Step-by-Step Integration Guide
To integrate PayWhirl with BigCommerce B2B Edition, you’ll set up BigCommerce’s native subscription functionality via PayWhirl and ensure it works within the Buyer Portal. The process is very similar to a standard PayWhirl BigCommerce installation for native checkout, with a few B2B-specific notes.
Step 1: Enable BigCommerce B2B Edition on Your Store
Before adding subscriptions, make sure you have B2B Edition enabled on your BigCommerce store. B2B Edition is an add-on for BigCommerce (usually for Enterprise plan merchants). If you don’t already have it, you’ll need to install the B2B Edition App or contact your BigCommerce account manager.
After installation, configure any required B2B settings (such as setting up company accounts, roles, and enabling features like quotes, shopping lists, etc., per BigCommerce’s B2B Edition setup guide). Ensure that the Buyer Portal is up and running for your store and that you can access the B2B features in your BigCommerce control panel.
Step 2: Install the PayWhirl App for BigCommerce
Next, install the PayWhirl Recurring Payments & Subscriptions app on your BigCommerce store (if you haven’t already). You can find PayWhirl in the BigCommerce App Marketplace.
Install the PayWhirl app: Log in to your BigCommerce admin, navigate to Apps, and search for “PayWhirl.” Then, install the app from the marketplace.
Authorize and set up: After installation, follow the prompts to authorize the connection between BigCommerce and PayWhirl. Once installed, your PayWhirl dashboard will now show BigCommerce integration options, including settings for Selling Plans and subscription management. PayWhirl’s integration will also ensure that orders will flow into BigCommerce whenever a subscription payment is processed.
Step 3: Enable Native Subscription Checkout in PayWhirl
PayWhirl offers two modes for BigCommerce integration: Native Checkout and a widget-based checkout. For the B2B Buyer Portal integration, you will use BigCommerce Native Selling Plans (Native Checkout), since this allows subscriptions to be purchased through the normal BigCommerce interface (which the Buyer Portal also uses).
Activate Native Checkout: In your PayWhirl dashboard, go to the Apps & Integrations page, find the BigCommerce integration you just installed, and enable the option for Native Checkout. This tells PayWhirl to use BigCommerce’s checkout for subscriptions (instead of PayWhirl’s external widget checkout).
Enable stored credit cards in BigCommerce: Because subscriptions will recur automatically, BigCommerce needs to save the customer’s payment method on file. In your BigCommerce admin, ensure that your payment settings are configured to allow storing credit cards (vaulting) for future use. For example, if using BigCommerce’s Optimized One-Page Checkout, go to Settings > Payments and enable “save customer payment details” or the equivalent setting in your gateway. This is crucial – without a saved payment method, recurring charges cannot be processed.
Verify compatibility: Make sure you’re using a BigCommerce-supported payment gateway that allows subscriptions. At the time of writing, BigCommerce’s native subscription integration works with gateways like Stripe, Braintree, and Authorize.net. If you use one of these major gateways, you should be set. (If not, you may need to switch to a supported gateway for subscriptions to work.)
Note: When Native Checkout is enabled, PayWhirl leverages BigCommerce’s checkout directly in your store for subscription purchases. The Buyer Portal’s quote/order system will also utilize this, meaning buyers can go through the regular quote approval or cart checkout with subscription items just like any other purchase.
Step 4: Configure Your Payment Gateway (Use the Same Gateway in BigCommerce and PayWhirl)
To avoid any duplicate processing or additional fees, configure PayWhirl and BigCommerce to use the same payment gateway account for subscriptions:
Connect a gateway in BigCommerce: In BigCommerce Settings > Payments, connect your payment gateway (e.g. Stripe, Authorize.net, etc.) and ensure it’s active for credit card payments. This gateway will be used to charge subscription orders through the native checkout. As mentioned, ensure the gateway supports recurring payments/tokenization (Stripe, Braintree, or Authorize.net are recommended choices).
Connect the same gateway in PayWhirl: Log in to your PayWhirl dashboard and navigate to Payment Gateways. Add or connect the same payment gateway account here (using the same API keys or credentials as you did in BigCommerce) so that PayWhirl recognizes it. By using an identical gateway account in both systems, your subscription payments will be processed directly on your own gateway. This avoids routing payments through an intermediary that could incur extra fees. (For example, if you only used PayWhirl’s default “test gateway” or a different gateway for subscriptions, you might end up paying additional transaction fees. Keeping it unified with your BigCommerce gateway prevents that.)
No duplicate charges: Using one gateway means that when a subscription renews, PayWhirl triggers BigCommerce to process the payment on that gateway, and the order appears in BigCommerce without any manual intervention. You maintain a single source of truth for transactions.
Step 5: Create Selling Plan Groups and Subscription Plans in PayWhirl
With the integration configured, you can define your subscription offerings (selling plans) using PayWhirl’s interface (full guide here):
Open the Selling Plans section: In PayWhirl, go to the Selling Plans page (this may be labeled as “Subscriptions” or “Plan Groups” in the app). Here you’ll create your subscription plans that will be offered on BigCommerce.
Create a Plan Group: Plan Groups in PayWhirl act as containers for one or more subscription plans. For example, you might create a plan group called “Monthly Subscription” or “Wholesale Replenishment Plans.” Within each group, you can define one or multiple billing interval options (plans).
Add Plans (Subscription Terms): Inside the group, add one or more Plans. For each plan, define the billing interval and terms – e.g. “Every 1 Month,” “Quarterly,” “Net 30 Subscription,” etc., along with any discount (if offering a lower price for subscription). You can also set whether a one-time purchase is allowed alongside the subscription (PayWhirl allows an option to let customers choose one-time vs subscribe) and other settings like trial periods or prepaid discounts as needed.
Assign products (or categories) to the Plan Group: Once your plans are configured, assign them to the relevant products in your BigCommerce store. In PayWhirl’s selling plan group settings, you should see an option to attach products (you can search and select individual products that this subscription group applies to). If you want to bulk assign via categories, ensure those products are categorized and select the category if that feature is available. (For example, you might assign an entire category of “Consumables” to a monthly subscription plan group so that all products in that category offer the same subscription options.)
Apply/save changes: After creating the plans and assigning products, make sure to save or apply the changes in PayWhirl. This will push the subscription plan data to BigCommerce. Once applied, the designated products on your BigCommerce storefront will display the subscription options (typically showing as a “Subscribe and save” checkbox or a choice of purchase options on the product page).
Step 6: Verify Subscription Options in Storefront and Buyer Portal
With your selling plans active, it’s time to double-check that everything is visible to customers. PayWhirl’s native integration means that subscription options are embedded in BigCommerce’s normal purchase flows, so you should confirm this both on a standard product page and within the B2B Buyer Portal experience:
Standard Storefront: Visit one of the products you assigned a subscription plan to on your normal BigCommerce storefront (as a regular customer would). You should see the option to purchase via subscription (for example, a radio button or checkbox to select a subscription and a dropdown to choose the delivery interval, depending on your theme). Add a subscription product to cart and go through the checkout to ensure it processes correctly.
B2B Buyer Portal – Quotes: In the Buyer Portal (usually accessed by logging in as a Company user on the storefront), try the Request a Quote feature with a subscription product. Add the subscription-enabled product to a new quote. The subscription option (and chosen interval) should be indicated on the quote request. When a sales representative generates a quote with that item, the buyer should be able to see that it’s a subscription item before converting the quote to an order.
B2B Buyer Portal – Shopping Lists: Create or open a Shopping List in the Buyer Portal and add a subscription-enabled product to the list. The list item should reflect the subscription choice (for example, it might note the frequency or show that it’s a subscription plan). When that list is later added to cart or converted to an order, those items will be added as subscription items.
B2B Buyer Portal – Quick Order Pad: Using the Quick Order feature, input the SKU or name of a subscription-enabled product and a quantity. After adding to the cart via Quick Order, check the cart or resulting order – you should be given an option to select a subscription plan for that item (if not already defaulted). In some cases, the Quick Order pad may add items as one-time by default, but the cart page will allow the buyer to switch to a subscription before checkout. Ensure that this process is working (i.e., the buyer can still choose the subscription frequency for items added in bulk).
B2B Buyer Portal – Orders: When a B2B buyer places an order that includes subscription products (whether via direct checkout or converting a quote/list), those orders will appear in their Orders history. The order detail should indicate the items are part of a subscription (and subsequent recurring orders will also show up here when generated). It’s good to simulate a test subscription and then force a recurrence (or wait for the next cycle) to see that a new order is created in BigCommerce for the subscription renewal.
In general, once the native integration is set up, the B2B Buyer Portal will automatically reflect subscription options wherever applicable. The Buyer Portal uses the same BigCommerce backend and checkout, so any product with an attached selling plan will offer the subscription in all buying workflows. If you followed the steps above, your wholesale customers should now be able to seamlessly add subscription products to quotes, lists, quick orders, and regular carts.
Tip: For more detailed instructions, we recommend following PayWhirl’s official BigCommerce setup guide (for native checkout). The PayWhirl documentation covers how to create selling plans, enable the integration, and select other configuration options. Once that integration is in place, the B2B Edition features (quote requests, etc.) do not require special configuration for subscriptions—they will “just work” with the existing setup.
Troubleshooting & Tips
Subscription option not showing up: If you don’t see the subscription purchase option on your product pages or in the Buyer Portal, double-check that the product is correctly assigned to a Selling Plan Group in PayWhirl and that you clicked “Apply” or saved changes on the PayWhirl side. Also verify that Native Checkout is enabled in the PayWhirl integration settings and that your BigCommerce theme is up to date (B2B Edition’s Buyer Portal is compatible with all themes by default, but customizations or older themes might hide new options).
Payment method issues: If subscription orders aren’t processing or are failing, ensure you’re using a supported payment gateway and that it’s connected properly in both BigCommerce and PayWhirl. Gateways like Stripe and Authorize.net allow card vaulting – make sure “save card” is enabled in BigCommerce’s payment settings. Using the same gateway account in both systems will prevent any unexpected fees or declines due to mismatched credentials.