> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://orbit-b2b.gitbook.io/orbit-b2b-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://orbit-b2b.gitbook.io/orbit-b2b-docs/companies/overview.md).

# Overview

A **Company** is a B2B organization (Acme Distributors, Beta Logistics, etc.) that buys from your store. Each Company can have multiple **contacts** — the actual people who log in and place orders for the company. Assigning a Customer Group (pricing tier) to the Company applies that tier's wholesale pricing to every contact automatically.

Companies are part of Orbit Wholesale's custom B2B system — you don't need Shopify Plus or Shopify's native B2B features. Everything works on the standard Shopify plan.

***

## When to use Companies (vs Customer Groups alone)

| Scenario                                                 | What to use                  |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| Single solo wholesale buyer                              | Customer Group only          |
| Business with 1 buyer, no team                           | Customer Group only          |
| Business with multiple buyers sharing the same pricing   | **Company + Customer Group** |
| Buyers need to self-register and link to a known company | **Company + invite link**    |

A Company groups its contacts so:

* The same pricing tier applies to all contacts in one step
* New contacts can self-register via the company's invite link (no manual add needed)
* You see one row per business in the Companies list, not one row per buyer

***

## How it works

```
You create Company "Acme Distributors"
        ↓
Assign Customer Group "Gold tier" to Acme
        ↓
You add Jane (existing Shopify customer) as a contact
        ↓
Jane is automatically tagged "wholesale-gold"
        ↓
Next time Jane shops, she sees Gold-tier wholesale prices
```

Add more contacts → same thing happens to each. Remove Jane → her tag is removed (unless she's a contact in another company with the same tier).

***

## Where to find it

In the admin sidebar: **Companies**. The list view shows every company, its assigned tier, number of contacts, and status. Click any row to open the editor.

***

## Next steps

* [Create a Company](/orbit-b2b-docs/companies/create-company.md)
* [Assign a pricing tier](/orbit-b2b-docs/companies/assign-tier.md)
* [Invite contacts via the registration link](/orbit-b2b-docs/companies/invite-contacts.md)
* [Status: Active vs Inactive](/orbit-b2b-docs/companies/status.md)


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://orbit-b2b.gitbook.io/orbit-b2b-docs/companies/overview.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.