Spree Commerce development for complex buying rules.
Harmatiq is a Spree Commerce development company. We design, build, upgrade and integrate Spree applications for businesses whose transaction model, storefront, integrations or product roadmap need deeper control than a conventional hosted platform can provide.
Discuss Spree CommerceWhere Spree Commerce fits.
A flexible Ruby on Rails commerce foundation for organisations that need custom domain logic and accept the engineering, hosting, security and upgrade ownership that comes with an open-source platform.
We assess the business model, operating complexity, team and system boundaries before recommending a platform or implementation path.
Who it is a strong fit for.
Fit is defined by the work the platform must support, not by brand familiarity alone.
Custom commerce products
Businesses whose commerce workflow is strategically differentiated and cannot be assembled cleanly from standard apps and settings.
Headless experiences
Teams that need API-first commerce behind a custom web, mobile, portal or multi-channel frontend.
Complex B2B
Buying models with organisations, roles, negotiated pricing, quotes, approvals, account rules and ERP-dependent workflows.
Multi-store or marketplace models
Operators that need governed storefronts, regions, vendors, catalogues or fulfilment models under a tailored architecture.
What Spree Commerce can support.
Capabilities are grouped around real business workflows. Exact plans, editions, versions and extensions are verified during discovery.
API-first commerce
REST APIs, a TypeScript SDK and modern storefront options provide a foundation for web, mobile and portal experiences.
Custom catalogue and checkout
Tailored product structures, promotions, pricing, checkout, payment, shipping and order state logic.
B2B workflows
Price lists, customer groups and contract pricing are in the open-source core from Spree 5.3. Approval workflows and the packaged B2B module are Enterprise Edition features. Quotes and account-specific workflows are scoped as custom work.
Multi-store and international
Storefronts, currencies, languages, taxes, zones and region-specific rules organised within a governed model.
Marketplace commerce
Vendor, offer, commission, fulfilment and payout concepts implemented with the relevant module or custom domain design.
Inventory and fulfilment
Stock locations, checkout stock reservations and rules-based order routing (Spree 5.5), shipments, and external ERP, OMS, WMS or logistics connections.
What Harmatiq can do.
From selection and design through launch, integration and ongoing improvement.
Architecture and fit assessment
Compare Spree with Shopify, enterprise SaaS, composable products and other open-source platforms before choosing the operating burden.
Spree application development
Backend domain logic, APIs, admin workflows, extensions and custom capabilities built in a maintainable Rails architecture.
Storefront development
Next.js or another suitable frontend integrated with catalogue, cart, account, checkout and content services.
B2B and wholesale portals
Organisation accounts, roles, contract catalogues, quotes, approvals, terms, reorders and service workflows.
Marketplace and multi-store builds
Vendor or store governance, commissions, catalogues, orders, fulfilment, returns, settlement and operational controls.
Migration and replatforming
Commerce data, URLs, customers, orders, integrations and custom workflows moved from legacy or hosted platforms.
Integration engineering
ERP, PIM, WMS, payment, tax, search, CMS, CRM, marketplace and reporting services connected with observable workflows.
Upgrade, performance and support
Version assessment, dependency work, test coverage, security updates, performance, hosting and operational support.
How a Spree Commerce engagement starts.
Most work begins in one of these ways. Each starts with a written output your team can review before build work is scoped.
A new Spree build
For a business moving off a hosted platform or building a commerce model that standard apps cannot express.
First output: A domain model of customers, pricing, orders and fulfilment, the system of record for each integration, and a phased build plan.
Upgrading an existing Spree application
For a store on an older Spree or Rails version, or with extensions that block the next upgrade.
First output: An inventory of versions, extensions, customisations and test coverage, with the upgrade path and its risks in order.
Taking over from another team
For a running store whose original developers have moved on or no longer support it.
First output: A review of the codebase, hosting and deployment, a handover of access, and fixes ranked by business risk.
Connecting Spree to ERP, WMS or accounting
For a store that works, but whose orders, stock or invoices are keyed again in another system.
First output: A record map for each handoff, with failure handling and reconciliation checks, before the connector is built.
Where the platform creates value.
Representative use cases connect software capability to the operation behind it.
Custom B2B commerce
Implement commercial rules and operational handoffs that are difficult to express within a hosted platform’s standard boundaries.
Commerce product or marketplace
Build a platform whose vendor, catalogue, transaction or fulfilment model is itself part of the product.
Headless multi-channel selling
Share commerce services across web, mobile, portals and other customer experiences.
Legacy Rails modernisation
Upgrade or reshape an existing Spree application while protecting custom business logic and integrations.
Connected to the wider business.
Every implementation defines the records, events and exceptions before and after the platform.
How it compares with other choices.
We evaluate Spree Commerce against the wider category rather than forcing requirements into a preferred tool.
Choose Spree when
Commerce logic is differentiated, source and deployment control matter, and the organisation can own a software product.
Choose Shopify when
A managed platform, merchant tooling, ecosystem and faster standard delivery are more valuable than backend freedom.
Compare other headless platforms when
Language, ecosystem, cloud model, enterprise capability or existing technical skills point to a different engine.
Do not choose open source only for licence savings
Hosting, engineering, security, upgrades, observability and support remain real ownership costs.
From requirements to a working Spree Commerce system.
Discover
Model customers, commercial rules, catalogue, order states, integrations, scale, security and product roadmap.
Decide
Compare platform and architecture options, including the cost and team needed to operate each one.
Design
Define domains, APIs, storefront, admin, data ownership, infrastructure and release approach.
Build
Implement tested commerce capabilities, integrations, migration and operational tooling.
Validate
Exercise pricing, permissions, checkout, payment, fulfilment, returns, failures, load and security scenarios.
Operate
Launch with monitoring, incident ownership, upgrade planning and a governed product backlog.
What to prove before launch.
Use a real order and its difficult exceptions to check the proposed setup before committing to go live.
- A buyer from one organisation cannot see another organisation’s catalogue, prices, orders or approval rights.
- A quote, negotiated price or approval rule survives the move from cart to order without manual correction.
- A split shipment, return or cancelled line preserves a clear order state across the storefront and operational systems.
- The proposed extensions still work after an upgrade rehearsal, with the team able to deploy, monitor and recover the application.
Related capabilities.
The platform works best when the surrounding workflows are designed with it.
Use the platform in context.
Selection and architecture guides for the decisions around this implementation.
Common questions about Spree Commerce.
Is Spree Commerce a headless ecommerce platform?
It can provide an API-first commerce backend for custom storefronts and channels. The frontend, content, hosting and operating model still need to be designed.
Is Spree suitable for B2B ecommerce?
Yes for many custom B2B models, but specific organisation, pricing, quote and approval capabilities must be checked against the edition and intended implementation.
How does Spree compare with Shopify?
Spree offers deeper source and domain control; Shopify offers a managed core and larger ready-made ecosystem. The better choice depends on differentiation, team capability and ownership appetite.
Can you upgrade an existing Spree application?
Yes. We first inventory versions, extensions, customisations, dependencies, test coverage and infrastructure, then plan incremental or staged upgrade work.
Can Spree support multiple stores or a marketplace?
It can support these models, but catalogue ownership, vendor or store boundaries, orders, commissions, fulfilment, returns and settlement need explicit architecture.
Do you provide hosting and support?
We can design deployment, observability, release and support arrangements around the chosen cloud and ownership model.
Can you work alongside our in-house Rails team?
Yes. We can own a defined area, such as an upgrade or the ERP integration, while your team keeps the storefront. Code review, test standards and the release process are agreed at the start, so both teams ship to the same application safely.
What should we look for in a Spree Commerce development partner?
Rails and Spree extension experience, a plan for upgrades and test coverage, clear ownership of hosting and security, and the habit of modelling your pricing, order and fulfilment rules before writing code. Ask how they would handle a failed payment, a split shipment or an order your ERP rejects, not only how the storefront will look.
Discuss your Spree Commerce implementation.
Share your current systems, the handoffs causing trouble and what needs to change. We'll shape a practical scope around your requirements.
Discuss your requirements