The quick answer
A standard SuiteCommerce login puts the contact in one customer's context and has no built-in control to change it, so switching needs a partner account-switching extension. In the setup shown here, the buyer is a contact with the same email and store access on each customer they buy for. After login, the extension lists those customers in a Switch to another account dialog. Pick one, and My Account shows that customer's orders and addresses. To change customers later, click Switch under Welcome in the header and choose another. No logout needed.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. The chooser, its search box, and the Switch control come from a partner extension, so labels and placement can differ on your store. "Account" here means a customer record, not a NetSuite account.
Before you start
You need:
- A SuiteCommerce store with an account-switching extension installed, activated, and configured for the site and domain. This is a partner extension, not a standard SuiteCommerce feature. Check which SuiteCommerce versions it supports.
- The buyer set up as a contact on each customer they're allowed to buy for, with store login access on each one. The extension in this example matches those contacts by email address, so each one uses the same email. Yours may match them another way.
In this example Morgan Reyes is the purchasing manager for three clinics: Cedar Point Dental, Lakeside Family Clinic, and Northgate Pediatrics.
01. Check the contact records
In NetSuite, go to Lists > Relationships > Contacts. Morgan Reyes appears three times, once for each company, with the same email, morgan.reyes@example.com. Login Access is Yes on every row, so store access is turned on for that contact under each customer. It shows the setting is saved. It doesn't prove the buyer has set a password yet.
02. Log in to the store
On the store's Log In | Register page, enter morgan.reyes@example.com and the password under Returning customer, then click Log In.
Instead of landing straight in one account, the Switch to another account dialog opens and lists all three customers.
03. Search and choose the first account
Type cedar in the dialog's search box. Only Cedar Point Dental is left. Click it. With three customers you could just click, but a buyer with dozens of accounts will use the search.
04. Review the first account
My Account opens with Welcome Cedar Point Dental in the header. In this sample data, Recent Purchases lists SO2041 for $418.60, SO2033 for $96.20, and SO2020 for $1,204.00, and Shipping shows 412 Harbor Rd, Portsmouth NH. Everything on the page belongs to Cedar Point Dental.
05. Switch to another customer
Click Switch under Welcome. The same three customers appear, with a check on Cedar Point Dental, the one you're shopping as. Click Lakeside Family Clinic.
My Account reloads as Welcome Lakeside Family Clinic. Recent Purchases now lists Lakeside's own orders, SO2044 for $73.15 and SO2029 for $512.80, and Shipping shows 88 Shore Ave, Laconia NH.
Check the result
- The header reads Welcome Lakeside Family Clinic.
- Recent Purchases shows only SO2044 and SO2029. None of Cedar Point's orders appear.
- Shipping is Lakeside's address, 88 Shore Ave, Laconia NH, while the profile is still Morgan Reyes.
06. Switch back
Click Switch again and choose Cedar Point Dental. Cedar Point's three orders come back.
Treat a switch as a change of who the buyer is acting for. Orders, pricing, addresses, and checkout should all follow the selected customer, and the extension has to enforce that on the server, not trust a customer ID sent from the browser. What happens to items already in the cart when you switch depends on the extension and the store's cart settings.
After you set one up, test these after each switch:
- Cart contents, pricing, and promotions
- Shipping and billing addresses and saved cards
- The customer on orders created at checkout
- Direct links to another customer's orders
- Refresh, the Back button, and two tabs open on different customers
Common questions
Can one SuiteCommerce login place orders for several customers?
Yes, with an account-switching extension. The buyer needs a contact with store access on each customer, and the extension lets them pick which customer they're buying for. New orders go to the customer they've selected. Check what the extension does with a cart that's already full when they switch.
Why does my store only show one company's orders?
My Account shows one customer at a time. Being a contact on several customers doesn't combine them into one view, and native SuiteCommerce has no control to change which customer you're in. An account-switching extension adds that, and then My Account shows whichever customer is selected.
Is account switching a replacement for single sign-on?
No. Single sign-on handles how the buyer proves who they are. Account switching handles which customer they act for once they're in. You can use both, but SSO alone won't give a buyer access to more customers or a chooser.
What should I test after enabling account switching?
Switch between every customer the buyer can reach and check orders, addresses, pricing, saved cards, and checkout each time. Then try to open another customer's order or address by editing the URL, and make sure the server blocks it. Test the cart before and after a switch too, since cart handling depends on the extension.
Can internal sales reps use this to order for customers?
Don't assume so. A customer-facing extension isn't built for employees acting on a customer's behalf, and Commerce access and licensing terms may not allow using customer logins that way. Check the extension's terms and whether it supports delegated ordering before you set it up for staff.
How do I add another customer to a buyer's list?
Add a contact for the buyer on the new customer, give it store login access, and match it the way your extension expects, which is the same email in this example. Have the buyer log in again and check that the customer appears in the chooser. If it doesn't, look at the extension's matching rules.