A trade account is a business customer account that a merchant approves before granting access to wholesale or B2B-specific pricing, product catalogs, and payment terms. It separates verified business buyers from regular retail shoppers, so each side sees the right prices and terms. On Shopify, a trade account is usually represented as a company profile with one or more assigned buyers and locations.
How it works
A buyer requests access, often through an application form that captures the business name, tax or reseller ID, and contact details. The merchant reviews the request and, once approved, links the buyer to a company profile. That profile controls which catalog and price list the buyer sees, which locations they can order for, and whether they can check out on account (net terms) or must pay upfront. In Shopify’s native B2B, this maps to Company records with locations, assigned buyers, and payment terms templates.
Why it matters
Trade accounts let you show negotiated or tiered pricing without exposing it to the public storefront. They also keep records clean: orders, quotes, and payment terms all attach to the company rather than a loose personal account. For merchants selling to both consumers and businesses, this is what makes a single store serve two very different buying processes.
Example
A lighting supplier approves a contractor’s trade account. The contractor logs in and sees contract pricing, orders across three job-site locations, and pays on net 30 terms. A retail visitor to the same store sees standard prices and pays at checkout.
Trade accounts pair naturally with quoting. When an approved buyer requests a quote, the merchant can build it against that company’s pricing and send a checkout-ready page, so accepted quotes flow into real Shopify orders tied to the right account. See the B2B quoting glossary for related terms, or pricing for plan details.