Offering partial payments is a must if you cater to B2B clients and sell wholesale in WooCommerce. Wholesale customers often deal with the burden of large upfront costs that hinder their purchasing decisions. Accepting WooCommerce partial payments helps you ease this burden, empowering your customers to buy by spreading payments over time.
In this article, we’ll dive into WooCommerce partial payments, understand the key benefits it can offer to your wholesale business, and explore how you can implement it effortlessly into your e-commerce store. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Understanding Partial Payments
In a partial payment arrangement, the customer pays for only a portion of the total amount due. Depending on the agreement, the remaining balance can be settled at a later date or in installments. This payment arrangement is also known as “payment installments” or “down payment”.
Offering WooCommerce partial payments to B2B buyers empowers them to buy by alleviating the burden of immediately paying a large upfront payment. Here are some typical examples of how partial payments can be structured in the wholesale industry:
- Installment payments: In this arrangement, the total order value is divided into multiple payments, with the buyer making payments at regular intervals until the full amount is settled.
- Deposit payments: The buyer pays a percentage of the order upfront, while the remainder is due upon delivery or a specific timeframe.
- Deferred payments: Some wholesale businesses allow customers to pay a part (or the whole amount) of their invoice at a later date.
- Percentage-based payments: In this setup, wholesale customers pay a predetermined percentage upfront or at a later date, then settle the balance within a specific timeframe.
Benefits Of Offering WooCommerce Partial Payments
Now that we have a clear understanding of what partial payments are, you might be wondering why you should consider implementing this payment strategy into your WooCommerce store. There are several compelling advantages of offering WooCommerce partial payments, including:
1. Enhanced customer relationships
Offering partial payments empowers your wholesale customers to buy and invest in their business. With flexibility in their payment options, they can better manage their resources and cash flow. Accommodating their needs demonstrates your commitment to their success, consequently building trust and loyalty over time.
This is also beneficial for your store in terms of market competitiveness. With more payment options, you set yourself apart from other businesses that fail to cater to this need.
2. Improved conversion rates
Implementing WooCommerce partial payments in your e-commerce store removes the financial barrier of large upfront costs for wholesale customers. As a result, customers who have been previously hesitant to buy due to hefty upfront payments are more likely to complete their purchase. This results in increased sales volume and revenue for your wholesale business.
3. Better cash flow for your business
Providing customers with options to pay in partial also benefits the financial health of your business. Instead of relying on sporadic large payments from your B2B clients, you can receive payments in predictable installments. This allows you to plan better and allocate your resources more effectively. With better cash flow management, you can reinvest in your business, seize growth opportunities, and position yourself for long-term success.
How To Offer WooCommerce Partial Payments
By default, WooCommerce doesn’t offer the functionality to offer partial payments. However, you can easily implement this feature into your wholesale store using Wholesale Payments, our newest plugin.
Wholesale Payments make it easy for you to set up flexible payment terms for your B2B customers. In this tutorial, we’ll explore the two main ways you can do this with our plugin!
Take note that you’ll need to have Wholesale Payments installed and set up on your WooCommerce store to access these features. If you haven’t installed the plugin yet, get it here.
So, with that out of the way, let’s explore the two ways you can offer WooCommerce partial payments using our plugin!
1. Enable pre-configured payment plans
Wholesale Payments come with pre-configured payment plans. These payment plans are the most commonly used in the wholesale industry, saving you time and giving you a quick headstart:
Let’s explore them in more detail below:
- NET 30/60/90: Allow customers to pay the full invoice amount within 30, 60, or 90 days from the date of purchase.
- 50% upfront remainder in 30 days: Customers must pay 50% of the total invoice amount upfront, with the remaining balance due within 30 days.
- 3 equal payments: Under this plan, the total invoice amount is divided into three equal payments. Customers pay the first payment upfront, and the remaining two payments will be billed within 30 and 60 days.
- 25% upfront remainder in 30 days: Customers make an initial payment of 25%, with the remaining 75% of the invoice due within 30 days.
- Nothing upfront, payment 30 days after the end of this month: Wholesale customers are not required to make any upfront payment. Instead, the full amount is due 30 days after the end of the current month.
- Full amount on the 21st of next month: In this arrangement, the full invoice amount is due on the 21st of the following month.
With Wholesale Payments, you can enable as many of these preconfigured payment plans as you want. This gives you immense flexibility in choosing plans that align with the needs and preferences of your wholesale customers.
2. Create your custom WooCommerce payment plans
In addition to pre-configured payment plans, Wholesale Payments offers you the flexibility to design your custom payment plans tailored to the specific needs of your wholesale business. This gives you full control over configuring WooCommerce partial payments.
With Wholesale Payments, you can set:
- Days after order: Specify the number of days after the order is placed that the payment is due. This flexibility allows you to accommodate different payment schedules and cash flow cycles.
- Amount due: Wholesale Payments allow you to define the amount due required for each payment installment, whether it’s a fixed amount, percentage, or no payment required.
- Wholesale customer roles: With our powerful plugin, you can specify which wholesale customer can access each custom payment plan. This handy feature ensures your payment options are only available to eligible wholesale customers.
We have a detailed tutorial on how to create and configure your custom payment plan using Wholesale payments, which you can check out below:
Conclusion
Offering WooCommerce partial payments empowers your B2B customers to make quicker purchase decisions. By giving them flexible payment options, you give them more control over their finances and enhance their overall purchase experience. In this article, we explored compelling reasons why you should offer partial payments in your wholesale business:
Plugins like Wholesale Payments allow you to integrate WooCommerce partial payments into your e-commerce business easily. With this plugin, you can:
Do you have any questions about offering WooCommerce partial payments? Let us know in the comments section below!
