11 Must-Have Features of an Ideal B2B Checkout

As the B2B ecommerce market continues to expand, projected to hit $36 trillion by 2026, businesses are racing to capture this growing opportunity. However, one of the challenges in tapping into this market is streamlining the B2B checkout and payment process.

Unlike B2C, B2B transactions involve complex requirements like multiple payment methods, invoicing, and net terms. To stay competitive, you need a checkout experience tailored to these unique demands, offering features that simplify the buying journey while ensuring smooth, efficient transactions.

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Why It is Crucial to Get B2B Checkout Right

According to McKinsey, over one-third of B2B buyers are now open to spending $500,000 or more through digital channels, and 15% are comfortable with purchases exceeding $1 million online. But to turn this potential into actual sales, you must provide the purchasing and checkout experience that B2B buyers are looking for.

B2B buyers are increasingly bringing their consumer habits into the workplace, especially when it comes to shopping and purchasing items online. Just as they rely on digital channels for quick, convenient purchases in their personal lives, they now expect the same ease and efficiency at work. PYMNTS found that 67% of B2B buyers have already switched to vendors that provide a more "consumer-like" experience. Among millennials, that number jumps to 74%, showing that a smooth, user-friendly B2B purchasing process is no longer just a nice-to-have—it's a must.

Unfortunately, today's B2B checkout experience is riddled with friction. The graph below shows that over half of B2B buyers complained about poor user experience in Europe. This represented the biggest pain point at checkout, along with no payment terms offered, unsuitable payment methods, and more.

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11 Elements of an Effective B2B Checkout

With rising expectations for a checkout experience comparable to what B2B buyers experience in the B2C space, you can't afford to neglect the buying process. Below are key elements that your B2B checkout must have to ensure it isn't holding back your growth potential.

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1. Flexible Payment Terms

It’s not only common but it’s expected for B2B companies to offer buyers time to pay for their orders. That’s why net terms or trade credit solutions are so important in B2B ecommerce. In fact, more than half of buyers who regularly delayed payments, either daily or weekly, made their purchases online, with this percentage increasing to 65% among occasional trade credit users who opted for ecommerce.

An effective B2B checkout lets buyers opt in for real-time net terms in no more than a click and presents buyers with a payment schedule, whether that’s net 15, 30, or 90. You can also allow buyers to bundle all their transactions over a set period of time and settle them on a single date, with a trade account. This way, you’re giving your B2B buyers the option to choose what is convenient for their existing workflows and processes.

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2. Instant Credit Approvals and Pre-Approved Credit

No buyer wants to wait days or weeks to know if they can get payment terms. They have their own buying cycles that are time-sensitive. They want to know upfront that when they shop with the vendor, they can choose the flexible payment option that best suits their timeline and cash flow needs.

So, to offer payment on net terms or trade account, there needs to be a robust underwriting system on the backend that transforms the usual tedious and long process of credit application, qualification, and approval into a seamless, real-time process. This guarantees that your B2B buyers actually use payment terms at checkout.

In today’s world, saved payment and shipping details make online shopping much quicker and easier, and B2B buyers want that same fast checkout experience. By pre-approving existing buyers and offering pre-approved payment terms to new buyers, you eliminate the hassle of applying for credit. They simply log in and get terms with one click. This not only speeds up the process but also helps build loyalty by offering added perks to both new and existing customers.

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3. Digital Invoicing

Invoicing often focuses on solving reconciliation issues for vendors, like manually tracking payments and invoices. But B2B buyers face challenges too, with a lot of administrative overhead with accounts payable leading to late payments due to manual invoice sorting. PYMNTS Intelligence shows that 45% of SMBs find manual invoice review problematic, with 19% naming it their top issue.

Digital invoicing benefits both sides by automating processes, speeding up payments, and eliminating delays. Invoices can be sent instantly via automation at the time of checkout, and payment processing can be automated, leading to faster payment cycles. B2B buyers can immediately review the payment terms they selected, the payment method, and all relevant order information.

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4. Multiple Payment Methods

A survey found that the top reason enterprise-level buyers would switch ecommerce sites is the lack of preferred payment methods at checkout. Given that many B2B checkouts only offer one or two options, providing a variety of payment methods such as ACH, bank wire, and net terms, in addition to cards, is crucial to avoid losing sales. This approach ensures the payment process meets the diverse needs of B2B buyers, helping to boost customer retention and maintain steady revenue.

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Moreover, it’s also important to ensure a smooth experience whichever payment method your business buyer chooses. For example, if it’s ACH or bank wire, you can enable buyers to instantly and securely connect their bank account in two ways. First, by leveraging ‘Real Time Payment’ rails to authenticate and connect buyers’ bank accounts in seconds. And, second, by allowing buyers to connect using only account and routing numbers.

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5. Personalization

Personalization is not only a trend in B2C ecommerce, as it’s gaining relevance in B2B as well. Adobe revealed that more than 56% of B2B companies are already using personalized payment or shipping options effectively. 

To smooth out the buying process and boost conversions, it’s all about offering personalized payment and fulfillment options. Whether that means letting B2B buyers pay on account, use instant credit, split deliveries, or adding new payment methods they’ve requested, it makes a big difference. And as you expand into new markets, it’s key to adjust for local preferences in payments and fulfillment to keep things running smoothly.

Another way to add personalization at checkout is by offering incentives or rebates to drive buyers to choose the right payment method based on their buyer behavior, in a way that doesn’t create any additional friction for them. This means, having the capability to evaluate what your buyers are interested in, what makes them tick, why they are choosing certain things over another, and to customize their experience accordingly – and doing this at scale.

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6. Trust Signals

In a B2B checkout, displaying trust signals is essential for building buyer confidence and ensuring a smooth transaction process. Start by featuring clear contact information and accessible customer support options, reassuring buyers that help is available if needed. Security badges like SSL or PCI compliance indicate that transactions are secure, while client testimonials or reviews from reputable companies build credibility.

Additionally, clearly outlined return policies and visible industry certifications, such as ISO or BBB accreditations, reinforce your professionalism. A well-displayed privacy policy further assures buyers that their data is protected. Together, these trust signals create a secure, reliable, and customer-friendly checkout experience.

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7. Omnichannel-Friendly 

B2B customers regularly use ten or more channels to interact with vendors. Now, more than ever, a seamless omnichannel buying experience is an expectation, not only a desire, from B2B buyers, Accenture found. This means providing buyers with the ability to engage and conduct transactions across any channel while receiving consistent service. Whether they’re using your website or ordering portal, meeting with sales reps via video call, or interacting in person, the experience should be seamless and unified.

An omnichannel-friendly B2B checkout generates payment links for accepting payments easily no matter the sales channel, be it POS solutions for outbound and field sales, or email or text for inbound sales and telesales. Omnichannel readiness also includes embedded solutions for self-serve ordering on ecommerce.

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8. ERP and Procurement Integration

For B2B buyers, purchasing isn’t an isolated transaction – it’s part of a larger procurement and financial process. Integrating your checkout with the buyer’s ERP or procurement system allows for real-time synchronization of purchase orders, invoicing, and inventory levels. This eliminates manual data entry, reducing errors, and improving efficiency. Buyers want to avoid repetitive administrative tasks, and a seamless ERP integration simplifies their operations, ensuring a smooth flow of information from the checkout directly into their procurement workflows.

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9. Tax and Shipping Customization

Unlike B2C, B2B transactions often involve varying tax rates, compliance with local or international regulations, and complex shipping logistics – such as freight shipments to multiple locations. Customizing tax and shipping calculations at checkout ensures that businesses can handle their specific needs, whether it’s calculating VAT, accommodating tax-exempt buyers, or managing international shipping costs. A flexible checkout process that adjusts for these factors not only avoids errors but also reassures buyers that their unique requirements are being handled accurately.

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10. Multi-User and Approval Workflows

B2B purchasing is rarely done by a single individual. Often, multiple departments and stakeholders are involved, with approval processes that can span multiple levels. An effective B2B checkout must accommodate this by offering multi-user access and customizable approval workflows. This allows teams to collaborate within the platform, ensuring that orders meet all internal purchasing requirements before being finalized. By integrating these workflows into the checkout, you help businesses avoid bottlenecks and delays, empowering them to move through the approval chain more quickly while keeping necessary controls in place.

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11. Data Visibility

Data visibility is crucial for optimizing the B2B checkout process. By adopting a data-driven approach like in B2C, businesses can analyze customer behavior, track metrics like checkout abandonment, and identify areas for improvement. This enables more accurate pricing, streamlined operations, and personalized experiences.

With better insights, you can refine your checkout process, payment options, and user experience, building trust and driving greater efficiency. According to McKinsey, companies leveraging data-driven B2B strategies are seeing above-market growth and EBITDA gains ranging from 15% to 25%.

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The Importance of a White-Label Experience

‍Salesforce found that 79% of B2B customers expect uniform interactions across departments and channels. This means ensuring buyers have a consistent experience across all touchpoints, whether through dealers, self-service portals, or your website and checkout process – which a white-label payment gateway can provide. Here’s why it matters:

• Brand consistency. It ensures the checkout aligns with your brand, building trust and familiarity by keeping buyers within your branded environment.
• Customer loyalty. A branded, seamless experience strengthens buyer loyalty and encourages repeat purchases by creating a cohesive interaction.
• Customized user experience. White-label solutions let you tailor the checkout to meet specific B2B needs like custom payment options and approval workflows.
• Control over the experience. You maintain full control of the buyer journey, enabling you to make adjustments and optimize the checkout process as needed.
• Trust and professionalism. A white-label checkout reinforces professionalism, showing buyers that you manage the entire transaction, which enhances their confidence in doing business with you.

In summary, a white label experience is crucial in B2B checkouts because it ensures brand consistency, strengthens customer loyalty, allows for customization, provides control over the process, and fosters trust – all essential elements for a successful B2B ecommerce experience.

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Discover Your B2B Checkout Today

For B2B companies, specifically, B2C retailers moving to B2B, you can definitely leverage your experience catering to consumers. But considering the unique needs of B2B buyers, taking the above tips into consideration puts you one step ahead of creating a purchasing journey that your business buyers expect.

Moreover, partnering with the right payment processor that offers a white-label solution in addition to various payment terms, methods, and even reconciliation and collection can empower you to speed up the process of growing your ecommerce channel. As a result, you not only boost conversion rates and repeat purchase orders, but also provide you with the time and resources to focus on improving the other aspects of your B2B customer experience.

Connect with our team to discover how Balance’s payment platform can turn your checkout process from a point of friction into a powerful revenue driver.