.
We work in phases you can see. First comes data: an export of articles, customers and price agreements, cleaned together with you. Then the catalogue and account structure on a test environment. Then pricing and checkout logic, tested against real past invoices. Then ERP sync in a test administration. Last, a pilot with a few customers before invitations go to everyone.
The timeline table below shows each phase with its typical length. Ask for a pilot phase even if you are in a hurry; a week of real orders from friendly customers catches more than any test script.
Can a login-only B2B webshop still be found on Google and in AI search?
Yes, if the catalogue is public and only prices and ordering sit behind the login. Product pages with specifications, datasheets and categories can rank for the searches installers and shop owners actually type, and AI search tools can cite them.
A fully closed portal is invisible to search engines, which is fine for some wholesalers who only serve existing accounts. But if you want new trade customers, publish the catalogue: a clear page per article or product family, structured data for products without public prices, and a visible ‘request a trade account’ button. Keep the pages fast, because many buyers search from a phone on site.
We handle the technical side: crawlable categories, canonical URLs for product variants, sitemaps, Google Search Console setup and Core Web Vitals. Nobody can guarantee rankings; what you can do is make sure every article is described well enough to answer a buyer's question.
Ongoing work starts from US$150/mo a month; details on the technical SEO services page.
How does a Dutch wholesaler work with a B2B webshop team in India?
Mostly asynchronously, with one or two calls a week. India runs three and a half hours ahead of Dutch summer time and four and a half ahead in winter, so from your late morning onwards we are both at work, and whatever you send in the afternoon is being worked on by our next morning.
A typical pattern for a wholesale project: a weekly video call with your order-desk lead and whoever manages the ERP, a shared sheet for price-rule decisions, and WhatsApp for quick questions. Quotes are in USD. Payments go in milestones by Wise, bank wire or PayPal, with invoices issued from India. Nothing is billed before you approve the quote in writing, and contract terms such as confidentiality are agreed in that written quote.
- First two weeks: data exports reviewed, price rules written up, platform decision confirmed.
- Test environment on a URL you control, from the first week of building.
- ERP connection only to a test administration until you sign off.
- Access to ERP and platform through accounts you create and can revoke.
Who does what: one of us builds the shop and portal, another of us handles hosting, data and search, and the third of us runs planning and the sync automation. We do not visit your warehouse or sit in on sales meetings. For how remote teams in India usually work, see outsourcing web development to India.
Who owns the B2B webshop, the data and the integrations?
After B2B webshop development with us, you own all of it: the platform account, domain, hosting, the source code of custom parts and the integration scripts. We work through access you grant, and a new developer could take over from the repository and the documentation we hand over.
B2B data still contains personal data: names, emails and phone numbers of your customers' buyers. Under the AVG you are the controller for that data. The build supports your obligations with role-based access, encrypted connections, logs of who changed what, and no copies of customer data on our own machines beyond what a task requires. Your own adviser decides what agreements and privacy texts you need.
- Shopify or WordPress accounts in your company's name.
- Git repository for custom code, owned by you.
- ERP API credentials created by your administrator.
- Written notes on every sync flow: what, when, and how to restart it.
More on privacy-aware builds: GDPR-compliant website development.
What goes wrong in B2B webshop projects, and how to prevent it
The most common failure in B2B webshop development is not technical: buyers keep phoning because nobody told them the webshop exists, or because it shows different prices from their last invoice. Price accuracy and a planned rollout prevent most of it.
Other risks follow a pattern. Syncs that fail silently leave stock wrong for days. A plugin update breaks tiered pricing just before a busy season. A credit limit check that reads yesterday's balance lets a blocked customer order. Each has a simple guard: monitored syncs with alerts, a staging site where updates are tested, and credit checks that read fresh data at checkout.
- Prices tested against real invoices before launch.
- Sync failures sent as alerts to a named person, not only logged.
- Staging environment for every update.
- A rollout plan: pilot group, then invitations in waves, with the order desk briefed.
- A fallback: the order desk can still take phone orders into the same system.
Red flag when comparing offers: anyone who promises the webshop will replace your order desk entirely. It reduces the typing; your people still handle exceptions.
Worked example: a hypothetical installation wholesaler in Zwolle
This is an illustration, not a client. Picture a wholesaler of plumbing and heating parts near Zwolle selling to around two hundred installation companies. Orders arrive by phone before 8:00, by email with photos of lists, and by WhatsApp from installers standing in a boiler room. Prices come from Exact Online, with group discounts and staffels on fittings.
B2B webshop development here would start with the data: about four thousand articles, three customer groups, forty customers with contract prices on key items. Because the price structure fits Shopify's catalogue and quantity rules but the number of customer-specific catalogues would exceed three, the choice is between Shopify Plus and a custom portal. We would price both and let the running costs decide.
The launch scope: quick order by article number on mobile, CSV upload for larger installers, order lists per van, credit check against Exact at checkout, orders into Exact within a minute, and invoices shown in the account area. A pilot with ten installers runs for two weeks. The order desk then invites the rest in groups of thirty, with a short how-to video in Dutch that the wholesaler records itself.
B2B webshop development checklist for Dutch wholesalers
Prepare these before B2B webshop development starts, and your quote will be accurate, your timeline shorter and your launch calmer.
- Article export from your ERP with numbers, units, minimum quantities and descriptions.
- Price structure written down: list prices, groups, customer exceptions, staffels, promotions.
- Five real invoices with complicated prices, to test the logic.
- Payment terms and credit limit policy per customer group.
- Which ERP (Exact Online, AFAS or other) and who administers it.
- Whether any buyers need UBL invoices or you invoice government customers.
- How orders arrive today, with a rough share per channel.
- Product photos and datasheets, or a plan to collect them.
- A named person on your side who decides on price and rollout questions.
Send what you have through our contact page; gaps are normal and we will help fill them.