Amazon Business Account: How to Create & Set Up

Did you know that besides a personal buyer account, you can have a business one? Well, Amazon offers a perfect opportunity for your business to manage inventory, track the company’s spending, and benefit from multiple other features. 

In this article, we are going to review everything related to Amazon Business Account. We will cover key features, pros & cons, and the process of setting it up. So, if you are ready, let’s start! 

What is an Amazon Business Account? 

An Amazon Business account is a free tool for businesses to manage their inventory online. Essentially, it provides all the necessary features to purchase products and services from Amazon. 

Even though an Amazon Business Account is free, if you want to benefit from all the features and analytics tools, you need to upgrade to Business Prime. It has different pricing plans; the most basic one costs $179/year. 

Key Features 

The key features of an Amazon Business Account include 

• Tailored solutions to streamline bulk buying. For instance, you can take advantage of the Subscribe & Save program. When you subscribe to receive regular delivery of certain items, you will be able to save anywhere from 5% up to 10%. 
• Spending overview dashboard. Use Amazon Analytics and Spend Visibility features to track your business buying patterns. These will provide actionable insights, allowing you to monitor your company’s spending and optimize budgets. 
• Tail spend management feature. This is a great feature that allows you to manage unplanned expenses across different categories. For instance, you can set workflows to minimize the occurrence of unplanned purchases. 

Amazon Business Account Vs. Personal 

You can still make all the necessary purchases from a personal account. Well, then, a question arises. Why do you need a Business Account? 

There are a few key differences between a traditional and a business Amazon account. 

The number one difference is related to deals and discounts. You will not get the same deals for your company on a personal account. So, it is better to use business one for bulk purchases. 

Another key difference is that a personal account doesn’t provide you with the necessary analytics. For instance, a business account offers a Spend Visibility feature that allows you to monitor your buying patterns. With this data, you can make informed business decisions. 

So, buying products is easy on both accounts. But, if you want to gain insights into your spending and make better business decisions, then you should proceed with a business account. 

How to Create an Amazon Business Account 

Well, now let’s review the main steps on how to set up an Amazon Business Account. 

Step 1 – Register 

First and foremost you need to register. There are two options you can proceed with. First one is to pick a new email and register a new account. The second option is to upgrade your personal account to a business one. 

Step 2 – Verify Your Business 

After you are done with the registration process it is time to move to the verification. 

To make sure your account gets verified read Amazon Business Account requirements and update account information. All you need to do is enter eligible business information. You should also enter tax information and Identity Verification documents to prove credibility of your business. This will help you to get verified faster. 

The verification can take up to 3 business days, however most accounts get verified within the first 24 hours after registration. 

Step 3 – Set up Business Prime 

If you want to benefit from a business account at a full scale, then it is time to set up a Business Prime. Business Prime will allow you to have a multi-user account, use guided buying and spending visibility tools. Also, you can use the built-in WorkDocs tool, which is Amazon’s version of Google Docs. 

Amazon Business Prime has five main pricing plans, which are:

• Duo plan is completely free if your personal Amazon account already has a Prime upgrade. It is suitable for small businesses and allows only one user. It also comes in handy with survey and Analytics tools. 
• The Essentials plan will cost you $179 yearly. This plan provides you with the famous Spend Visibility and Guided Buying features. Essentials plan offers up to 3 users on one account. 
• Small plan. One more plan you might consider as a bigger business is the Small one. It costs $499 per year and allows you to have up to 10 users on the account. It offers everything the previous plans do, plus extended terms for the Pay by Invoice feature. 
• Medium is the most expensive plan so far. It costs $1299 yearly. With this plan, you can have up to 100 users on your account. 

It is worth mentioning that before upgrading to a paid account, you can use a 30-day free trial run period. 

Step 4 – Manage Account Settings

When you are all set with the business prime, it is time to customize the account settings. 

Manage account settings to use business features as well as grant others access to a certain extent if necessary. 

Essentially, you need to set up: 

• Members. Add users and manage their access to your account. 
• Payment methods. Add payment information to your account to be able to pay for the purchases. 
• Shipping addresses. Make sure to enter the right address or address to get the deliveries on time. 

Additionally, you can set up notifications (e.g., for deals & discounts), create groups, add approvals workflow, and manage any other information you need. 

Step 5 – Set Up Processes 

Finally, it is time to set up the business processes. First of all you need to have a list of what products your business needs. Based on the list, research and find good business deals on Amazon. 

When you are clear on what you need and how much you want to purchase, create your own orders. Do not forget about the Subscribe & Save program. It is an awesome program for businesses, which saves time and resources. 

For instance, if you buy 100 pens each month, simply create an automated delivery. Each month, on X day, you will get billed, and your order will be fulfilled. This way, you can also manage your stock more efficiently and make sure you do not run out of on-demand items.

Pros & Cons of Amazon Business Account

Let’s also quickly overview the main pros and cons of an Amazon Business Account. 

Pros 

Amazon business account comes in handy with a variety of benefits, including:  

• Deals & offers that are exclusive to Business accounts only 
• Spending overview feature and potent analytics tool to gain actionable insights into your business 
• Free shipping options available for certain Prime plans 
• Subscription program to save time & resources on orders 
• Workflow automation features to optimize business processes. 

Cons 

Certain drawbacks you might face include: 

• Some membership plans are really expensive
• To take advantage of all the necessary features, you need to upgrade your account to Business Prime. 

Optimize Your Business Processes 

At the end of the day, an Amazon Business account is an awesome tool to manage the inventory of your business online. It equips you with lots of useful features and comes in handy with an easy-to-use UI. 

Business process optimization is a perfect way to manage a successful business. And tools such as Amazon Business Account allow you to do so. But you still won’t need to be available 24/7 for your business to succeed. Instead, take advantage of the solutions Enso Brands provides. 

Enso Brands will ensure your profitable presence on Amazon by handling everything from PPC campaigns to brand content. In fact, you can request an expert audit of your business now and get actionable recommendations for further improvements.