Shopify B2B in the UAE: what changed in April 2026
Until this year, serious B2B ecommerce in the UAE on Shopify meant Shopify Plus or a third-party wholesale app. On 2 April 2026 Shopify made its core B2B features available on Basic, Grow and Advanced at no extra cost. For many UAE distributors, a wholesale Shopify store no longer has to start on Plus.
| Feature | Basic, Grow, Advanced | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Company profiles and locations | Yes | Yes |
| B2B catalogs (price lists) | Up to 3 active, assigned through markets | Unlimited, assigned directly to companies and locations |
| Payment terms | Yes | Yes |
| Volume pricing | Yes | Yes |
| Vaulted credit cards | Yes | Yes |
| Deposits and partial payments | No | Yes |
The limit that matters is three catalogs. Three price tiers (say retailer, distributor and key account) fit comfortably. Customer-specific pricing for dozens of accounts doesn't, and that's where Plus, or prices pushed from your ERP, comes in. More on the upgrade decision: Shopify Plus in Dubai.
Last checked: October 2026. Sources: Shopify changelog, 2 April 2026, Shopify Help Center: B2B catalogs.
How wholesale works on Shopify
- Companies and locations. Each trade customer is a company; each branch or warehouse is a location with its own addresses, buyers, tax details and payment terms.
- Catalogs. A percentage adjustment or fixed prices per product, and which products a buyer can see at all.
- Quantity rules. Minimum, maximum and order increments per variant, so a carton of 12 can't be ordered as 7.
- Volume pricing. Up to 10 price breaks per product.
- Order review. Orders can submit automatically or arrive as drafts your sales team approves.
- Payment terms. Net terms such as net 30, or payment due on fulfilment, with cards vaulted for repeat buyers.
Trade buyers log in, see their own prices and terms, and reorder from their history. Your sales team stops retyping WhatsApp orders into the system.
Last checked: October 2026. Source: Shopify Help Center: quantity rules and volume pricing.
UAE specifics: TRN, VAT and tax invoices
This is where generic B2B guides stop being useful to a UAE distributor.
- TRN per location. Each company location has a tax ID field; we store the customer's Tax Registration Number there, so it can flow onto invoices and into the ERP.
- VAT settings per location. Collect 5% VAT by default, with exemptions set only where your accountant confirms they apply.
- Tax invoices. Under the VAT Executive Regulation (Article 59), a tax invoice shows the words "Tax Invoice", your name, address and TRN, the buyer's details and TRN where they are VAT-registered, a sequential number, and the VAT amount in AED. Shopify's standard order emails aren't that, so we generate tax invoices from your ERP or from a custom invoice template.
- E-invoicing. The Ministry of Finance is phasing in mandatory e-invoicing for business transactions through accredited service providers, and the timeline was amended in 2026. It's one more reason the invoice should come from your ERP rather than from the storefront.
- Payments. Trade buyers usually pay by bank transfer on terms; cards and Shopify Payments (Advanced and Plus in the UAE) cover prepaid orders. See Shopify payment gateways in the UAE.
Last checked: October 2026. Sources: Shopify Help Center: companies, VAT Executive Regulation on the FTA legislation page, Ministry of Finance: eInvoicing. Confirm invoice and VAT settings with your accountant.
ERP sync: where B2B lives or dies
A distributor's real system of record is the ERP: stock across warehouses, customer price agreements, credit limits, invoices. If Shopify doesn't agree with it, your team stops trusting the portal and goes back to phone orders.
| Data | Usual direction | Usual frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Stock levels | ERP to Shopify | Every few minutes, or on change |
| Price lists and catalogs | ERP to Shopify | On change |
| Companies, locations, TRNs, terms | ERP to Shopify | On change |
| Orders | Shopify to ERP | Real time |
| Invoices, payment status, credit holds | ERP to Shopify | On change |
Credit limit checks usually stay in the ERP; we pass its answer to Shopify, for example holding orders as drafts when an account is over its limit. We work with Odoo, Zoho, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, SAP Business One, NetSuite and QuickBooks or Xero. We built the ERP and POS integration behind Dubai Optical and Opti-Vision, which syncs stock, prices and orders with the stores' back office. Details: Shopify ERP integration.
One store or two: blended vs separate wholesale store
| Blended (B2B and retail in one store) | Separate wholesale store | |
|---|---|---|
| Best when | Same products and brand, trade buyers who also see the retail site | Different catalogue, brand, currency or team |
| Pricing | Catalogs show trade prices only to logged-in buyers | Whole store priced for trade |
| Running cost | One Shopify subscription | A second subscription, or an expansion store on Plus |
| Watch out for | Retail promotions and apps leaking into trade orders | Two sets of content, apps and integrations to maintain |
Shopify supports both. We'd usually start blended and split only when the operations genuinely differ.
How we work
- Scoping call: your customers, price tiers, terms, ERP and how orders arrive today.
- Written scope and quote: every project is scoped and quoted individually, including the plan recommendation (non-Plus or Plus) and why.
- Build: companies and catalogs, quantity rules, invoice flow, ERP sync, trade-buyer login and reorder pages. See Shopify development in Dubai.
- Launch: a pilot group of trade accounts first, real orders reconciled against the ERP, then the full customer list.
- Support: new price lists, new accounts and integration monitoring through Shopify maintenance and support.
What we need from you
- Your price tiers and how customer-specific prices are agreed today.
- A customer list with locations, TRNs and payment terms.
- ERP access, or a contact at your ERP partner.
- Your current tax invoice template and your accountant's sign-off on VAT settings.
We take on a small number of projects at a time. This fits distributors and brands with an established trade customer base who want ordering online, not a marketplace.