Automate wholesale customer applications, from form to first order
Updated · By Ecomsellertool editorial team
To automate wholesale customer applications, collect each one through a single form, such as Shopify's company account request form, then let rules check the business details, duplicates and the resale certificate, and route anything unclear to a person. Once a person approves, the workflow sets the company's catalog, payment terms, tax settings and checkout rules in your store, and sends the welcome email.
- Shopify's company account request form (Shopify Forms app) creates a company that cannot order or see B2B pricing until you approve it (checked October 23, 2026).
- Company account requests do not work on a dedicated B2B store that is gated to logged-in buyers, and a request cannot add a customer to an existing company.
- In Shopify B2B, tax IDs and tax exemptions are set per company location, and the Admin API has a reseller exemption value for each US state, such as US_CA_RESELLER_EXEMPTION.
- Shopify payment terms for a company location are no terms, net 7, 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90, or due on fulfillment; a location can hold up to 25 catalogs.
- California and Texas both put the resale certificate on the seller's file: California lists five essential elements, and Texas says a permit number alone is not a substitute (checked October 23, 2026).
- In this recipe rules run the checks and the store setup; a person approves every new account, its terms and any tax exemption. No AI model decides an application.
The step map: who runs each step
Trigger: A business submits the wholesale application form (for example Shopify's company account request form), or a sales rep enters an application on a buyer's behalf.
| Step | What happens | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The application arrives with the business name, contact, addresses, tax ID, the states it buys for resale in and the resale certificate as an upload. The workflow logs it as Received and sends the applicant a receipt. | Rule |
| 2 | Rules check that every required field and file is present, and search existing companies and customers for the same email domain, tax ID or address, so a second store of a current buyer is not set up as a new account. | Rule |
| 3 | Rules check the resale certificate against the essential elements the ship-to state lists, such as the buyer's name, address, permit number, signature, date and a resale statement, and flag any state with no certificate on file. | Rule |
| 4 | The application is scored against your written wholesale criteria, such as business type, sales channel and minimum opening order, and goes to the reviewer with every check and its result. | Rule |
| 5 | A person approves, asks for more information or declines, and chooses the price tier, payment terms, order review setting and tax exemptions. | Person |
| 6 | On approval, rules set up the account in the store: catalog assigned to the company location, payment terms and checkout settings, tax ID and reseller exemptions for the approved states, and the contact's ordering permission. | Rule |
| 7 | The welcome email goes out with login steps, the terms in short, the minimum order and who to contact; the CRM or ERP record is created and the application is marked Active. | Rule |
| 8 | Certificate expiry dates and incomplete applications run on timers: reminders to the applicant, then a task for a person when a deadline passes. | Rule |
7 rule steps · 0 AI model steps · 1 person step. A rule follows fixed logic you approve; an AI model handles messy input and its output is checked by rules; a person makes the calls listed below.
What stays with a person
- Every approval or decline, and the reason recorded with it
- The price tier, payment terms and any credit limit for a new account
- Every tax exemption, and any certificate that does not match the business or the states it ships to
- Possible duplicates: a new location for an existing company, or a reapplication after a decline
- The wording of decline and information-request emails
Which tools can run it
- Shopify's company account request form with its Shopify Flow templates, when approval is a yes or no and every buyer gets the same terms
- Zapier, Make or n8n reading the form, a review sheet or board and email, for a few applications a week
- Custom code on your accounts, for tiered terms, several states' certificates, an ERP or CRM that must agree, and expiry tracking
Systems it connects
- Application form (Shopify Forms or your own)
- Shopify B2B companies, locations, catalogs and payment terms
- File storage for resale certificates
- CRM or ERP customer records
- Email for receipts, requests and welcomes
- Slack or email for the review queue
Build size: Medium
Each store write is one API call; the work is writing the criteria, the certificate rules per state and who approves which terms.
A wholesale application looks simple: a store fills in a form, someone says yes, the buyer starts ordering. In practice the form lands in a shared inbox, the resale certificate is missing or unsigned, nobody checks whether the store is already a customer under another name, and the account is set up by hand with whatever terms the person remembers. Good buyers wait a week for a reply, and a few get net 30 they were never meant to have. This recipe turns the queue into fixed checks, one decision by a person, and a store setup that matches that decision. It is one page of our automation library.
Which checks should every wholesale application pass?
This table is the core of the build, and you can use it today with a spreadsheet and a checklist. Each row is one check: what is checked, whether a rule or a person makes the call, and what happens on a fail. The certificate rows follow two state sources: California's Regulation 1668 on sales for resale lists a certificate's essential elements as the purchaser's signature, name and address, seller's permit number, a statement that the property is purchased for resale, and the date it was signed, and the Texas Comptroller's resale FAQ says a permit number or a copy of the permit is not a substitute for a resale certificate (both checked October 23, 2026). Other states set their own rules.
| Check | What is checked | Rule or person | On a fail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required fields | Legal name, contact email, billing and ship-to address, tax ID or permit number, states of resale | Rule | Status Waiting on applicant; one email listing every missing item |
| Duplicate account | The email domain, tax ID and address against existing companies and customers | Rule finds, person decides | A match goes to a person: a new location for an existing company, or a reapplication |
| Resale certificate present | A certificate file for every state the buyer ships to and claims resale in | Rule | Status Waiting on applicant; the account can still be approved, but tax is collected in that state until a valid certificate arrives |
| Certificate elements | The elements the ship-to state lists, such as name, address, permit number, signature, date and a resale statement, against the application | Rule extracts and compares, person confirms | Any mismatch, such as a different business name or a missing signature, goes to the reviewer; no exemption is set |
| Certificate fits the business | The business type and what it buys, against items it would normally resell | Person | The reviewer asks a question or collects tax; Texas says to question a certificate when the property would not normally be resold |
| Wholesale criteria | Your written rules, for example a storefront or online shop, a business type you sell to, a minimum opening order | Rule scores, person decides | Below the criteria goes to the reviewer with the reason, never to an automatic decline |
| Terms requested | Net terms or credit requested, against your policy for new accounts | Person | Without approval the account starts with no payment terms, paid at checkout |
| Ship-to region | Each address inside the regions and markets you sell wholesale to | Rule | Outside your regions goes to the reviewer |
Two rules keep the table safe. A rule never declines an application on its own; it only routes it, because a store with an unusual setup can still be a good buyer. And a tax exemption is set only from a certificate a person has confirmed, state by state, so an account approved before its paperwork arrives still pays tax until it does.
How do you track each application from received to active?
Give every application one status, one owner and a date it entered that status. The workflow moves it between statuses and alerts the owner when one sits too long. The times are illustrative; set your own.
| Status | What it means | Store state (Shopify) | Who acts next | Timer (example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Received | The form arrived; receipt sent | Company exists, under Ordering not approved | The rules | Checks run within minutes |
| Waiting on applicant | A field or a certificate is missing | Ordering not approved | The applicant | Reminder after 3 business days; closed as Incomplete after 14 days |
| In review | All checks ran; results attached | Ordering not approved | The reviewer | Alert when older than 2 business days |
| Approved, setting up | A person approved and chose the terms | Catalog, terms and tax settings being written | The rules | Alert if setup has not finished within the hour |
| Active | Setup verified; welcome sent | Contact has an ordering permission | The rep | First-order follow-up after 14 days with no order |
| Declined | A person declined and recorded why | Company deleted | Nobody | Decline email after the reviewer approves the wording |
| Certificate expiring | A certificate on file reaches its expiry or review date | Exemption still set | The applicant, then the reviewer | Reminder 30 days before; the reviewer decides on the date |
Keep the tracker outside the store, in a sheet, a board or your CRM, because Shopify shows whether a company may order, not why an application stalled. One view of every status is what lets a small team answer every applicant within days without anyone chasing the inbox.
How does Shopify B2B handle wholesale applications on its own?
Shopify's company account requests need the Shopify Forms app. The company name and email are required, and each submission creates a company, a company location and a customer that cannot place orders or see B2B pricing until you approve them (checked October 23, 2026). You review them on the Ordering not approved tab, read the answers in the Metafields section, approve with Manage permissions, and reject by deleting the company. Forms accept file uploads of up to 20 MB, including PDF, which suits a certificate. Two limits matter: requests do not work on a gated, B2B-only store, and a request cannot add a customer to an existing company.
Shopify's B2B automations page lists Flow templates for this queue, including one that notifies your team about new requests, one that allows ordering for every company created by a request, and one that sends the B2B access email to an approved customer (checked October 23, 2026). The B2B features by plan page lists companies, company locations, net terms, vaulted credit cards and Shopify Flow with B2B objects on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus (checked October 23, 2026). If every approved buyer gets the same terms and you check nothing first, these built-in steps are the better choice.
What does the workflow set up in the store after approval?
Everything the reviewer chose, written the same way every time. Per Shopify's creating companies guide, tax IDs and exemptions are set per location, with collect tax, don't collect tax, or collect tax unless exemptions apply; a location can be set to submit all orders as drafts for review; and a location can hold up to 25 catalogs (checked October 23, 2026). Shopify's payment terms for a location are no terms, net 7 to net 90, or due on fulfillment, with net terms counted from the order date (checked October 23, 2026).
Through the Admin API, the setup is a short series of calls, all checked October 23, 2026. companyCreate creates a company with its first contact and location, for applications a rep enters. The location's BuyerExperienceConfigurationInput carries the payment terms template, checkout to draft and whether buyers may edit the shipping address. companyLocationTaxSettingsUpdate writes the tax registration ID and the exemptions to assign or remove; the TaxExemption values include one reseller exemption per US state, such as US_TX_RESELLER_EXEMPTION. catalogContextUpdate gives the location its price tier, and companyContactAssignRole gives the contact a role at the location, which is the moment the account can order.
Shopify's tax overrides and exemptions page says company location tax exemptions are available on plans that support Shopify B2B (checked October 23, 2026). After the writes, the workflow reads the location back and compares terms, catalog and exemptions with the approval before it sends the welcome. Per Shopify's guide to adding customers, B2B buyers need the new customer accounts, not legacy ones, and the access email can be edited under Settings, then Notifications (checked October 23, 2026).
The price tier the reviewer picks comes from the master our wholesale price list sync recipe keeps current, so a new buyer sees the same prices as everyone on that tier as soon as they log in.
What stays with a person?
Every decision that sets what a buyer pays and owes. The rules gather, compare and write; a person approves the account, chooses the tier and terms, confirms every tax exemption and decides on possible duplicates. A person also reads decline and information-request emails before they go out, because a curt decline can lose a store that would qualify next year. Credit limits and terms beyond your standard ones belong with your finance lead, and certificate questions with your tax advisor.
Once an account is active, the next workflows pick it up. Emailed purchase orders from new buyers flow through our B2B order entry recipe, which treats a new buyer or a change in payment terms as a checkpoint, and invoices on the terms set here are chased by our net terms invoice reminders.
Which tool should run it?
The simplest one that matches how many applications arrive and how different the terms are. If a few arrive a week and every buyer gets the same terms, Shopify's form and Flow templates with a review sheet are enough; our guide to what Shopify Flow automates covers the built-in option. Zapier, Make or n8n can add the duplicate search, the tracker and the reminders; our Zapier vs Make vs n8n comparison explains how each counts work. Once terms are tiered, certificates span several states and the ERP or CRM must agree, custom code on your accounts is cleaner. It can run on Ecomsellertool Growth OS beside your order flows. If you are not sure this is the workflow to start with, our guide to what to automate first helps you rank it.
Who builds wholesale onboarding workflows?
Ecomsellertool builds workflow automation on your own accounts and systems. We have built software on Amazon's seller APIs since 2017 and shipped 50+ tools for 100+ teams. For an application queue we write the check table and the statuses with you first, then connect the form, the review step, the store setup and the welcome. Send a project brief below, or read how our workflow automation service works.
The building blocks are work we have shipped:
- Next-step alerts instead of manual follow-ups. For EzBookPrep we built prep software with customer and vendor management and automated notifications for the next action on each book, replacing the manual follow-ups that had made the client the bottleneck. A status tracker with timers is the same pattern.
- Accounts added and managed from the admin side. For Little Owl, a 3PL and FBA prep center, we built software in which the team adds sellers from the admin side and manages them, while customers add their own shipments, returns and listings.
Get your application queue built
Send us how wholesale applications reach you today
Describe the workflow you want automated. We reply with a written plan: scope, timeline and a fixed price.
Frequently asked questions
How do I approve wholesale customers on Shopify?
With Shopify B2B, install the Shopify Forms app and add a company account request form. Each submission creates a company that cannot order until you approve it. In Customers, then Companies, open the Ordering not approved tab, review the submitted fields, then use Manage permissions to give the contact access to a location. To decline, delete the company.
Can Shopify approve wholesale applications automatically?
Yes. Shopify Flow has a template that allows ordering for every company created by a company account request. That approves everyone, so it suits stores where any business may buy at wholesale prices. If you check resale certificates, business type or minimum orders first, keep a person on the approval and automate the checks and the setup around it.
Do I need a resale certificate from every wholesale customer?
If you sell taxable goods and do not charge sales tax because the buyer will resell them, the states that require it expect you to hold a valid resale or exemption certificate on file. Rules differ by state, including which forms they accept and what makes a certificate valid. This is not tax advice: confirm your obligations with a licensed tax advisor.
What should a wholesale application form ask for?
The legal business name, a contact name and email, billing and shipping addresses, a tax ID or seller's permit number, the states the buyer resells in, the resale certificate as a file, the type of business and where it sells, and the expected opening order. Ask only for what your criteria use, and say why you ask.
How do I set tax exemptions for a B2B customer in Shopify?
Tax settings live on each company location. Edit the location's tax details, enter the tax ID, and choose collect tax, do not collect tax, or collect tax unless exemptions apply, then select the exemptions. Through the Admin API the same settings are written with the companyLocationTaxSettingsUpdate mutation.
Should an AI model review wholesale applications?
Not in this recipe. Whether a business qualifies for wholesale terms and tax exemptions is a decision with money and tax consequences, so rules run the checks and a person decides. A model could help read a scanned certificate into fields, but the rules and the reviewer still check every field it reads.
