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Quick Start Guide - B2B Edition
Quick Start Guide - B2B Edition

New To B2B Edition and BigCommerce? Start here!

Kenzie avatar
Written by Kenzie
Updated over a week ago

B2B Edition is a SaaS application that offers enterprise-level B2B functionality to businesses of all types and sizes. It enables business owners to facilitate their B2B operations online and to provide customers with self-service account capabilities and seamless transactions.

With capabilities that allow users to easily manage front- and back-end B2B processes, B2B Edition fits the needs of growing B2B Commerce businesses and can improve the B2B self-service experience for both store owners and their customers.

BigCommerce includes the B2B Edition app by default in the B2B Edition package. This guide details how to get started with B2B Edition. If you have not purchased the B2B Edition package, but installed the B2B Edition App directly from the app store, please see this guide:

Step 1: Log in to B2B Edition

The B2B Edition app will be pre-installed in the BigCommerce control panel under "Apps". Only the BigCommerce store owner can log in to the B2B Edition application when the store is provisioned. Once accessed, the store owner can add additional users. Details on adding additional users are in Step 5 of this guide.

  1. Once the store is provisioned and the B2B Edition Application is added the BigCommerce store owner will receive an email with the subject line, Welcome to B2B Edition from [email protected] that includes your login credentials.


    1. Proceed to the B2B Edition APP, where you will be able to set your password.

      NOTE: The “Change Password” link will expire after 1 hour. If the link expires, please follow the instructions below.

      Step by Step:

      1. Log into your BigCommerce Store -> Go to Apps tab -> Select the B2B Edition APP

      2. The B2B Edition login page should appear.

      3. To reset/create your password, select “Reset Password”


Step 2: Select and Configure a B2BE Theme

B2B Edition includes 6 themes already preconfigured to work with B2B Edition.

Other themes will not work with B2B Edition at this time. Follow the steps to select and apply your new theme!

  1. Proceed to the Apps section of the BigCommerce control panel and select "B2B Edition Themes by B2B Edition".

  2. Select either Cornerstone, 22 Savile Row, Roots, Camden, Vault, or Supermarket Theme to add to "My Themes".

  3. Once selected your theme will appear inside BigCommerce "Storefront" > "Themes" .

  4. Choose the Correct B2BE Theme and apply it!

NOTE: B2B edition themes are not currently compatible with BigCommerce's page builder. Using page builder can have unintended consequences on the functionality of your theme. Theme edits should be done inside the theme files.


Step 3: Set up the B2B Edition Checkout

Enabling the B2B Edition checkout is necessary to activate Billing and Shipping Addresses, payment method visibility for each company, and the "Purchase Order" payment method at checkout.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Checkout within the B2B Edition App.

  2. Turn on the B2B Checkout by switching the lever.

  3. Select "Enable the B2B Checkout Now" in the pop-up.

  4. You can now access and configure the other checkout settings on this page!


Step 4: Set up PO Payments (optional)

To enable "PO Payments":

  1. Navigate to Settings > Checkout within the B2B Edition App.

  2. Click the checkbox to enable the extra text field for Purchase Order.

  3. Edit the Text Field if you want to change the wording displayed to the user in checkout.

  4. Enable the "Check" payment method in BigCommerce as well. Navigate inside BigCommerce to Settings > Setup > Payments > Offline Payment Methods > enable "Check" method.

  5. Navigate to "Check Settings" and add a "Display Name" that indicates this payment is for a PO Payment.

  6. Test this inside the checkout on your website to confirm functionality and visibility!

    ** Note: Only B2B company account users can view and use the PO payments method.


Step 5: Add More Users

If the new user has a user account inside BigCommerce and single-click app access to B2B Edition:

When the user tries to open the B2B Edition application for the first time, a new B2B Edition account will be automatically created with a "New User Default" role and the user will be signed in automatically and given instant access.

Be sure to change the user role after account creation.

Alternate Method:

Adding a New User Inside B2B Edition

  1. Navigate to the "Users" Tab Inside B2B Edition and select "Add New User"

  2. Add the required information in the "Add New User" form

    ***Note: This user must have a BigCommerce account and the email must match the email set in BigCommerce to access B2B Edition. They may need further privileges to access the B2B Edition application from BigCommerce. See below.

  3. The new user will get a welcome email with a link to set the password for their account.

    NOTE: The “Set Password” link will expire after 1 hour. If so, this message will appear:

    Shortly after the message appears, you will be redirected to the BigCommerce Login Page to reset your password by following these steps:

    Go to Apps > Select the B2B Edition APP, and the B2B Edition login page will appear > Update your password by selecting “Reset Password”.

  4. Click the link to continue on and set a password.

  5. Navigate in BigCommerce to Account Settings > Users

  6. Select Edit on the User, scroll down to the Single-Click Apps section and select B2B Edition. Be sure to save your changes.


Step 6: Understanding and Assigning User Roles

When adding new users from your company inside the B2B Edition Application you will be required to assign a role for each new member. B2B Edition gives you a lot of flexibility in the levels of permissions for each new user. There are 4 predefined roles that can be assigned and are already set up inside B2B Edition. These include:

Administrator

Like store owners, store admins also have every permission available inside B2B Edition. A typical use case would be a manager or stakeholder that needs access to all facets of B2B Edition.

Sales Rep

Sales reps are considered members of the "Sales Staff" role, which means they will only be able to view the companies, orders, and quote requests of companies assigned to them.

Accountant

Accountants are members of the team that need view-only access to merchant financial data.

Financial Manager

Financial Managers differ from Accountants in that they take a more active role in managing the company's finances. They require permission to add and edit as well as view financial data.

Not all users set up in the B2B Edition application will fit into a predefined user role. Luckily you can set up your own custom user roles inside B2B Edition!


Step 7: Add a New Company

There are 4 ways company accounts are created inside the B2B Edition application. Once a company account is created you can manage their orders, users, addresses, and settings from the Companies area of the B2B Edition dashboard.

  1. Create a company account manually inside the B2B Edition Company Dashboard. This is the best method when creating company accounts from scratch one at a time.

2. Create a company account by converting customer groups already created inside BigCommerce. This is the best method when company users have already been added inside BigCommerce but not B2B Edition.

3. Create company accounts in bulk via a CSV import. This is the best method when creating multiple companies at once.

4. There is a fourth way in which the B2B merchant can request a B2B account on the front end of the website via the Trade Application Form. Once approved the company is auto-created inside B2B Edition.

***Don't forget to set up notifications to receive emails when trade applications are submitted! You can also set these applications to be automatically approved and created with default payment methods and price lists.

Step 8: Learn How Company Data Flows between BigCommerce and B2B Edition

Integrating any other systems with BigCommerce and B2B Edition? Then understanding how company data flows between BigCommerce and B2B Edition is essential! Reading this document will help you plan for your integrations with BigCommerce B2B edition.


Step 9: Configure Price Lists

Offer wholesale pricing? Special discounts? Do you have a complex pricing schedule that is customer-dependent? Price lists set the pricing structure of companies inside B2B Edition. A price list can be applied to each company created in B2B Edition which defines the pricing structure assigned to that company.

Creating a Price List in BigCommerce (Products > Price Lists)

  1. When you click "Create Price List", you’ll first be asked to give your price list a name. This is for your reference only and is not shown publicly.

  2. Toggle to "Published" so that the Price List is active.

  3. You can now add Price Overrides to be included with this Price List.

Assigning Price Lists In B2B Edition

Price Lists can be assigned to Company accounts from the Companies area of the dashboard in two different methods. The first method is to click the Edit icon next to a Company’s Price List. This will open a drop-down menu where you can select an existing Price List.

Assign a Price List to a Company.

You can set a price list to be the default for all new Company accounts from SettingsGeneralSet Default Price List.

Set a default Price List.


Step 10: What are Super Admins?

Once you’ve created company accounts for your customers, you’ll want to establish Super Admins to act as liaisons between your business and theirs.

The Super Admin feature is useful for members of your sales staff that regularly assist customers with their purchases. Super admins are typically used by merchants for sales reps that are assigned multiple companies to manage. A super admin is a member that can use the masquerade function to create orders, quotes, and manage invoices for companies on the front end of the website.

Super admins are similar to sales staff in function. However, they access and manage companies differently. Super admins manage companies on the front end of the website by using an account that can inject them as an admin into the company account to temporarily act on behalf of the company. Sales staff manage companies on the back end. Both can only access companies they are assigned to. The main difference in functionality is that only Super Admins can place orders on behalf of a company while only Sales Staff can quote a customer. A user can be both a member of the sales staff and a super admin.


Step 11: B2B Buyer Side Features

In addition to the merchant side back-end features offered by B2B Edition, your customers receive advanced capabilities designed to streamline the B2B buying experience on the front-end of your website. With company accounts, your customers can create and manage their own user accounts, place orders with ease, and complete checkout with pre-approved payment methods.

After a company account is approved and created in B2B Edition the buyer's BigCommerce account dashboard will be transformed upon login to reveal additional features provided by B2B Edition.

B2B Buyer Features Include:


Step 12: B2B Orders

The Orders menu lists all current B2B orders and tracks their status. This gives you quick and easy access to manage all of your B2B orders in one convenient location.

Note: The only orders that are included in this list are for the companies set up in the B2B Edition application. For B2C orders please see the BigCommerce order menu.


Step 13: B2B Quoting

With the quoting feature, you can build a quote from scratch to offer customer-specific discounts or negotiate offer details with the buyers. You can also manage a quote request submitted from a company's storefront account.

There are three ways to create quotes inside B2B Edition.

Once a quote has been created there is an in-quote messaging system to communicate and negotiate between parties. When both parties are satisfied, the buyer can self-service checkout inside BigCommerce or the Sales Rep can convert the quote into a BigCommerce Order.

Don't forget to head over to the settings section to set up quote-specific settings!


Step 14: B2B Invoicing

An invoice allows for PO terms and partial/additional payments. They can be created for a single order, and each can include whichever products on the order you specify. The merchant is able to create or view all the orders with an invoice and review which invoices have been paid. They can also record any external payments, such as checks and cash. Alternatively, the B2B user can make payments with their credit card from the front end of the website.

Don't forget to head over to the settings section to set up invoice-specific settings!

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