B2B Portal for Dealers: What a Dealer Portal Needs in 2026

Who needs a dealer portal

A portal pays off when a company has:

• 30-50 or more active dealers or wholesale clients;
• personalized prices or contract-based discounts;
• multiple warehouses or regular product deliveries;
• managers who take orders through WhatsApp, email, and phone;
• an accounting team that regularly receives requests for account reconciliation statements.

If you have ten clients who all order once a month, a portal can wait. If you have hundreds, every month without a portal costs the company dozens of hours of manager time.

The essential minimum

Personalized catalog and prices

Each dealer sees their own product range and price, based on price type, contract, volume, or an individual discount. The price comes from the accounting system and is not entered manually on the website. The price in the cart and on the invoice must match down to the tenge, or dealers will lose trust in the portal after the first discrepancy.

Inventory by warehouse

Dealers see available inventory after reservations. Instead of a vague “in stock,” they see the quantity at a specific warehouse or at least clear categories: “plenty,” “low stock,” “available to order,” or “expected on this date.”

Credit limit and accounts receivable

Before an order is submitted, the portal shows whether the available credit limit is sufficient and whether there is any overdue debt. This eliminates half of the calls and disputes managers have to handle.

Quick ordering

Wholesale buyers order dozens of items. They need to order by SKU, upload orders from Excel, and repeat a previous order with one click. An online store-style cart is too slow for them.

Documents and account balances

Invoices, delivery notes, certificates, account reconciliation statements, and payment history. Documents are generated in the accounting system and automatically pulled into the client portal.

Order statuses

Dealers can see what is happening with an order: accepted, picked, shipped, or in transit. Without this information, they will still call their manager.

Second-tier features

Once the core workflows are working, the portal can be expanded:

• Multiple legal entities and users for one dealer. Each legal entity has its own contract and limit, and each employee has their own permissions: some can only browse, some can place orders, and some can view account balances.
• Approvals. A nonstandard discount, an exceeded limit, or an urgent shipment is sent to a manager for approval with a clear reason.
• Claims and returns with photos, a batch number, and a review status.
• Marketing materials: price lists, certificates, product photos, and descriptions for resale.
• Notifications through WhatsApp, Telegram, or email about status changes, product arrivals, and outstanding debt.
• Dealer analytics: what they bought and when, progress toward targets, and accumulated bonuses.

What the client portal should not have

• Prices edited on the website separately from the accounting system.
• Inventory updated once a day.
• Open registration: access is granted under a contract.
• Mandatory card payments for clients who buy on credit terms.
• A dozen sections that nobody uses.

Why a portal does not work without integration

The most common mistake is to build an attractive client portal and update prices and inventory manually or through a file once a day. Within a month, the data no longer matches, dealers lose trust in the portal, and they return to messaging apps.

A B2B portal only makes sense with two-way data exchange with the accounting system. Prices, inventory, limits, and documents come from 1C or MoySklad. Orders, payments, and requests are sent back. If the company uses Bitrix24, the manager sees dealer orders in their CRM rather than in a separate window.

Integration usually accounts for more than half of the project budget, and that is normal: it is what turns the website into a working tool.

Architecture that supports growth

In a well-designed setup, each type of data has a single source of truth:

An integration layer sits between the systems, with a queue, an operation log, and duplicate protection. It prevents an order from being lost if the accounting system is unavailable and prevents duplicates if an order is sent twice.

How to launch

1. Audit. Review the accounting system, current ordering channels, and losses.
2. Design. Workflows, roles, pricing rules, and a data map.
3. Pilot. 5-10 loyal dealers, core workflows: catalog, prices, inventory, ordering, and statuses.
4. Refinement. 4-6 weeks of feedback and fixes.
5. Expansion. Documents, limits, approvals, and claims.
6. Onboarding the entire network. With a clear rule: orders placed through the portal receive priority processing.

Example: how work changes after launch

A hypothetical building materials distributor: 200 dealers, 4 managers, orders arrive through WhatsApp and email. Before the portal, a manager receives a photo of a list, deciphers the items, checks prices and inventory in 1C, creates an order, sends an invoice, and answers questions about its status. Orders placed in the evening wait until morning.

After launch, existing dealers can place repeat orders themselves through the client portal, see their prices and stock availability, receive an invoice immediately, and track order status. The order enters 1C with stock reserved, and the manager receives a Bitrix24 notification only for exceptions: a limit exceeded, a new item, or a large order amount. The time saved can be spent on new clients and upselling.

Which roles your company needs

Without these people, the project takes longer, even if the contractor does everything perfectly.

Which metrics to track after launch

• the percentage of all orders placed through the portal;
• the percentage of active dealers who placed an order during the month;
• the percentage of orders that required manual corrections;
• time from order placement to confirmation;
• the number of calls and messages to managers about order statuses and documents;
• discrepancies between the portal and the accounting system identified through daily reconciliation.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a B2B portal cost?

The cost depends on the number of integrations, pricing complexity, and number of roles. Off-the-shelf solutions cost less initially, while custom development is justified for nonstandard rules. We cover this in detail in our article on pricing.

Will dealers want to use the portal?

Yes, if it is faster than calling a manager. Three things make the difference: current prices and inventory, quick ordering, and documents in one place.

Can a portal use MoySklad instead of 1C?

Yes. MoySklad has an open API, and a portal can work with it just as it does with 1C. We cover the limitations and specifics in a separate article.

How long does launch take?

A pilot with basic features usually launches in 3-4 months. A complete solution with documents and approvals takes 4-6 months.

Can sales representatives use the portal?

Yes. A mobile app for sales representatives uses the same API as the dealer portal, with the same prices and rules.

What if we do not have Bitrix24?

The portal also works without a CRM. Integration with Bitrix24 or another CRM can be added when managers need to see orders in their own system.