B2B Portal Development
A B2B portal lets dealers, distributors or business customers place orders, view account-specific pricing, and track order history — the requirements diverge from a consumer ecommerce store the moment pricing depends on who is logged in rather than being the same for every visitor. Beacon Coders builds these starting from a proven module set for account-based ordering and pricing, distinct from a standard ecommerce build precisely because of that account-specific logic. Projects start at ₹5,00,000 / $6,000 and typically run 14 to 24 weeks.
The standard module set
Every B2B portal build includes account-based login with role permissions for different users within one customer organisation, tiered or negotiated pricing shown per account rather than a single public price, order placement with order history and reorder shortcuts, and credit limit tracking against outstanding balances. Bulk ordering tools — CSV upload, saved order templates — round out the standard set for customers placing large, repeat orders.
Why this differs from ecommerce development
A standard ecommerce store shows the same catalogue and price to every visitor and typically processes payment at checkout for each order individually. A B2B portal's pricing depends on the logged-in account's negotiated terms, orders often go against a credit line rather than immediate payment, and a single account may have multiple authorised users placing orders against one shared credit limit and approval chain. These are structurally different requirements, not a configuration difference on top of the same platform, which is why B2B portals are scoped and built as their own solution category.
What typically needs customising
Pricing tier logic — volume discounts, contract pricing per account, promotional pricing that varies by customer segment — is the most common customisation, since very few businesses use identical pricing rules. Multi-user approval workflows within a single account (a junior buyer places an order, a manager approves above a threshold), credit limit and payment terms tracking, and integration with an existing ERP for real-time inventory and pricing sync are also frequent requirements.
Integration points
B2B portals typically integrate with an existing ERP or inventory system so stock levels and pricing stay current without manual duplication, accounting software for invoice generation and credit tracking, and in some cases EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) for large enterprise customers who require automated order transmission in a specific format.
When a B2B portal isn't the right fit
If your business customers are few in number and place orders infrequently, a simpler quote-and-invoice process supported by your CRM may serve you better than a full self-service portal, which earns its cost primarily through order volume and frequency high enough that self-service saves real staff time. We assess this honestly during discovery based on your actual order volume and customer count.
Frequently asked questions
An ecommerce store shows the same price and catalogue to every visitor and processes individual payments at checkout. A B2B portal shows account-specific negotiated pricing, tracks orders against a credit limit rather than requiring upfront payment, and often supports multiple authorised users per account with approval workflows — structurally different requirements that need their own architecture, not a configuration layer on top of a standard store.
Yes, this is a core requirement we build in as standard — pricing and even catalogue visibility (some products may only be available to certain account tiers) are tied to the logged-in account, configured against your actual pricing agreements with each customer segment.
Yes, this is a common and important integration, since showing a customer a product as available when it is actually out of stock damages trust quickly. We integrate with your ERP or inventory system so stock levels sync in near real time rather than on a manual or delayed batch update.
Credit limit tracking against outstanding balances is built into the order placement flow, so an order that would exceed a customer's credit limit is flagged or blocked before confirmation, based on the payment terms and limit configured for that specific account.
Yes, multi-user access with configurable permissions — some users can place orders freely, others need manager approval above a threshold — is a standard part of the account structure, built to match how your business customers' own purchasing processes actually work.
Yes, bulk ordering tools including CSV upload for large orders and saved order templates for customers who reorder the same items regularly are part of the standard module set, since manually adding dozens of line items one at a time is a common friction point for high-volume B2B buyers.
Yes, beyond pricing, catalogue visibility and promotional banners can be targeted by account segment — a distributor tier sees different featured products than a small retail-account tier — configured against how you already segment your B2B customer base commercially.
Yes, where a major customer requires EDI for automated order transmission in a specific format, we scope and build that integration as part of the portal, since some larger enterprise buyers will not adopt a manual web-based ordering flow at all and require this level of system-to-system integration to do business with you.
Pricing and timeline
B2B portal projects start at ₹5,00,000 / $6,000 and typically run 14 to 24 weeks. What moves the price: the complexity of pricing tier logic, whether multi-user approval workflows are needed, and how deep the ERP or inventory integration needs to be. Full engagement models are on the pricing page.