Welding distributors across Canada still run much of B2B ordering on phone, email, and quarterly PDF price lists. Software built for public ecommerce rarely fits negotiated pricing, restricted catalogs, and Net 30 invoicing — the comparison should start with private portal fit, not feature count.
If buyers are known accounts with contract or negotiated pricing, you need a login per customer, catalog visibility per account, and PO-based submission — not a shopping cart open to the internet. That distinction matters more than whether the vendor calls the product “B2B ecommerce.”
Many Canadian distributors run QuickBooks Online as the system of record. Confirm whether confirmed portal orders create open invoices with your item and customer mappings, and whether your team still reviews terms, tax, and PO references before sending — not automatic “hands-off” bookkeeping.
Purpose-built distributor portals should let you load a starter catalog, invite one repeat buyer, and receive a real order without a custom build. Starting with 50–100 high-volume SKUs beats waiting for a perfect master file.
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