Selecting the best billing software for distributors can be a challenge. There are plenty of options when it comes to billing software for wholesale shops, but not every option offers the same features. However, which software or platform you choose should depend on what type of store you run and how you plan on billing customers.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to three of the best options for billing software for wholesale shops. We’ll discuss how they work, what features they offer, and how much they cost. So, let’s get right to it!
Features You Need From Billing Software For Distributors
Billing works much differently when it comes to wholesale distributors versus retail stores. When it comes to retail stores, customers expect to pay right away and, in most cases, they’ll use their credit cards to do so. However, the billing process is much less straightforward when it comes to wholesale purchases.
For instance, wholesale customers may not pay immediately. In many cases, you’ll have NET-pay arrangements with customers. That means that your biggest customers may pay 30, 60, or even 90 days after they make a purchase.
A lot of wholesale customers might also prefer to pay via wire transfer instead of credit cards since you’re usually dealing with purchases in the thousands or dozens of thousands of dollars. However, a lot of traditional payment processors are ill-equipped to handle transactions of that magnitude, which makes them poor options for wholesale stores.
Billing software for distributors should adapt to your wholesale customers’ needs and make processing payments as simple as possible. If that software also includes functionality that helps you manage your books, then you’ll be all the better off for it.
3 Best Billing Software For Distributors
There aren’t all that many options for billing software that’s designed for wholesale stores. With that in mind, we put together a list of our top three choices that can adapt to your needs as a distributor. Let’s start with FreshBooks.
1. FreshBooks
One of the most popular billing and time-tracking management software options for small businesses is FreshBooks. Among its many features, you have robust invoicing tools that are perfect for wholesale distributors. You can create custom invoices, send reminders, and process payments through multiple gateways.
As far as payment processing goes, FreshBooks supports some of the most popular gateways in the market, including PayPal and Stripe. The platform also offers options for ACH transfers if you’re in the US and local bank transfers depending on your location.
To make billing easier, customers will be able to access payment options right from their invoices. Plus, you can enable partial payment if that’s an option that you offer for your wholesale customers. Some distributors have clients pay a percentage of their invoices right away and the rest upon receiving their products, which is model that can help you minimize your risk.
Keep in mind that FreshBooks charges a fee for payments that you process using their tools. In most cases, those fees are a standard 2.9% for each transaction plus a small individual charge. For ACH transfers, FreshBooks charges 1% of the entire payment. You also have to pay for a subscription plan, with FreshBooks’ basic tier starting at $4.50 per month.
Those fees can quickly add up for large wholesale purchases, which means FreshBooks isn’t all that viable if you’re making big sales regularly. However, it’s a great solution if you’re just starting out as a distributor.
2. Zoho Invoice
It is part of the Zoho suite of tools, which includes everything from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to website builders. This billing software for distributors enables you to generate customizable invoices for clients and process payments directly.
As far as invoicing functionality goes, you can use templates so your designs look more professional. The software enables you to create customer profiles and track their spending, send invoices in multiple languages and currencies, and even mail physical copies of your digital files.
Using this, you can process payments via credit cards, cash, checks, and ACH. Most wholesale customers won’t pay cash, but the option to process checks and ACH transfers is great. Unlike with FreshBooks, you don’t get the option to process local bank transfers for countries outside of the US.
Zoho Invoice offers a free plan that enables you to invoice up to five customers and process payments. However, for a wholesale store, we recommend that you opt for its Basic plan, which starts at $90 per month and enables you to bill up to 50 customers.
3. Wholesale Payments
Wholesale Payments is a part of Wholesale Suite, a collection of plugins tailor-made for WooCommerce wholesalers. This plugin allows you to effortlessly offer flexible payment terms and create custom payment plans for your B2B buyers. It also streamlines invoice management, giving you complete visibility into payments and outstanding balances right within your WooCommerce store.
With Wholesale Payments, you can automatically send out invoices the moment a wholesale customer orders in your online store. What’s more, they can pay right within the invoice and choose among versatile payment methods like credit cards, ACH/bank transfers, and digital wallets.
This powerful plugin also comes with pre-configured payment plans that you can enable or disable, depending on the needs and requirements of your wholesale customers:
Unlike the other solutions we have discussed so far, Wholesale Payments is specifically created to address the unique needs of WooCommerce wholesalers. Thus, it seamlessly integrates with the WooCommerce ecosystem and gives you additional features like restricting payment plans to wholesale user roles and viewing payment statuses right within your order dashboard.
Moreover, this powerful plugin integrates perfectly with all the other plugins within Wholesale Suite. With the entire collection of plugins, you can bring your entire wholesale operations online, enjoying additional features like:
- Managing and setting wholesale prices
- Creating one-paged order forms to make bulk purchases easier
- Implementing a seamless onboarding process with custom B2B registration forms
Conclusion
There are a lot of options for billing software for distributors. Your choice of billing software will decide what type of payment options you can offer, how your invoices look, and whether you have access to other features that make your work easier. In this guide, we’ve explored three of the best billing software for distributors:
If you’re running a wholesale operation using WooCommerce, we highly recommend that you use Wholesale Payments. This powerful tool allows you to offer flexible payment terms and create custom payment plans right within your e-commerce store. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates with all Wholesale Suite plugins, allowing you to bring your entire wholesale operations online.
Do you have any questions about which billing software for distributors you should use? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
