B2B ecommerce: how to sell wholesale online to businesses in the EU

In short: B2B ecommerce is selling online from one business to another. A B2B online store lets each trade customer sign in, see their own wholesale prices, order at any hour and pay by invoice. In CloudCart, one store can sell retail and wholesale at the same time through customer groups, with VAT numbers checked in VIES at checkout.

This guide is for manufacturers, importers and wholesalers in Europe who still take trade orders by phone, email or messaging apps and then retype them. It covers what B2B means, which EU rules change when the buyer is a company, and how to launch wholesale selling step by step in CloudCart, the ecommerce platform with 0% commission on sales.

What is B2B ecommerce?

B2B (business to business) ecommerce means online sales where both the seller and the buyer are companies: a manufacturer sells to retailers, an importer sells to restaurants, a distributor sells to shops. Three typical cases:

• A coffee roaster sells 1 kg bags to cafés and offices, with the unit price depending on volume.
• A cosmetics manufacturer sells to salons and pharmacies with a partner discount and payment by bank transfer.
• An eyewear distributor sells frames to opticians in several EU countries, while the same catalog sells to consumers at list prices.

In an online store, B2B means a concrete set of functions: sign-in for business customers, separate prices, payment by invoice and company details on the order.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C?

The difference between B2B and B2C is the buyer: in B2C a person buys for themselves, in B2B a company buys for its business. Prices, quantities, payment, documents and the applicable law follow from that.

Criterion	B2C (business to consumer)	B2B (business to business)
Price	One list price, VAT included	Wholesale price, often per partner, usually without VAT
Quantity	1 to 3 units	Dozens or hundreds, by case or pallet
Frequency	Occasional purchases	Regular reorders from the same customers
Payment	Card, wallet, buy now, pay later	Bank transfer against an invoice, sometimes a company card
VAT across EU borders	Customer's country VAT above €10,000 a year (OSS)	Usually no VAT on your invoice (reverse charge)
14-day right of withdrawal	Yes, by EU law	No, your terms of trade decide returns
Access to prices	Public	Often only after sign-in

Many manufacturers combine models: wholesale to retailers, D2C (direct to consumer) in their own store, and distributors abroad. The trade-offs are compared in ecommerce business models.

Which EU rules apply when you sell to businesses?

When you sell to a business in another EU country, VAT usually moves to the buyer, the invoice needs both VAT numbers, and consumer rules such as the 14-day withdrawal right do not apply.

• Reverse charge. If the buyer in another EU country has a valid EU VAT number, you normally do not charge VAT; the buyer declares it in their own country (Your Europe, cross-border VAT). Check the number in the European Commission's VIES system first. These sales do not count towards the €10,000 OSS threshold.
• The invoice. Under Article 226 of the EU VAT Directive, a reverse-charge invoice shows your VAT number, the customer's VAT number and the mention "Reverse charge". For an intra-EU supply of goods it is due by the 15th day of the following month.
• Payment terms. B2B payment terms may not exceed 60 calendar days unless expressly agreed and not grossly unfair. Without an agreed date, interest runs 30 days after the invoice is received, and you can claim at least €40 per late invoice (Directive 2011/7/EU, EUR-Lex). National interest rates are on Your Europe, late payment.
• Returns. The 14-day withdrawal right protects consumers only, so write a separate returns clause for trade customers.

Important: how a sale qualifies for reverse charge and how you report it depends on your country's VAT rules. Confirm your case with your accountant.

How do you sell wholesale online?

Selling wholesale online means the trade customer orders in your store instead of calling or sending a spreadsheet, and the order lands in your system with the right price, stock and invoice details. A B2B online store needs these functions:

1. Sign-in for businesses with orders, addresses and company details in the account.
2. Prices per customer that consumers do not see.
3. Tiered pricing, so the unit price drops as quantity grows.
4. A private catalog, if nothing should be visible without signing in.
5. Payment by invoice through bank transfer.
6. Invoices with VAT numbers, issued from the order, with reverse charge where it applies.
7. A link to your stock, inventory system or ERP.

B2B portal, B2B platform or the same store?

The choice depends on who orders from you. If you sell directly to businesses, the same store with customer groups is enough. If distributors in several countries sell on to their own customers, you need a separate B2B platform.

Option	When it fits	What you get
B2B in the same store	You sell retail and wholesale from one warehouse	One catalog and admin; the group decides price, payment and shipping
A separate B2B store	You want a closed site for businesses, or a store per country, while the consumer store stays open	A second store with shared inventory
Your own B2B platform	Distributors in several countries sell to their own customers	Panels for you, distributors and their customers, with an ERP connection, by project

A "B2B portal" is usually a closed site for partners. In CloudCart that is the same store with Private Store switched on, or a separate store in a multistore setup, where each country store has its own language, currency, payments and couriers. All three paths are on the B2B wholesale platform page.

How to launch a B2B online store in CloudCart, step by step

B2B in CloudCart is set up from the admin in 8 steps. The basis is the customer group: every customer is in exactly one group, and the group decides price, payment and shipping. Starter Pack has 3 groups, CC Pro 5, CC Master 100, and Baby Pack none (see pricing); the count includes the system groups Default and Guests.

1. Create the groups. Customers → Customer groups → Add customer group, for example "Wholesale" or "Distributors".
2. Bring in the businesses. Import existing partners with the customer import, choosing a group for the whole file, or use the bulk action "Change customer's group" in the Customers list.
3. Set the wholesale price. Marketing → Discounts → Add discount. Choose a global discount for a percentage on the catalog, a category or products, switch off "All groups" and pick the group. For an exact price per product or variant, use a fixed discount.
4. Add quantity tiers. A quantity discount has up to 12 tiers for a product with one variant and can be limited to groups. Example: from 1 unit €109.65, from 24 units €103.20, from 120 units €96.75, so 120 units cost €11,610 before VAT.
5. Close the catalog, if you want. Apps → Private Store → Settings: required registration, manual approval, and which pages and the blog stay public. Private Store is an app in the higher-tier plans.
6. Switch on payment by invoice. Enable Bank transfer with your IBAN, BIC and "quote the order number as payment reference", shown only to the business group.
7. Check the invoice details. The business enters company name, registration and VAT number at checkout. With the VIES check on, a valid EU number from another country removes VAT and prints the reverse-charge wording on the invoice, which is issued automatically when the order is paid or fulfilled.
8. Run a test order with one partner and check price, payment, invoice and stock.

A minimum order value is set in Settings → Cart and order. It applies to the whole store, so it fits best in a separate B2B store.

How does each customer see their own prices?

Each customer sees their own prices when they are in a group with a discount that applies only to that group. Products have no separate wholesale price field: in CloudCart the wholesale price is a discount aimed at the group. The "Wholesale −15%" group sees €109.65 for a product that consumers see at €129, and changing the list price updates the wholesale price automatically.

Pricing logic	Discount type in CloudCart	Example
One discount on the whole catalog	Global percentage discount for the group	15% off everything
Different discount by category	Global discount targeting a category	Frames 20%, accessories 10%
Negotiated price per product	Fixed discount, common or per variant	Model X at €96 instead of €129
Lower price for more units	Quantity discount with tiers	From 24 and from 120 units
Terms for one company	Discount with selected customers	A key account with an extra 5%

Whether a quantity tier stacks with the group discount depends on how you set up the discounts, so check with a test cart. All types are explained in discounts and promo codes in CloudCart.

How does payment by invoice work?

Payment by invoice in an online store is a bank transfer: the business orders, sees your IBAN and payment reference on the confirmation page and in the email, transfers the amount, and you mark the order as paid. The invoice is then issued from the order with your numbering and emailed to the customer. Bank transfer is included in every CloudCart plan.

Transfers are not matched with your bank automatically and the platform sends no reminders, so write a payment term such as 14 days in the description and review unpaid bank transfer orders weekly. The method can also be limited by order amount, for example only above €300.

Some businesses prefer a company card, especially on a first order, so card payment and bank transfer can sit side by side at checkout.

Can one store sell both retail and wholesale?

Yes, when the catalog is public and wholesale prices appear only for the group after sign-in. Private Store works for the whole site, so for mixed selling there are two approaches:

• One open store with groups. The catalog ranks in Google, and wholesale prices show only after sign-in.
• Two stores with shared stock. The consumer store stays open, the second is closed to businesses only.

A closed catalog is not indexed by search engines, so keep the blog and information pages open if you rely on Google. With 0% commission on sales, a €11,610 wholesale order is not shared with the platform (see ecommerce with 0% commission).

What happens to phone orders?

Phone orders enter the same system: your team member creates the order in the admin with the customer, products, shipping and agreed discount, and it gets the same shipping label, invoice and stock movement. A partner who ordered before can repeat a previous order with one button in their account.

How do you get business customers to order online?

Businesses switch to online ordering when it saves time and carries no price risk. What works:

1. Import partners in advance, so the first sign-in already shows their prices.
2. Email the sign-in link to a segment "Customer group = Wholesale" only.
3. Give a reason for the first online order, such as a group-only code valid for 30 days.
4. Answer phone orders with a link to the product in their account.
5. Call any business with no order for 60 days.

Segments and campaigns are shown in email campaigns in CloudCart, and the automated emails that bring orders in email marketing for an online store.

How do new businesses find your B2B store?

New B2B customers find you through Google when the catalog is open to search engines, and through ads to people who viewed your products. Trade buyers search in their own language with phrases like "wholesale coffee beans", so each country store needs those words in its category pages.

Channel	In CloudCart	What it gives
Google search	Apps → Google Search Console	Which searches bring businesses and which pages are not indexed
Meta ads	Apps → XML Feed → Facebook: Pixel and Conversions API	Audiences from wholesale category visitors and ad attribution
Email	Marketing Suite segments and campaigns	Emails only to the Wholesale group

Some ad features depend on the plan, so check them on the pricing page, and pixels collect data only from visitors who accepted advertising cookies under GDPR. More in Facebook and Instagram ads and SEO for an online store.

B2B with an AI assistant

An AI assistant connected to the store handles the wholesale reports that take filters and exports in the admin. In CloudCart, Claude Code, ChatGPT/Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor or VS Code connect with a PAT token and get only the permissions you grant, and you write in your own language.

You write	The assistant
"Show the inactive customers who registered this week."	Lists businesses waiting for approval
"Here is the new price list. Update prices by SKU and show me what is missing."	Shows the changes and saves them after you confirm
"Rank the Wholesale group by revenue for 3 months and show who has not ordered for 45 days."	Returns one table from orders and customers
"Show unpaid bank transfer orders older than 14 days."	Returns the list to chase

Start with a read-only token and an expiry date. The setup is in managing your online store with Claude Code.

Which metrics matter in B2B sales?

In B2B the key metrics are per customer: revenue per company, order frequency, days since the last order and unpaid invoice orders. A few regular partners often bring a large share of wholesale revenue, so losing one shows at once. Customer value, returning customers and traffic sources are in the admin's analytics.

6 mistakes to avoid with a B2B online store

• Wholesale prices visible to everyone, because "All groups" was left on in the discount.
• A closed site that relies on Google. Private Store hides the catalog from search engines.
• One group per company. Group by price level and use discounts for selected customers.
• Invoicing without VAT on an unchecked number. Turn on the VIES check.
• Bank transfers without a reference, which makes a €3,000 payment hard to match.
• Orders in two places. Every order goes into the store, even phone orders, or stock drifts.

Still building the store? Start with how to create an online store, and for several countries see a multilingual, multi-currency store. All wholesale features are on the B2B page, and questions go to support@cloudcart.com.

Frequently asked questions