The verdict in three sentences
If your customer-specific pricing and credit limits fit inside Shopify B2B, the ~EUR 2,300/month subscription puts you live in 4-6 weeks with no capital locked up. If your commercial logic needs approval workflows, cross-tier discounts, or deep ERP integration, a custom build at EUR 28,000-55,000 pays off from roughly month 30-36. Either way, the real prize is not the platform fee but the 60-90 hours/month of phone data entry you stop paying for.
What a portal actually changes for a wholesaler
Taking orders by phone and email is expensive in time and errors: rekeying, unflagged stockouts, mispriced lines. A self-service portal gives each trade account its filtered catalog, its negotiated prices, its available credit, and one-click reordering from history.
| Metric (2026 order of magnitude) | Before portal | After portal |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service orders | 0 % | 30-45 % |
| Phone data-entry hours/month | 60-90 | 20-35 |
| Pricing errors per order | 4-7 % | < 1 % |
| Average B2B basket | base | +12 % |
| Order processing time | 15-25 min | 2-4 min |
| Orders placed after hours | 0 % | 18-25 % |
The basket lift comes from simplified reordering: a buyer who sees their history reorders faster and broader.
Shopify B2B vs custom: the real 3-year cost
| Line item (2026 estimate, ex-tax) | Shopify B2B (Plus) | Custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Setup / build | EUR 6,000-12,000 | EUR 28,000-55,000 |
| Platform subscription | ~EUR 2,300/mo | EUR 0 |
| B2B apps (pricing, credit) | EUR 200-500/mo | included |
| Maintenance / changes | partly included | EUR 700-1,400/mo |
| Hosting | included | EUR 150-400/mo |
| Time to launch | 4-6 weeks | 10-16 weeks |
| Cumulative 36-month cost | ~EUR 95,000-115,000 | ~EUR 60,000-90,000 |
Shopify wins on speed and risk; custom wins on cumulative cost and the freedom to model rules the SaaS refuses.
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Mini case study
Wei Lin runs a Singapore foodservice wholesaler: 1,150 trade accounts, 3 inside sales reps keying about 78 hours/month of phone orders at a loaded cost near EUR 2,350/month. A portal that shifts 38 % of orders to self-service frees roughly 46 hours/month (~EUR 1,380/month) and adds +12 % basket on that channel. On a EUR 41,000 build plus EUR 1,000/month maintenance, the time savings alone repay the investment in ~30 months, before counting extra margin and fewer billing errors.
FAQ
How long to launch a portal? Roughly 4-6 weeks on a well-configured Shopify B2B, 10-16 weeks for a custom build including catalog, pricing engine, and ERP integration.
Can negotiated prices stay confidential per customer? Yes: each account sees only its grid. Native in custom, and feasible on Shopify B2B via catalogs and company locations within limits.
Does the portal handle credit and outstanding balances? Yes. You show available credit, block above the ceiling, and route to approval. The granularity of those rules is custom's main argument.
What happens to sales reps? They move from keying to relationships: upselling, reviving dormant accounts, negotiating. The 46 freed hours/month reinvest in business development.
When does custom become cheaper? Usually between month 30 and 36, once B2B apps and the subscription exceed a controlled build's amortized cost.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of trade accounts, your pricing rules, and your ERP, and we'll price Shopify B2B vs custom side by side, with an indicative budget of EUR 28,000-55,000 and a realistic timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
