How to Allow B2B customers to place preorders


If your Shopify store uses B2B (wholesale) alongside your regular storefront, you can control whether B2B customers are allowed to place preorders through STOQ. Each preorder offer includes a toggle called "Allow B2B customers to place preorders" that lets you enable or disable preorders for wholesale buyers on a per-offer basis.


This article explains how to enable B2B preorders in STOQ, what B2B customers see on the storefront, how STOQ handles B2B orders differently, and known limitations to be aware of.


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Enable B2B Preorders on a Preorder Offer


The B2B preorder toggle is enabled by default on all new preorder offers. If it was previously disabled, follow these steps to turn it back on:


  1. In the STOQ app, go to Preorders.
  2. Click the preorder offer you want to configure.
  3. In the offer editor sidebar, click POS, B2B & Bundles.
  4. Check "Allow B2B customers to place preorders".
  5. Click Save.


B2B customers who are logged into a company account will now see the preorder button on products included in this offer.


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Note: This setting is configured per offer. If you have multiple preorder offers, enable B2B preorders on each offer where you want wholesale customers to be able to place preorders.


How STOQ Detects B2B Customers


STOQ uses Shopify's native B2B detection to identify wholesale buyers. When a customer logs in through a B2B company account on your storefront, Shopify sets a flag (customer.b2b?) that STOQ reads automatically. No additional configuration is needed on your end.


Customers who are not logged in — or who are logged in with a regular (non-B2B) customer account — are treated as B2C customers and always see the preorder button if the offer is active.


What B2B Customers See on the Storefront


When B2B preorders are enabled on an offer:


  • B2B customers see the preorder button on products in that offer, just like B2C customers.
  • Clicking the button adds the item to cart as a preorder with the appropriate line item properties.
  • The preorder badge, disclaimer note, shipping text, and other offer customizations appear as configured.


When B2B preorders are disabled on an offer:


  • B2B customers do not see the preorder button.
  • If the product is out of stock and the Notify Me widget is active, B2B customers see the Notify Me button instead and can sign up for a back-in-stock alert.
  • If the product is in stock, B2B customers see the regular Add to Cart button.


How B2B Preorder Orders Are Handled


STOQ processes B2B preorder orders slightly differently from regular B2C preorders due to Shopify's B2B checkout limitations.


Selling Plan Assignment


For B2C customers, STOQ attaches a Shopify selling plan ID to the cart item, which Shopify uses to track the preorder through checkout. For B2B customers, Shopify's B2B checkout does not support selling plans in the same way. Instead, STOQ:


  • Skips the selling plan attachment on the cart item.
  • Adds a _stoq_shopify_selling_plan_id line item property so the preorder is still tracked.
  • Adds a _stoq_preorder_source property set to "B2B" to identify the order as a B2B preorder.
  • Adds a "Purchase Type: Preorder" line item property visible to both the merchant and the customer.


This means B2B preorder orders appear in your Shopify admin with the preorder line item properties, and STOQ tracks them as preorder orders in its reports.


Payment Options


B2B preorders use Shopify's B2B checkout flow, which has its own payment terms and methods. Because of this:


  • Partial payments (deposits) are not supported for B2B preorders. The full payment is collected at checkout based on your B2B payment terms.
  • Deferred payments configured in the STOQ offer do not apply to B2B orders. Shopify's B2B payment terms take precedence.
  • Pay later / collect remaining balance features do not work for B2B orders.


If your preorder offer uses partial payments or deferred billing, B2B customers will still be charged the full amount at checkout.


Configure B2B Preorders for Multiple Offers


If you want different B2B preorder behavior for different products, create separate preorder offers:


  1. Offer A — B2B preorders enabled. Assign products that wholesale customers should be able to preorder.
  2. Offer B — B2B preorders disabled. Assign products where you want B2B customers to see Notify Me instead of preorder.


This gives you granular control without affecting the B2C experience, which remains the same across all offers.


Troubleshooting


Problem

Solution

B2B customer does not see the preorder button

Verify that "Allow B2B customers to place preorders" is checked in the correct preorder offer under POS, B2B & Bundles. Also confirm the offer is enabled and includes the product.

B2B customer sees the preorder button but the order does not have preorder properties

This can happen if the selling plan was not properly saved. Re-save the preorder offer and ask the customer to try again. Check the order's line item properties in Shopify admin for _stoq_preorder_source: B2B.

Partial payment option still shows for B2B customers

The partial payment UI may still appear on the product page, but B2B checkout does not process partial payments. The full amount is charged at checkout regardless. This is a Shopify B2B limitation.

B2B customer is not detected as B2B

The customer must be logged into a B2B company account, not a regular customer account. Verify the customer is assigned to a company in Shopify admin under Customers > Companies. Browsing without logging in does not trigger B2B detection.

Want to enable B2B preorders on all offers at once

There is no global toggle. You need to enable B2B preorders on each offer individually. Open each offer in the preorder editor and check the toggle under POS, B2B & Bundles.


FAQs


Q: Is the B2B preorder toggle enabled by default?

A: Yes. When you create a new preorder offer, "Allow B2B customers to place preorders" is enabled by default. B2B customers can place preorders on all new offers unless you explicitly disable the toggle.


Q: Do B2B preorder orders appear in STOQ reports?

A: Yes. B2B preorder orders are tracked in STOQ's preorder reports alongside B2C orders. They include the _stoq_preorder_source: B2B line item property so you can identify them.


Q: Can I use preorder limits with B2B customers?

A: Yes. Preorder limits (maximum number of preorders per product) apply to both B2B and B2C customers. The limit is shared across all customer types. If you set a limit of 100 preorders, that total includes both B2B and B2C orders.


Q: Does the preorder countdown timer work for B2B customers?

A: Yes. If a countdown timer is configured on the preorder offer, B2B customers see the same timer as B2C customers. The timer is part of the product page display and is not affected by customer type.


Q: Can B2B customers place preorders on Shopify POS?

A: POS preorders are controlled by a separate toggle ("Sell preorders on POS") in the same POS, B2B & Bundles section. B2B and POS are independent settings — enabling one does not affect the other.


Q: What happens if I disable B2B preorders after B2B customers already have preorder items in their cart?

A: Existing cart items are not removed. B2B customers who already added a preorder item to their cart can still complete the purchase. The toggle only affects whether the preorder button appears on the product page going forward.


Q: Does this work with Shopify B2B catalogs and company locations?

A: Yes. STOQ detects B2B customers using Shopify's native customer.b2b? flag, which is set when a customer logs in through any B2B company account. This works regardless of which catalog or company location the customer is assigned to.



Updated on: 19/04/2026

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