TIER 1 · RESERVE NOW
Paid
Card captured, or a bank transfer matched in Xero.
reserve = full qty
release_to_warehouse = now
release_to_warehouse = now
MEES · B2B commerce blueprint · Draft for discussion
How a MEES order moves from checkout to stock, customs and Xero.
One store, three ways to pay, one rule for stock: money first. This page shows how we would set up Shopify B2B, payments, inventory priority, free zone shipping and the Xero link for your GCC business, and what we still need from you to finish the design.
Dotted underlines explain a term. Hover, tap or tab to them. Every box in the diagram explains itself too.
00 · What we heard on 20 Oct
Your questions from the call, and where each answer sits.
Updated after our call with Daniel, Samhita and Sebastien. Sized for what Daniel described: 200 to 500 web orders a year at roughly $1,000 to $1,500 each, which is one or two orders on a working day.
Unpaid proformas must never block a buyer who pays now.Order flow and stock priority
Where exactly does a person still have to step in, and how much work is it?People vs system
How does this work with a 3PL, with our own warehouse later, and with drop-shipped products?Three fulfilment models
What happens when a customer wants to return or claim on a product?Returns and claims
One product price, with VAT and duty as extra lines, and simple delivery choices.Prices at checkout
American Express, Mastercard and the payment types Gulf buyers expect, for buyers who will not use a personal card.Payment options
Which system holds the stock: does Xero mirror Shopify, or Shopify mirror Xero?Shopify and Xero
We are a small company. Build what pays back now, and keep the rest for later.Start now, add later
01 · The order flow
Pick a way to pay and watch the order travel.
Each scenario is the same store and the same products. Only the payment changes, and with it, when stock is held and when the goods leave the free zone. The bar under the map shows 10 units of one product.
Orange badge on a box = a person does this stepReserved stockSoft-held stock
STOCK · 10 UNITS8 free
Card, paid now
02 · Stock priority
Four tiers decide who gets the last unit.
Out of the box, Shopify takes stock out of "available" the moment an order is placed, paid or not. So a proforma that sits unpaid for two weeks blocks a buyer ready to pay by card today. We add a rules layer that holds stock by payment status instead.
TIER 2 · RESERVE WITHIN LIMIT
Approved credit account
A company you have approved for terms, inside its credit limit, with no overdue invoices.
reserve if open_balance + order ≤ limit
else → tier 3
else → tier 3
TIER 3 · SHORT SOFT HOLD
Proforma awaiting transfer
A quote with an expiry. Stock is held for a window you choose, then released if no money arrives.
hold = 2 h to 1 week (you choose)
reminder half way, call before expiry
reminder half way, call before expiry
TIER 4 · RELEASED
Hold expired
Customer service has called first. If no payment, the order is cancelled, the units go back on sale, and the buyer places a new order when ready.
reserve = 0
order cancelled, buyer told
order cancelled, buyer told
The hold window, credit limits and reminder timing are business choices for MEES. The defaults above are a starting point for discussion, not a recommendation from your finance team.
03 · People vs system
Where a person steps in, and roughly how long it takes.
The system moves orders, invoices, payments and stock between Shopify and Xero. People sell, chase money, approve exceptions, handle the goods and keep the content fresh. Times are our estimates at one or two orders a day, to check against your first month live.
SHOPIFY SIDE · SALES, SERVICE, CONTENT
XERO SIDE · FINANCE
PHYSICAL AND OUTSIDE PARTNERS
IN TOTAL
About 30 to 60 minutes of admin a day
Shared between sales and finance at one or two orders a day, plus 2 to 4 hours a week on product content. Picking, packing and customs sit with the 3PL and broker.
WHAT NOBODY DOES ANY MORE
- Download orders from Shopify and retype them into Xero
- Create and email invoices by hand
- Update stock in two systems
- Watch the calendar for expired proformas
- Work out which buyer should get the last unit
WHAT CHANGES FOR YOUR TEAM
- Today: entries are checked before they go in. Online: the system creates them and finance reviews exceptions
- A daily 5 minute look at the sync report replaces manual entry
- Written rules for credit approval, proforma expiry and returns
- One named owner for content, one for the 3PL relationship
04 · Fulfilment models
3PL first, your own warehouse later, drop-ship where you hold no stock.
Shopify treats each of these as a "location". One order can hold items from more than one location, and Shopify splits it into separate shipments on its own. The stock priority rules apply only where you hold stock.
05 · Returns and claims
A conversation first, then the system does the paperwork.
These are $1,000 to $5,000 items, so no return should trigger itself from a button. A person agrees the return with the buyer. Then Shopify and Xero record it properly, and the goods come back by a path that depends on where they went.
How the goods come back, by where they went
| Goods went to | Customs on the way back | VAT | Documents to keep |
|---|
06 · Prices at checkout
One clear price, with VAT and duty shown for the buyer's country.
Daniel's model works: the product price stays the same everywhere, and the checkout adds delivery, VAT and duty for where the buyer is. Online, buyers want "you get what you get", so we keep it to two or three delivery choices. Anything more goes through Request a quote.
ILLUSTRATION, NOT A QUOTE
07 · UAE and GCC routing
Where the buyer is sets the tax, the paperwork and who clears customs.
Your stock sits in a free zone without UAE duty paid. That is useful for exports and needs care for mainland sales. The checkout asks for the delivery country and company details up front, then applies the right path below.
| Buyer location | What it is for customs | VAT on the MEES invoice | Duty and import VAT | Paperwork the system produces |
|---|
08 · Shopify and Xero
What moves between the two systems, and how often.
09 · Payment options
Card, transfer and terms, set up for GCC companies.
| Method | How it works for the buyer | How it reaches Xero | Stock tier |
|---|
10 · Start now, add later
Automate the daily work. Keep the rare work manual until it pays back.
At one or two orders a day, automating every corner would cost more than it saves. We automate what happens on every order, keep the rare cases manual, and review after six months of real orders. You will find bottlenecks then that nobody can predict today.
11 · Full technical scope
Everything we build, item by item.
12 · Roadmap
Four phases, delivered in two parts.
Part 1 is the store, payments and documents. Part 2 is the stock engine, Xero, GCC export and launch. Each part has one fixed price, and you see working software in a test store before each one is signed off. You own the code, the Shopify apps and the accounts from day one.
13 · What we need from MEES
The answers that turn this draft into a fixed scope.
Most of these take a sentence to answer. A few need your tax agent or customs broker.
Glossary
Every term on this page, in plain words.
The same explanations appear when you hover or tap an underlined word above.
Sources
What this draft is based on
Checked 20 Oct 2026. Tax and customs rows describe how the system would apply rules. They are not tax advice, and MEES's registered tax agent should confirm them before go-live.