New B2B Site - No Way To Approve Wholesale Applications

[amandalauren]

I just migrated my blended B2B/DTC store to a dedicated expansion store since the blended wholesale sales channel is going to be discontinued next year. 

Upon creating my dedicated B2B I want to create a way more new clients to 1) apply for a wholesale account with my store, 2) wait for approval, 3) get approved, 4) create an account that allows them access to shop/checkout of my wholesale store. 

Previously, we would approve/deny incoming applicants through the blended Wholesale Sales Channel. On the new site we have the option of using classic customer accounts (login with email/password) or new customer accounts (where user enters email and is emailed a 6 digit code). 

There are no options anywhere in which I an have new users apply for an account, for me to approve them, and then grant them access to shop. For example: anyone right now has the capability to either make an account or enter their email and gain login access - we want to restrict access so not just anyone can make an account and access our wholesale pricing. The solution support has given me is to "toggle on restrict to b2b customers only in preferences" BUT that prohibits new clients from accessing our site and applying for an account. 

I want new customers to be able to access the site and apply for an account with an approval process AND want existing b2b customers to be able to login and shop. What are my options without using a million apps! 

[PaulNewton]

Contact your MSM and feature request it;  if you still that benefit that is, per rumor.

Meanwhile you should wish for a million apps to even be a possibility, otherwise this is what happens: inflexibility and process deadfalls when there is no api/apps allowed to tailor a site to need.

The current new account system doesn't allow apps or liquid modifications.

And b2b is documented as only working with the new customer account system.

So until they decide to realize what a fundamental process problem this is for B2B, the approval process needs to be an offsite roundabout 🤷.

Of course if a B2B prospect lands on the dedicated store how do you even communicate to them where they should go to apply? <-- And isn't that the real fundamental problem buried in the middle making this process broken, there's no way/where to put business messaging for new systems login pages, can't even add a link; like how you could customize a themes password page when locking the storefront.

For some sort of messaging on the B2B sites , you could put a link/qr-code within the logo image to be displayed via the branding settings that may  show in that area.

Otherwise have to treat the B2B url like a badly kept secret,  anyone might know but everyone that's supposed to know it should know they had to sign up on the main-site first. 

With the clunkier alternative being don't restrict access, then use an access control app like locksmith or theme customizations to lock down all/parts of the B2B site for only approved accounts since anyone can make an account /ugh.

Classic and new account types

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/customers/customer-accounts 

Also see new customer login url sharing:

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/b2b-customers#customize-notification 

Good Hunting.

[KSabra]

We simply created a form and planted it as a main menu item. "Application for Wholesale Status". It's hard to miss and people are using it. The form uses field references that allow it to set up the customer for me. All I have to do is approve it. 

[gcastro0920]

Hi, we are currently facing the same issue. How did you create the form? Was it custom code? Any insight would be greatly appreciated, Thank you! 🙂 

[Brett_Helium]

Hey @amandalauren,

You can use the Helium Customer Fields app to provide a custom registration form, including the option to manually approve/deny applications. Coupled with an access control app such as Locksmith, I believe this would accomplish what you need.

This is primarily designed to be used with Shopify's classic customer accounts, but we have had merchants use this with some success with "new customer accounts". If you are specifically wanting to use Shopify's B2B/company features, our team is also working on some new features (or maybe a completely new app) specifically to for the approval/creation of company accounts.

[ColumbusNL]

Hello there, have you successfully resolved the issue?

I am currently facing challenges with the new Customer account setup on my dedicated B2B store. I opted for Shopify Plus primarily for its B2B functionality, but I'm concerned about its limitations. It seems like the only solution might be to utilize paid third-party apps such as Locksmiths and Sign-up forms.

I'm curious if you've found a workaround for managing your dedicated B2B store. If so, could you please share your insights?

[michael-helium]

I love the app and team at Locksmith, but for this use case you can get by with a little bit of custom Liquid. See our blog post on that topic.

For wholesale inquiry/applications, our app Helium Customer Fields will save you a thousand headaches. Shopify B2B is getting better, but it still doesn't account for all use cases.

- Customer Fields for all the custom fields you mentioned, account approval, and automatic customer tags (for approved customers).
- Sparklayer for customer segment-specific pricing, ordering, products, etc.
- Locksmith for access control (or custom Liquid  if you're comfortable with that)

The best part is you DON'T have to be on Shopify Plus to do this.