Selling on Account in Shopify POS to Trade Customers

A café owner comes to your counter, picks up two cases of coffee and says “put it on our account”. In a shop that sells to the trade in person, that is a normal sale. In a point-of-sale system built around card payments, it is the awkward one: the sale should be recorded for the company, at its wholesale prices, with payment due in 30 days, and the balance should show up wherever you chase unpaid invoices.

This guide covers the ways to do that with Shopify POS and Shopify B2B, what each one records, and a checklist so the first account sale doesn’t become a support call. For the B2B setup itself, start with selling wholesale on Shopify in 2026.

What “on account” has to mean in Shopify

For a sale on account to be useful later, the order needs:

• The company and location, not just a person, so it counts toward that business.
• The company’s prices, from its B2B catalog.
• Payment terms, such as Net 30, so it has a due date and stays Payment pending until paid. Shopify marks it Overdue in the customer’s account after the due date (payment terms).
• No captured payment, because the customer pays later.

Shopify B2B handles all of that for online orders and draft orders on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus (B2B features by plan). That page does not mention POS, so check how your POS setup handles companies before you promise trade customers account sales at the counter.

Option 1: a draft order from the admin

The native route that gives you everything above: create a draft order for the company location in Shopify admin, let the company’s catalog prices apply, set the payment terms (or keep the location’s terms), and complete it with payment due later. Payment terms can be set on draft orders, including a fixed due date that is only available there.

Good for: occasional account sales, or a counter with a computer next to the till.

Watch out for: it happens outside POS, so staff switch screens, and stock and receipts follow your admin routine rather than the till. Our Shopify draft orders guide covers the workflow.

Option 2: a custom payment type in POS

Shopify POS lets you add custom payment types for payments Shopify doesn’t process, and some shops add one called “On account”. It is quick at the till, but check on a test order what it records: the payment type used, whether the order counts as paid or pending, whether it carries the company and its payment terms, and whether it shows up as overdue later. If the order is recorded as paid, your unpaid balances have to live somewhere else, usually a spreadsheet.

Good for: very few trade customers and a separate system that tracks what they owe.

Option 3: a POS app for company accounts

Several apps add company ordering to POS. Before you choose one, ask:

1. Does the order belong to the company location in Shopify, with its payment terms, or is it a regular retail order?
2. Which prices apply: the company’s catalog, or the retail price with a discount?
3. Is any payment captured? For an account sale, it shouldn’t be.
4. What about credit limits? Is there one, and what happens at the till when a sale goes over it?
5. Which plans and POS subscriptions does it need? Some POS B2B apps require Shopify Plus or POS Pro.

A setup checklist for account sales at the counter

1. Every trade customer is a company in Shopify B2B, with a location and a main contact.
2. Each location has payment terms. Without terms there is no due date.
3. The B2B catalog reaches the company. Below Plus, through the B2B market the location is in.
4. Staff know who may sell on account, and what to do when a customer is over their limit or has overdue orders.
5. Receipts show the due date, so the customer leaves knowing when to pay.
6. One place to see balances, checked every week, with reminders for overdue orders. Our guide to B2B credit limits and statements covers that side.

Where Tradeo: B2B Trade Accounts fits

Tradeo: B2B Trade Accounts is an app for wholesale applications and selling on account, and its POS part is option 3 above, built on Shopify B2B:

• Charge to account is a tile on the Shopify POS home screen. Add items to the cart, tap the tile and pick the account; if the customer on the cart belongs to a company, their accounts are shown first.
• The review screen shows the items at the company’s catalog prices, tax, total, payment terms, the open balance and the credit limit. Tap Charge … to account: the order is created for the company with payment pending under its terms, and no payment is captured.
• Credit limits: if the charge would take the balance over the limit, POS asks for a Reason for going over the limit, saved on the order and with the sale in the app.
• Print receipt gives a receipt with the order, the total and the due date. Opening a customer in POS shows a Trade account block with the company, balance, overdue orders and limit.

What to know before you rely on it: the location needs payment terms (net terms, due on receipt or due on fulfillment; terms with a fixed due date can’t be used for POS charges) and a main contact. Cart discounts don’t apply, because the company’s catalog prices are used, and carts with a gift card or a changed price are refused. It needs Shopify B2B and a B2B market that carries your catalog. It does not take payments or lend money: payments are collected in Shopify. See Tradeo: B2B Trade Accounts.

FAQ

Can Shopify POS sell on Net 30?

An order with Net 30 terms can be created for a company location, for example as a draft order in the admin. Whether you can do it at the till depends on your POS setup and apps, so test it with one company before you offer it.

Does an account sale need Shopify Plus?

Not for the B2B side: companies, payment terms and B2B catalogs on markets are available on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. Some POS apps for B2B require Plus or POS Pro, so check each one.

How does the customer pay later?

They can pay from their customer account, or you collect the payment or mark the order as paid in Shopify when it arrives. You can also email them the order’s invoice with a payment link from Shopify.

What if a trade customer goes over their limit?

Decide the rule before it happens: refuse, ask a manager, or allow it with a note. Whatever the rule, record the reason on the order so the next person can see why.