Net terms are the standard payment arrangement in B2B commerce. A buyer purchases today and pays within a defined period — typically 30, 60 or 90 days from the invoice date. Most wholesale customers expect net terms. Most Shopify stores on standard plans cannot offer them. Here is how to fix that.
What are net terms?
Net terms define when payment is due after an order is placed or delivered. Common arrangements:
- Net 30 — payment due 30 days from invoice date
- Net 60 — payment due 60 days from invoice date
- Net 90 — extended terms for large or institutional buyers
- 2/10 Net 30 — 2% early payment discount if paid within 10 days, full amount due in 30
- Due on receipt — payment due immediately but invoiced rather than collected at checkout
Net terms are standard in wholesale, manufacturing, institutional and distribution channels. If your B2B customers cannot get net terms from you, they will find a supplier who offers them.
Why Shopify does not support net terms on standard plans
Shopify's checkout is built around immediate payment. Every order requires a payment method at checkout — card, digital wallet, bank transfer or COD. There is no option for a buyer to say "bill me in 30 days."
Shopify Plus introduced native B2B net terms as part of the 2022 B2B feature launch. But this requires a Plus subscription at $2,300/month. For merchants whose only reason to consider Plus is net terms, this is not a viable path.
Your options for net terms on a standard Shopify plan
Option 1: Manual invoicing outside Shopify
Some merchants create Shopify orders manually and send invoices by email. Payment is tracked via bank transfer in a spreadsheet. This works at low volume but creates reconciliation problems as order count grows. There is no link between the invoice and the Shopify order's payment status.
Option 2: Draft orders with pending payment
Shopify allows creating draft orders with a "pending" payment status. You send the draft order to the customer, they review it, and you mark it as paid manually when payment arrives. Better than pure email, but your team still manually tracks every invoice and follows up on every payment due date.
Option 3: B2B app with built-in net terms
B2B Portal adds net terms to the Shopify checkout experience for tagged wholesale accounts. Qualified customers see their payment terms displayed instead of a payment method prompt. The order is created in Shopify with a pending payment status. B2B Portal generates a PDF invoice with the payment due date. Your team is notified automatically when due dates approach.
Setting up net terms with B2B Portal
- Install B2B Portal and configure your wholesale customer tags (for example: "net30", "net60", "enterprise")
- Go to Settings → Net Terms and define payment terms per tag — net 30 for standard wholesale accounts, net 60 for preferred accounts
- When a tagged customer checks out, they see their terms instead of a payment method field
- The order is created in Shopify with payment status "pending" and terms displayed on the order confirmation
- B2B Portal generates a formatted PDF invoice with due date, PO reference and your business details
- Use the payments dashboard to track outstanding invoices and overdue accounts
Managing credit risk with net terms
Extending net terms means extending credit. Before offering net 60 to a new account, verify their business registration and check trade references from other suppliers.
Start new wholesale accounts on net 30 or due on receipt. Move accounts to longer terms after 3–6 months of on-time payment history. Build this progression into your B2B Portal tier structure — new accounts get one tag and terms, established accounts get upgraded automatically.
Set a credit limit per account. B2B Portal supports per-account credit limits that block checkout when outstanding invoices exceed the limit. This protects you from overexposure to any single buyer.
Net terms and GST for Indian B2B merchants
An important compliance note for Indian merchants: GST liability arises at the time of supply (delivery), not at the time of payment. Even if a customer is on net 60 terms, your GST obligation is triggered when the goods are delivered.
Your invoices must include the correct invoice date (delivery date), GSTIN of both parties, HSN codes and the applicable GST rate. B2B Portal's invoice template handles the payment terms and due date — add a GST invoicing app to cover the compliance fields.
Net terms are a competitive advantage in B2B sales. Distributors, retailers and institutional buyers often choose suppliers based on payment terms as much as price. With B2B Portal on a standard Shopify plan, you can offer the same terms as a Shopify Plus merchant at a fraction of the cost.