The verdict in three sentences
A B2B ordering portal for a London wholesaler serving 450 resellers costs roughly £22,000 to £52,000 in 2026, depending on how deeply it connects to the ERP. What actually moves resellers online is customer-specific pricing, quick order by SKU and 30-day trade credit, not a glossy catalogue. Aim for 35% of orders online at 12 months and a payback between 18 and 30 months once you count freed sales-office time and fewer keying errors.
What a reseller portal must do, and what it costs
The sales director of a London wholesaler knows the routine: scanned order forms, emails with half-remembered part numbers, Friday 5 pm calls for Monday delivery. A B2B portal replaces this with a logged-in space where each reseller sees their own price list, credit balance and order history. Figures below are 2026 market ranges in the UK, agencies and integrators combined, excluding VAT.
| Feature | Role for the reseller | Indicative market cost (GBP, ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue and technical sheets | Search by family, SKU, compatibility | 3,500 to 8,000 |
| Customer-specific pricing | Negotiated price lists, family discounts, net prices | 4,500 to 10,000 |
| Quick order by SKU | Type or upload a 50-line CSV in 2 minutes | 2,000 to 5,000 |
| Trade credit and 30-day terms | Credit limit, automatic hold, reminders | 3,500 to 8,500 |
| ERP connector (Sage 200, Dynamics, SAP Business One) | Stock, prices, orders and invoices in sync | 5,000 to 15,000 |
| Multi-user accounts | Buyer, approver, accounts at the reseller | 1,800 to 4,500 |
| Sales dashboard | Adoption tracking per reseller and per rep | 1,300 to 3,500 |
An essential scope (catalogue, customer pricing, quick order, file export of orders to the ERP) lands around £22,000. A full scope with real-time sync, credit control and multi-user accounts reaches £45,000 to £52,000. Timelines follow: 3 months for the essential scope, 5 months when the ERP must be queried live.
Adoption: a realistic 12-month curve
The portal only pays back if resellers use it. Comparable projects show gradual adoption, led by key accounts and then by field reps who steer their customers to the tool.
| Period | Active resellers out of 450 | Share of orders online | Main lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| Months 1 to 2 | 40 to 60 | 5 to 8% | Open to the 50 largest accounts |
| Months 3 to 4 | 90 to 130 | 12 to 15% | Rep training, video walkthrough |
| Months 5 to 6 | 150 to 190 | 18 to 22% | 1% discount on online orders |
| Months 7 to 9 | 200 to 240 | 25 to 30% | 24/7 availability, delivery tracking |
| Months 10 to 12 | 250 to 290 | 33 to 37% | Reorder from history, automatic reminders |
Two rules speed things up. Never show a price on the portal that differs from what the rep quoted: trust goes with the first mismatch. And pay reps on every order in their territory, online or not, or they will quietly resist the tool.
Customer pricing and credit: the two technical points to scope
Most budget overruns come from pricing logic. A typical UK wholesaler runs three layers: a list price, a family discount by reseller band, and contract net prices on selected SKUs. If those rules live in the ERP, the portal should read them, not duplicate them. Allow one to two weeks of workshops to document them before any build.
Thirty-day terms are standard in UK trade, and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act lets suppliers charge statutory interest at 8% above base rate on overdue invoices. The portal therefore needs a credit limit per reseller, a hold or approval step when an order exceeds it, and card payment for new accounts without history. Our custom web applications page explains the build approach, and the Shopify Plus B2B vs custom build comparison helps you choose between packaged and bespoke.
Mini case study
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Tom, sales director of an electrical wholesaler in Park Royal, handles 9,000 orders a year from 450 resellers. Each order takes on average 12 minutes of keying and checking in the sales office, or 1,800 hours a year. With 35% of orders online at 12 months, 3,150 orders are no longer keyed: 3,150 × 12 minutes = 630 hours freed. At a loaded cost of £32 per hour, that is £20,160 a year. Keying errors, estimated at 2% of manual orders at £70 each (rework, carriage, credit note), drop by 63 cases, saving £4,410. Total: about £24,600 a year. For a £42,000 portal plus £5,000 a year in maintenance, payback arrives around 22 months, before counting the larger baskets driven by reorder suggestions.
FAQ
How much does a B2B ordering portal cost in London in 2026?
The market range is about £22,000 for an essential scope and £45,000 to £52,000 with real-time ERP sync and credit control. Maintenance usually runs at 10 to 15% of the initial budget per year.
How long does it take to go live?
Allow 3 months for a first version without real-time sync and 5 months with a full ERP connector. A pilot with 30 to 50 resellers from month 2 lets you fix pricing rules before full launch.
Should the portal connect to the ERP from day one?
A daily file export of orders is often enough for the first 3 months and saves £5,000 to £9,000 at launch. Real-time stock sync becomes worthwhile above 20% of orders online.
How do 30-day terms work on the portal?
Each reseller gets a credit limit read from the ERP; above it, the order goes to approval or requires card payment. Automatic reminders at day 30 and day 45 cut late payments by 15 to 25% in the projects we have seen.
What share of orders can realistically move online?
A 35% target at 12 months is realistic for 450 resellers, with 60 to 70% at 24 months among key accounts. Small resellers ordering twice a year often stay on the phone.
Let's scope your project. We map your pricing rules, the right level of ERP integration and a 3 to 5 month go-live plan with you. 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.
