Wholster vs. SparkLayer: My B2B Shopify Experiment
Strap in. This gets niche.
I’ve been getting my hands mucky lately, setting up B2B ordering for a client, which has meant testing out two wholesale Shopify solutions - Wholster and SparkLayer.
As with all things in e-comm, you learn as you go, and I’ve now got a solid idea of the pros, cons, and seemingly nonsensical quirks of each. So, if you’re wondering which one is right for your business, here’s what I’ve found so far.
An AI image of donuts being weighed up. Which is more interesting and tasty than comparing SAAS.
How They Work
Wholster and SparkLayer take quite different approaches to B2B for your Shopify store.
SparkLayer is a layer that sits on top of your existing Shopify store. Once a trade customer logs in, they see their B2B pricing, but everything else about the experience stays the same.
Wholster creates a completely separate B2B area, with its own product listings and checkout. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it’s functional and keeps things clearly divided between consumer and trade.
Which one works best depends on what you want. If you like keeping everything in one place, SparkLayer is neat. If you’d rather have a proper trade portal, Wholster makes that distinction more obvious.
What’s Easier on Each?
Hiding Products
Wholster makes it easy to separate B2C and B2B products. If a product is meant for trade only, it won’t ever show up on your consumer site.
SparkLayer needs a workaround using the Locksmith app to achieve the same result. It’s doable but requires extra setup.
Here’s something I’ve been thinking about… (those thought kittens again)… if you want to keep your consumer site entirely separate from your B2B (trade) site, you can set up SparkLayer on a separate Shopify instance (this is SparkLayer’s recommendation).But that begs the question, why would you need SparkLayer if you’re already using a separate store for B2B and B2C? If all your trade pricing is the same across the board, then it feels a bit redundant. However, if you have different pricing lists for different customer groups, then SparkLayer could still make sense, even with a separate Shopify store. It’s worth considering whether your pricing structure justifies using a separate instance with SparkLayer, or whether a simpler solution like Wholster could suffice.
Pricing & Costs
SparkLayer is a flat fee: $50 per month for a single warehouse setup, but if you have multiple locations, that jumps to $150.
Wholster has a flat fee option that charges 3% commission, I tend to go for the $30 per month fee that charges me 1% commission on sales. Depending on your volume, that could work out cheaper or more expensive. You do the math(s).
Invoicing & Admin
Here’s where things get frustrating.
Wholster lets you send proper invoices and statements to customers. Recently you can now customise them using CSS.
SparkLayer doesn’t—your customers just get a standard Shopify order confirmation email. You can tweak the email to include VAT numbers, but that’s about it. You can also use something like Invoice Printer Pro, but as far as I can see you can’t have those posher looking invoices sent to trade customers only. It’s a one-size fits all deal, so other than the pricing, the trade customers and consumer customers are all treated the same. Some like that some don’t.
More importantly, neither Wholster or SparkLayer allow you to send invoices to a central accounts team (e.g., a pub group with 60 locations where orders are placed individually but invoicing goes to head office).
I’m currently trying to fix it with Zapier, but it’s an extra faff.
Support: Getting Help When You Need It
Support can be a crucial factor when deciding between these platforms, and there are a few key differences between Wholster and SparkLayer in this area.
Wholster (by Gist Applications) has helpful support, but they tend to take longer to respond—sometimes up to a week or more. If you need urgent assistance, it can be a bit frustrating. That said, once you’re in touch, the team (I always seem to get Zac) is knowledgeable and familiar with your account history, which is a nice touch. I’ve used other Gist applications in the past for various Shopify tools, and overall, their products are solid. But for urgent issues, the delayed response time can be an issue. Zac could be the only support person or maybe the founder/developer and all-round plate spinner, which he does with great aplomb,
SparkLayer, on the other hand, offers more comprehensive support and is somewhat more responsive. I’m guessing it’s because they have a bigger team. They even offer an onboarding service, which can be helpful for getting set up quickly and painlessly, but essentially it is a scripted zoom call with lots of pointing towards the (comprehensive) knowledgebase online. You will still need to get your hands mucky like I have. The support is more responsive, which gives you peace of mind when you’re dealing with urgent issues.
The Verdict
There’s been a fair bit of faff, some things that seemed obvious but weren’t, and a lot of learning along the way. If I were setting one of these up again, I’d know what to expect.
If you’re looking for a clean, consumer-style B2B setup, SparkLayer does the job. Just expect to wrestle with some limitations. If you want a proper, separate trade portal, Wholster is the safer, unsexier bet.
If you’re looking at either of these and want a second opinion, drop me a message. I’ve been through the setup pain, so happy to help save you some time.
Cheers, ears,
George
HERDING THOUGHT KITTENS
Now more than ever, I have a million work and non-work-related tasks, tidbits, and to-dos running around my little brain. It's often like herding tincey little thought kittens, and once I think I have herded all the little blighters, another pounces at my ankles, then another takes a swipe from a blindspot. Before I know it, I am being mauled by thought kittens. Nothing too serious, but they do have needly little teeth.
It's in these moments of feeling overcome that I start writing lists. But I have to write lists digitally.
I truly despise my handwriting, and whenever I write with a pen in an old notebook or claggy old Post-It note that has long lost its stickiness, I come out in a stress rash. Revisiting my old handwritten notes feels like Indiana Jones deciphering an ancient, long-forgotten script on parchment.
So, digital it is, and I want to offer a tip on some of my go-to tools to help me wade through the sea of rabid thought kittens and grab them by the scruff.
I'd also love to hear what other people use. Does Evernote still exist? I could google it, but... meh.
Remember OneNote by Microsoft? That always confused me. Plus, some absolute tool I used to work with swore by it, so I never gave it the time of day as a result. Take that, former colleague!
Anyway, my fave productivity tools are:
Workflowy
Why? Makes bullet points fun again. My mind works in lists, so this is a natural fit. Free, easy to use, minimalist, with some subtle but powerful functions.
"Lovely Stuff" - Not my words, Michael, the words of Shakin Stevens. Like Alan Partridge, this has stood the test of time for me.Miro
A newer one for me, introduced by a friend. Mind maps typically intimidate me, but I can see the potential of this. Gives Prezi vibes (remember that?). Allows for free-flowing thoughts while keeping everything aesthetically pleasing, so as to avoid stress rashes.Smartsheet
God, I love this one, still. Pretty pricey. Haven't used it for a while, but infinite applications. MS Project on 'roids, with so many other lovely bells and whistles. Great for all-encompassing projects with loads of stakeholders. Ideally, everyone needs to be on board for it to really work, but even if you're just getting your own stuff together, it's proper powerful.Asana
Cutesy, but a very good tool thanks to its ease of use, meaning colleagues and clients are more likely to adopt it. Its free plan is more than enough for most of what I do, offering more flexibility than Basecamp's free version. A great way to keep project stuff and large files out of the inbox and nicely organised.Basecamp
More grown-up than Asana, and in an ideal world, I'd use this more. Clients and colleagues don't naturally gel with it. For some reason, they warm more to Asana, possibly because it has unicorn animations and party poppers when you mark a task as completed.Google Keep
One of the unsexier note apps out there, but since I let Google into every crevice of my life, it may as well organise my shopping lists, passport scans, and various important bits securely. The obvious integration with Google Tasks and Calendar is a win-win.WhatsApp
The "message myself" option on WhatsApp is perhaps the best way I can take an emergency note or catch one of those runaway thought kittens before it jumps out the window. No way to organise them, but as long as you capture the note and deal with it later, you've pinned it down. You can come back to it and place it properly in one of the apps above or just keep it in your head.
The WhatsApp desktop client is invaluable, allowing easy and secure transfer of files and text across devices. You can also leave yourself a voice note, like Alan Partridge and his dictaphone. Monkey Tennis?Sublime Text
Years ago, I used to geek out about NotePad++ on my Windows laptop. Sublime Text on Mac is free and just gorgeous to use.NordVPN
The fastest and most reliable VPN I have used—secure and easy to operate. Great for testing links and UX anonymously from different countries. Disclaimer, if you follow the link above and sign up, you get 3 months free VPN, and so do I. No presh.Bitwarden
A free and excellent open-source password manager. Used to use Dashlane, but this one just feels better and more intuitive than Google's password manager.
So there you have it. The top 10 list you didn't ask for. But if just one person, one day tries one of these tools and it saves them from just one stress rash brought on by a mauling of thought kittens, then this hasn’t been worth my time writing this.
Seriously, let me know what tools you use, if any. Or let me know if I can help you get organised. I can help suggest the best free tools for you or introduce them to you on our next project together. Too presumptuous?
OH SHIT, I’VE BEEN MADE REDUNDANT
It all begins with an idea.
So with a little bit of help from some very supportive friends and close family, I have done something I never dreamt to have done before. I’ve always been salary monkey kinda guy, so it felt wholly unnatural at first to start up a business on my own, serving customers that I would have been. Redundancy makes you do brave things, and I have never, ever regretted being made redundant, after the initial crushing self-doubt and self-loathing subsides, that is.
So, like the great philosopher of the 1990s, Algar (Garth), once said of his new set, the same applies to my new set-up:
“It's like a new pair of underwear. At first it's constrictive, but after a while it becomes a part of you.”
‘Wayne’s World’, 1992, Paramount Pictures
This blog will be a place to muse, rant and poke fun at myself as I go on this journey(???!, oh please, someone shoot me). I might do some occasional posting of industry news, give hot takes that no one asked for and generally keep my website updated to feed the SEO goblins. Stay tuned, bot or not.