How to Allow Guest Users to Request Wholesale Quotes

WooCommerce Wholesale Quotes allows visitors to submit quote requests even if they haven’t created an account yet. In this guide, you’ll learn how to enable the guest quote feature, configure rate limits to protect your store from spam, and understand how the system handles guest quotes when a visitor logs in later.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure the following plugins are installed and active:

• WooCommerce Wholesale Quotes installed and active
• WooCommerce Wholesale Prices installed and active (required by Wholesale Quotes)
  

Additionally, configure the Quote Page and View Quote Page under: Wholesale Suite > Settings > Wholesale Quotes > New Quote Page

Step 1: Enable Guest Quotes

Guest quotes are disabled by default. Turn them on from the plugin settings.

1. Go to Wholesale Suite > Settings in your WordPress admin.
2. Click the Wholesale Quotes tab, then select the Guest Quote sub-tab.
3. Toggle Enable guest quotes to Enabled.
4. Click Save Changes.

Once enabled, the Add to Quote button becomes visible to visitors who are not logged in, and additional Guest Quote settings appear on this page.

Step 2: Configure Guest Quote Display Options

Two optional settings control what guest users see alongside the quote button.

1. Turn on Show login/create link if you want a prompt encouraging guests to log in or register. This is useful when you want to convert visitors into wholesale accounts.
2. Turn on Show login link to display a direct link to the login and registration page next to the guest quote area.
3. Click Save Changes.

Step 3: Assign a Wholesale Role to Guest Submissions

When a guest submits a quote, Wholesale Quotes needs to know which wholesale pricing tier to use when displaying product prices on that quote. You set this by assigning a default wholesale role.

1. On the Guest Quote settings tab, locate the Default wholesale role for guests dropdown.
2. Select the wholesale role you want applied to guest quote submissions.
3. Click Save Changes.

The roles available in this dropdown come from your WooCommerce Wholesale Prices configuration. If you haven’t created wholesale roles yet, set them up there first.

Step 4: Set Rate Limits for Guest Submissions

Rate limits prevent a single visitor or email address from flooding your inbox with quote requests. Wholesale Quotes tracks submissions by both IP address and email address independently — whichever limit is hit first blocks further submissions.

1. In Guest quote limit, enter the maximum number of quote requests a guest can submit within the tracking period. The default is 5. You can set any value between 1 and 100.
2. In Rate limit tracking period, choose how long submissions are counted before the limit resets:

Option	What it means
Never reset (permanent limit)	The guest’s quota never resets. Once they reach the limit, they cannot submit more quotes from that IP or email address.
7 days	The count resets every 7 days from each submission.
30 days (default)	The count resets after 30 days.
60 days	The count resets after 60 days.
90 days	The count resets after 90 days.

3. Click Save Changes.

When a guest reaches the limit, they see a message telling them how many requests are allowed and directing them to contact you for help. The message uses your WooCommerce site’s admin email address automatically.

Rate limit records are cleaned up automatically in the background once they expire (after the tracking period plus a 30-day grace period), so your database stays tidy without any manual intervention.

Step 5: How the Guest Email Modal Works

When guest quotes are enabled and a visitor clicks Add to Quote for the first time, a modal dialog appears asking for their email address. This email is required for two reasons: it identifies the guest’s quote in the system, and it is used for rate limiting alongside the visitor’s IP address.

Once the visitor enters a valid email and clicks Continue, the email is saved in their browser’s local storage. They won’t be prompted again on the same device and browser. From that point on, they can add products to their quote normally.

The email modal also appears if the guest tries to view or manage their quote and no email has been set yet in that browser session.

Step 6: What Happens When a Guest Logs In

Guest quotes are stored against the email address provided in the modal. When the guest logs into a WordPress account that uses the same email address, their quote history becomes accessible through their account’s quotes page.

Quotes submitted as a guest remain associated with the original guest email and are not automatically reassigned to the logged-in user account. The guest can view submitted quotes via the View Quote page using a direct link sent in the confirmation email.

GDPR and Guest Data Privacy

To enforce rate limits, Wholesale Quotes stores each guest’s IP address and email address alongside a reference to their quote submission. This data is used solely for rate limiting and is not used for marketing or shared with third parties.

This plugin integrates with WordPress’s built-in privacy tools:

• Personal data export — If a user submits a data export request via Tools > Export Personal Data, their guest quote rate limit records (IP address, email address, quote reference, and submission timestamp) are included in the export.
• Personal data erasure — If a user submits an erasure request via Tools > Erase Personal Data, all rate limit records tied to their email address are permanently deleted.
• Privacy policy content — The plugin automatically adds a suggested paragraph to your site’s privacy policy (via Settings > Privacy > Privacy Policy) explaining what guest data is collected and why.
• Automatic expiry — Rate limit records are automatically deleted after the configured tracking period plus a 30-day grace period, with no manual action required.
  

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a guest bypass the rate limit by using a different email address?
The limit is enforced by both IP address and email address independently. A guest who uses a different email address from the same IP address will still hit the IP-based limit once they reach the configured maximum. Both checks must pass for a submission to be allowed.

What happens if the guest’s IP address can’t be detected?
If a valid IP address cannot be determined (for example, on certain proxy or server configurations), the system falls back to email-only tracking. The IP-based limit is skipped, but the email-based limit still applies.

Will guest quotes be visible in the admin quotes list?
Yes. Guest quotes appear in Wholesale Suite > Quotes alongside quotes from registered customers. You can identify them by the absence of a linked customer account — the quote will show the guest’s email address instead.

Do I need to update my privacy policy manually?
No. The plugin adds suggested privacy policy content automatically. Review it under Settings > Privacy > Privacy Policy and publish or incorporate it into your existing policy.

Need Help?

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