Wholesale and distribution
Buying in volume and selling on to businesses, on terms, with inventory and receivables as the two big balances.
Six short steps. No email or account.
Family
Manufacturing, wholesale and agriculture
Physical production and distribution, where inventory accounting is real.
- Priority decisions
- 8
Foundation — what that means here
Operating reality
What makes this different
The realities that change which tools can actually work for you.
Selling on credit terms means receivables management is as important as sales.
Inventory turns and carrying cost decide profitability more than headline margin.
Customer-specific pricing and volume breaks are a requirement most simple invoicing cannot handle.
Where to start
The decisions that matter here, in order
You do not have to take them in this order, and you do not have to take all of them. This is where most businesses like yours start.
- 1Accounting software
Track income and expenses so tax time is a report, not an archaeology dig.
- 2Inventory and materials
Know what stock and materials you hold, and what they cost.
- 3Invoicing
Send the bill, and let people pay it without writing a cheque.
- 4Cash flow and budgeting
See what is coming in and going out before the account gets tight.
- 5Paying bills
Pay suppliers and subcontractors on a schedule, with a record of it.
- 6Credit and financing
Borrow for equipment, vehicles or a gap, on terms you understand.
- 7Customer records and follow-up
One place for every customer, conversation and next step.
- 8Business insurance
Cover the things that could end the business in one bad afternoon.
Your next step
Answer six short questions about your wholesale and distribution business: your team, where the work happens and what you want to fix first. You get an operating plan in the order to tackle it, with the must-haves and comparison points for each area.
Answers
Common questions
- What software does a wholesale and distribution business need?
- Buying in volume and selling on to businesses, on terms, with inventory and receivables as the two big balances. The decisions that matter most are 8 areas, starting with the ones tied to how the work actually gets done and paid for.
- What makes running a wholesale and distribution business different?
- Selling on credit terms means receivables management is as important as sales. Inventory turns and carrying cost decide profitability more than headline margin. Customer-specific pricing and volume breaks are a requirement most simple invoicing cannot handle.