Wholesale orders: price lists, order statuses and trade customers

How does EasyTaskr handle wholesale orders?

It treats every order as a document that moves through clear steps, and it brings the customer's terms with it from the first line. Orders, proformas (also called quotations) and invoices sit together under Sales documents, each on its own tab, so the whole history of a sale is in one place.

The hard part of wholesale is not taking the order. It is making sure the price was right, the customer could afford it, the stock existed and the invoice matched what went on the van. Each step below is there to catch one of those.

What are the order statuses?

An order moves forward one step at a time:

Most staff follow the steps in order. Owners, admins and sales managers can skip a step when the real world moves faster than the screen, for example a collection at the counter. Delivered and Cancelled are final.

How do price lists work?

A price list is a set of prices for a group of customers. Each list uses fixed prices or a percentage off your normal selling price. You can add Quantity breaks, so ten cases cost less each than one, sell some products only in whole cases, and set a minimum order value. The editor warns when a price is below cost, and shows which customers are on the list.

When an order is priced, EasyTaskr looks in a fixed order: the customer's own list first, then the list on the catalogue link they ordered from, then your default list, then the normal price. You can always see why a line has the price it has.

Some distributors give trade discounts in steps, such as a fixed trade discount, then a discount agreed on each order, then extra for paying cash. That can be switched on as an optional scheme, with each step taken off what is left after the one before and printed on its own line on the quote and invoice.

How does EasyTaskr protect credit and stock?

Credit is checked when an order is confirmed, not when it is a draft. If the order would take the customer over their limit, it is refused and the screen shows the credit available and the order total, so the conversation with the customer starts from real numbers. Our guide to customer credit for wholesalers covers how to set those limits.

Stock is checked as you take the order. If you do not hold enough, you see a warning: you can still take the order, but you will not be able to mark it delivered until the stock comes in. If AI suggestions are on, open orders that need more than you hold are flagged before the van is loaded.

Step by step: take, confirm and edit a trade order

1. Open Sales documents and start a new order.
2. Choose the customer; their price list, discount and credit appear before any product is added.
3. Add products and quantities; prices fill in from their list, with any quantity breaks applied.
4. Read any stock warning on the review step and decide whether to go ahead.
5. Save it as a draft if the account needs sorting first, or confirm it.
6. On confirming, the credit check runs, stock is reserved and the customer's balance goes up.
7. In the warehouse, press Print picking sheet, or pick it from a pick wave on a phone.
8. If the customer rings to change it, open the order and press Edit order.
9. Change quantities or use Add product; the old total sits beside the new one before you save.
10. Press Save changes; the order is marked Edited and its invoice, if it has one, is updated to match.
11. Dispatch the order; the invoice is raised, ready to print or send.

How do customers order for themselves?

Two ways. A catalogue link is a page of your products at the customer's own prices, shared by link or WhatsApp. Trade customers confirm who they are with a code before they see trade prices. A trade portal gives a customer Quick order, My orders, My invoices and My account, with every order checked against their credit limit when it is placed.

Either way, the order arrives as a draft under To confirm, which says plainly that nothing is charged or sent until you confirm. That keeps a customer's typing mistake from reaching the warehouse.

How do I know the prices are making money?

Check the margin on each price list against your costs before you hand it out. A worked example: a case costs 18.00 and your normal price is 24.00, a margin of 25%. A price list at 10% off sells it at 21.60, a margin of about 16.7%. Add a 5% cash discount on top and it sells at 20.52, a margin of about 12.3%. Two modest discounts have halved the margin. The markup vs margin guide shows how to set a floor for discounts before you agree them.

Why does the invoice follow the order?

Because two documents that disagree cause most wholesale disputes. If the order says six cases and the invoice says four, the customer pays the lower figure and you spend a week finding out why. In EasyTaskr the invoice is raised from the order, and when the order is edited the invoice is changed with it, under the same number. The one case it refuses, an order already invoiced in parts, is refused on purpose: changing it would leave one part invoice that no longer matches anything.

What should I set up first?

Put your customers on price lists before you take their first order, set a credit limit for everyone who buys on account, and fill in cost prices so the below-cost warning works. Then take a few practice orders through the whole journey, edit one and print its invoice, so the team knows what each status means. For the bigger picture of running a distribution business, see how to start a wholesale business.