Short answer: write down the order of the rules first
A wholesaler's B2B site mixes three things: price by dealer, credit limit and promotions. To keep them from tangling, put the rules in an order: first which products a dealer can see, then at what price, then quantity breaks, then promotions, and last the credit limit and approval. Calculate the same order in a different sequence and you get a different total, which the dealer notices on the first invoice.
The order we suggest rests on concepts in the B2B documentation of platforms such as Adobe Commerce and Shopify; the sequence itself is our suggestion, not a standard.
| Order | Rule | Question |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visibility | Can this dealer see this product? |
| 2 | Base price | What is the product's price in the dealer's group price list? |
| 3 | Special price | Is there a separate price defined for this dealer and product? |
| 4 | Quantity rules and breaks | Minimum quantity, increments, tiered pricing |
| 5 | Promotion | Dates, scope and combination rule |
| 6 | Credit check | Limit, overdue balance |
| 7 | Approval | Who signs off on a limit breach or a special quote? |
We covered how a dealer portal differs from ordinary e-commerce in what is a B2B dealer portal and the ERP connection in connecting a dealer portal to your ERP.
How do you design price by dealer?
A separate price list per dealer, or dealer groups?
Adobe Commerce's best practices article describes how opening a separate catalog for every customer looks easy but gets out of hand: it describes teams ending up with 200 catalogs, no clear owner and inconsistent pricing logic in no time, and recommends grouping catalogs by business dimension (region, contract class, tier) rather than by customer. Where one dealer needs a negotiated deviation, it also recommends tiered pricing or the quote feature instead of cloning a catalog. This is an Adobe article about its own product; the principle we recommend points the same way: as the number of dealers grows, the number of price lists should not approach the number of dealers. Our suggestion: 3-5 dealer groups (for example Gold, Silver, Standard) and product-level special prices only for dealers with a genuinely separate contract.
If prices conflict, which one applies?
Write the conflict rule before choosing a platform. Shopify's catalogs page gives an example: if two catalogs assigned to the same company location include the same product at different prices, the store shows the lowest price; if a catalog assigned to the location and a catalog assigned to a market conflict, the most specific one, the location catalog's price, is shown. The same page says that when a catalog has both an overall price adjustment and fixed prices for individual products, the fixed price overrides the overall adjustment. Platforms behave differently; what matters is that you have a written answer to "if two prices conflict, which wins".
Example price matrix
The table below is a made-up example (not real prices or Besh data): for a product with a list price of 100 units, the dealer-group price and a fixed price for purchases of 50 or more. Fill it with your own discounts.
| Dealer group | Unit price | Unit price at 50+ units |
|---|---|---|
| List price | 100 | 100 |
| Standard | 95 | 92 |
| Silver | 85 | 82 |
| Gold | 75 | 72 |
| Dealer with a special contract | fixed price per product | fixed price per product |
Writing tiers as fixed prices rather than percentages reduces ambiguity: the question of whether a percentage discount stacks on the previous one or is calculated from the list price never arises. In Shopify, a bulk upload allows up to 10 quantity breaks; think ahead about how many tiers your own system needs.
How does a credit limit work?
When is the limit checked, and what happens if it is exceeded?
In terms-based selling, the limit is the ceiling on the total a dealer owes unpaid. Adobe Commerce's company credit documentation defines it this way: the credit limit is the maximum amount the company can owe at any time; a separate setting ("allow to exceed credit limit") decides whether the company can place orders that exceed its available credit, and a field records the reason when that setting changes. The same documentation logs every movement: allocation, update, purchase, reimbursement, refund and reversal. Adobe's payment settings page says payment on account is an offline payment method that can be enabled per company, and that orders awaiting approval can open with a "pending" status by default.
That leaves you three rule decisions, and you should settle all of them in the quote:
- If the limit is exceeded, is the order blocked or sent for approval? Our suggestion: instead of blocking, move it to an "awaiting approval" status and write down who approves it (for example the sales manager or finance, depending on the amount).
- Is an overdue balance a block independent of the limit? Decide in advance whether a dealer with overdue debt can open a new order even when the limit is free.
- Where is the balance read from? If account balances are kept in the ERP, the limit check should use the ERP balance; keeping a copy of the balance in the portal creates dealers who have paid but still appear unpaid (our suggestion).
Does the platform do this check by itself?
It varies by platform. Adobe Commerce's B2B feature includes company credit and credit-limit checks; in the Shopify help pages we read, payment terms (net terms) and payment reminders are described, but a credit-limit check is not. We are not saying a feature does not exist because a page does not mention it, but ask the vendor for a live demonstration. If the check needs to run against the ERP balance in particular, that is often a custom integration job.
Promotion rules
Does a promotion combine with the dealer price?
Write down in advance whether it combines. Shopify's B2B discounts page says automatic discounts and discount codes apply as additional discounts on top of price adjustments made with catalogs, and that to offer one only to specific B2B customers you assign a B2B market to the discount's eligibility settings; that is a platform decision, and your business rule does not have to match it. Another approach is for the promotional price to replace the dealer price, with the dealer's own price kept if it is lower. Which you choose is a business decision; what matters is that it is written down and that the order shows which rule was applied.
What should a promotion rule contain?
For each promotion define: which products, which dealer groups, start and end date, maximum quantity or budget, the rule for combining with the dealer price, and whether it combines with other promotions. Shopify's discount combinations page divides discounts into product, order and shipping classes and explains that which classes work together is set per discount; building a similar classification into your own rule table lets you see conflicts early.
Test scenarios
Before moving the design into software, work out the scenarios below by hand and write the expected result; when the software is finished, the same scenarios become the acceptance test (our suggestion).
| # | Scenario | Question that needs a written answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Silver dealer orders 60 units | Which price applies? |
| 2 | A dealer has a special price and a promotion starts | Which one wins? |
| 3 | The order total exceeds the remaining limit by 1 TL | Is it blocked, or sent for approval? |
| 4 | An overdue invoice exists, the limit is free | Can the order be opened? |
| 5 | A payment is posted in the ERP but not yet visible in the portal | When is the balance updated? |
| 6 | The same product falls under two promotions | Which applies, and do they combine? |
| 7 | The dealer price list changes midday | What happens to the price of an item already in the basket? |
If you are considering having the rule engine written to order, see our custom software development page, and for the e-commerce side our e-commerce service page.
Frequently asked questions
How is a dealer-specific price defined?
First split dealers into 3-5 groups and define a price list for each; add product-level special prices only for dealers with a separate contract. Opening a separate list for every customer becomes unmanageable as dealers multiply (Adobe's best-practices article describes this risk).
What should happen when a credit limit is exceeded?
That is a business decision. We suggest moving the order to an "awaiting approval" status rather than rejecting it outright, and choosing the approver by amount. In Adobe Commerce, the setting that allows exceeding the limit is per company, and the reason for any change is recorded.
Does a promotion combine with the dealer price?
It depends on the platform and your decision. In Shopify, automatic discounts and codes apply on top of the catalog price; you can also choose another rule (the promotion replaces the dealer price). Whichever you choose, define the rule in writing and show which rule was applied on the order.
Does the number of price lists get out of control as dealers grow?
It does if you open one list per dealer. Adobe's best-practices article describes this with a 200-catalog example and recommends grouping lists by business dimension such as region, contract class or tier rather than by dealer. Check the platform's limits too: on Shopify's Basic, Grow and Advanced plans there is a limit of three active catalogs across B2B markets.
If you would like to go through a price and limit design for your own dealer structure, get in touch.
Sources: Shared catalog overview (Adobe Commerce, 8 October 2026), 5 operational best practices for Adobe Commerce B2B success (Adobe), Manage company credit (Adobe Commerce, 8 October 2026), Enable B2B features (Adobe Commerce, 15 June 2026), Customizing B2B pricing using catalogs (Shopify Help Center), Setting up B2B discounts (Shopify Help Center), Combining discounts (Shopify Help Center), Shopify B2B features by plan (Shopify Help Center)
Cover photo: litoon dev / Unsplash