Makers selling to shops

Magpie gives the shops you approve their own prices and minimums. It invoices them on their terms and shows what each one owes.

One online shop sells to shoppers and to the shops that stock you. Their orders come out of one stock count.

Get started free
Inkwell Press’s Wholesale page in Store: a gift shop’s request waiting for an answer, then the approved stockists with their price list and payment terms.

This combination of five Magpie areas fits a wholesale maker.

Store
Store sells to shoppers, and to the shops you approve at their own prices and minimums.
Invoicing
Invoicing bills a stockist's order on the shop's terms, with a button to pay online.
Contacts
Contacts keeps a page for each stockist, with its invoices, notes and follow-ups.
Inventory
Inventory counts your materials and packaging, and starts an order for each supplier.
Accounting
Accounting records every wholesale and retail sale, and what each shop still owes.

Shops you approve see wholesale prices in the online shop your shoppers use.

Store gives you one online shop for shoppers and for stockists. A shop signs in to Magpie and asks for wholesale prices from your Wholesale page. When you approve it, you choose its price list, payment terms and tax exemption.

A price list sets wholesale prices and minimums for the products you choose. Only an approved stockist, signed in to Magpie, sees them. At your own domain, your online shop shows retail prices. You can keep its Magpie address open for stockists.

Orders from stockists and shoppers come out of one stock count.

Your online shop holds the items in a stockist's order as soon as it is placed. Shoppers cannot buy what a stockist has ordered. A large order can ship in several parcels. Magpie will email the stockist what is in each, with its tracking.

You can give each product a reorder point. When its available stock falls to it, Magpie will email you. Each product's stock history lists every sale, restock, delivery and count, with who made it.

A stockist on invoice terms orders first and pays the invoice later.

Invoicing bills a stockist who chooses Pay by invoice at checkout. The invoice lists the items, shipping and any discount. It is due on receipt or 7, 14, 30, 45, 60 or 90 days after it is sent. Magpie will email it with a Pay online button.

A stockist pays the balance by card, or you record a bank transfer or cheque. When the invoice is paid in full, the order will be marked paid. With Stripe Tax on, only tax-exempt stockists are offered Pay by invoice.

Inkwell Press’s invoice IP-0158 as the stockist Paper Lantern Stationery sees it in its Client Portal: the total, the CA$600.00 already paid, what is left, and a Pay button to pay the balance by card.

Each stockist has its own page, with its invoices, notes and follow-ups.

Contacts gives each stockist a page of its own. Stockists that pay by invoice will be added with their business names. You can add the others from their customer pages. Each contact page lists every invoice billed to the shop, beside your notes and calls.

A follow-up has a date and a reason, such as asking about the spring order. Each one adds a To-do, and is listed as overdue, due today or upcoming. A saved segment lists the stockists with no order for a number of days.

Inkwell Press’s Follow-ups in Contacts: overdue calls about a line sheet and a card display, today’s question about Paper Lantern’s spring order, and upcoming follow-ups with other stockists, each with its reason and date.

You order your materials and packaging from suppliers before they run out.

Inventory keeps track of your materials and packaging. Paper is counted by the box, ink by the cartridge and mailing tubes by the case. Each one is on its supplier's list, at that supplier's price per pack.

From what is below its minimum, you start an order for each supplier. You can email it from Magpie. Receiving the delivery will add it to stock at the price charged. Anything short or charged at another price is listed until it is settled.

A draft Inkwell Press purchase order to Millstone Paper & Print Supply in Inventory: cotton card, envelopes, letterpress ink and mailing tubes, each with its packs and price, to be delivered to the press room.

Your books show each sale to shops and shoppers, and what each stockist owes.

Accounting adds your orders and invoices to the books when you open it. A stockist's invoice counts as a sale, and as money owed until it is paid. Each order records the cost of goods for products with a cost per item.

The Accounts receivable report groups unpaid invoices by how long past due they are. Income by customer shows the income from each stockist between two dates.

Inkwell Press’s Journal Entries in Accounting, narrowed to invoices: each wholesale invoice issued and each payment received over the last two months, newest first, with its memo and amount.

Four more areas cover line sheets, batches, the newsletter and social posts.

Presentations
Presentations lets you make your line sheet as a deck of product photos and prices. A buyer can open its link without signing in. You can also export it as a PDF, one slide per page.
Daily Operations
Daily Operations keeps your recipes, each with the materials it uses. Recording a batch will take them out of stock and add the finished pieces. It also sets the stock of the linked product in your online shop.
Newsletter
Newsletter keeps one list of subscribers for your brand. People join on its signup page, or tick a box at checkout. You can send each email now or schedule it.
Social Media
Social Media starts a post that names a live product. It will be published to Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn at the time you choose.

A stockist's request becomes an order, an invoice and a payment in the books.

Each step starts from what the one before it made.

  1. The shop asks

    A shop signs in to Magpie and sends a request from your Wholesale page. Magpie will email you.

  2. You approve it

    Approving makes it a wholesale customer, and you choose its price list and terms. Magpie will email the shop.

  3. It orders at its prices

    The shop signs in and sees its prices and minimums in the cart. It chooses Pay by invoice and places the order. The items are held for it.

  4. The invoice goes out

    Magpie will make the invoice, due on the shop's terms. It is emailed with a button to pay online. The shop will be added to your contacts.

  5. You ship

    You can ship before the invoice is paid. The items will leave stock, and Magpie will email the shop the tracking.

  6. It pays

    The shop pays online by card, or you record its bank transfer. Once it is paid in full, the order will be marked paid.

  7. The books

    Your books will record the invoice as owed to you, then its payment. The order's cost of goods is recorded too.

Setting up wholesale takes four steps.

  1. Set up your online shop

    You give it a name, add your products with a cost per item, and connect Stripe. Help: Set up and publish a Store.

  2. Make your price lists

    You make a price list with each product's wholesale price and minimum. Help: Wholesale customers, price lists and pay by invoice.

  3. Set up your invoices

    You add your logo and business details to your invoices, and check the reminder schedule. Help: Send and configure invoices.

  4. Invite your stockists

    You turn on wholesale requests and send shops your Wholesale page. Then you approve each request and choose its terms. Help: Wholesale customers, price lists and pay by invoice.

Plans

Store, Invoicing, Contacts, Inventory, Daily Operations and Accounting are on every plan. The Free plan allows 100 contacts and 5 invoices a month. Invoices for stockists' orders never count toward that limit. Pro and the Team plan have no limit on either.

A free team has places for 3 members, and the Team plan has 25. Magpie adds no fee to your online sales or to invoices paid online. Stripe's processing fee applies to each card payment.

Other businesses similar to a wholesale maker have pages of their own.

Small food and drink brands

A small food or drink brand makes hot sauce, jam or coffee in batches from recipes. It sells online and to shops.

Makers with a shop

A maker with its own counter sells in person and online, from one stock count. Its staff work on a rota.

Questions makers selling wholesale ask

Can shops see wholesale prices while shoppers see my retail prices?

Yes. A stockist signed in with the account you approved sees its own prices and minimums. Everyone else sees your retail prices, even someone who types the stockist's email address at checkout. Wholesale prices show at your online shop's Magpie address, not at your own domain. You can keep that address open for stockists.

How does a shop apply to stock our products?

Once you turn on wholesale requests, your online shop's footer will link to a Wholesale page. A shop signs in to Magpie there, or creates an account first. It sends its business name, an optional tax ID and a message. Magpie will email you, and you approve or decline the request. The shop is emailed either way, and a declined shop can ask again.

Can I set a minimum order quantity?

Yes. Each product on a price list can have a minimum, from 1 to 100. It is the least a stockist on that list can order. The cart shows the minimum, and checkout will not go ahead with fewer. Shops on another price list can have other minimums, or none.

Can different shops get different wholesale prices?

Yes. You can make a price list for each kind of stockist, such as shops and galleries. A list sets wholesale prices for the products you choose, and a percentage off the rest. Each shop is on one list. A change to a list applies to every shop on it, not to past orders.

Can stockists pay on net 30?

Yes. You set each stockist to pay at checkout or by invoice. An invoice is due on receipt or 7, 14, 30, 45, 60 or 90 days after it is sent. With invoice terms, the shop chooses Pay by invoice and places the order without a card. Magpie will then email the shop its invoice.

Can I ship an order before the invoice is paid?

Yes. An order paid by invoice holds its items, and you ship it when you are ready. The items leave stock with the first shipment. Magpie will email the shop what is in each parcel, with its tracking. When the invoice is paid in full, the order will be marked paid.

How do shops pay the invoice?

The invoice email has a Pay online button. The shop sees the total, what has been paid and the balance. It pays by card into your Stripe account, without signing in. You record a bank transfer or cheque with its date and reference. A part payment leaves the invoice Partly paid until the total is reached.

Will Magpie remind a shop that its invoice is due?

Yes. Magpie will email the shop a reminder on the due date, then 7 and 14 days after. That is for invoices emailed from Magpie, and you can change the schedule. Each reminder shows the balance due, with the PDF and a Pay online button. Reminders stop once the invoice is paid in full, or if you turn them off.

Some of our stockists are tax exempt. How is that handled?

You mark the shop tax exempt on its customer page. You upload its certificate there, as a JPG, PNG, WebP or PDF up to 10 MB. Only people who manage customers can download it. With Stripe Tax on, it is charged no tax and can pay by invoice. Checking the exemption is up to you.

Can I send shops a line sheet?

Yes. You make the line sheet in Presentations, with a slide for each product or collection. You add each product's photos, wholesale price and minimum. Once you publish it and share it by link, a buyer opens it without signing in. You can also export a PDF, one slide per page, to attach to an email.

Can I take an order a shop sends by email or phone?

Yes. You record a new order with the products, quantities and the price you are charging. You add the shop, its address, the shipping and how it paid. If it has not paid yet, Magpie can email it a payment link for the total. The items are held until it pays.

Can a shop ask for a quote before it orders?

Yes. Once you turn on quote requests, the cart shows Request a quote. The shop sends its cart with a message, and the request is listed with your quotes. From a quote, you can record an order with its items and prices. You can also make a draft invoice at the quoted prices.

Can I see what each stockist has ordered?

Yes. Each shop's customer page lists its orders and what it has spent after refunds. It also shows its first and last order. Its contact page lists every invoice billed to it, with status and total. The Income by customer report shows the income from each shop between two dates.

Can I find stockists who have not reordered in a while?

Yes. You can list customers tagged stockist with no order for a number of days. Saved as a segment, it shows the shops that match on the day you open it. A follow-up on a shop's contact, with a date and a reason, adds a To-do.

Do wholesale and retail orders come out of the same stock?

Yes. Each product has one stock count, and a stockist's order holds its items. Shoppers can buy only what is still available. When a product's available stock falls to its reorder point, Magpie will email you. Your stock page lists what is on hand, available and on order.

Can I give a stockist an extra discount?

Yes. A discount code applies after the wholesale price. You can limit a discount to a segment of customers, such as your stockists. Checkout checks the buyer's email address against the segment. So a code for a segment of stockists works only for the shops in that segment.

What happens if a shop cancels an order it was invoiced for?

You can cancel the order before it ships, while its invoice has no payments. Cancelling voids the invoice and stops its reminders. The items return to stock, where shoppers and other shops can buy them again.

Can I see who owes me money?

Yes. Your invoice list adds up what is outstanding and overdue from the balances still due. The list shows each invoice's balance due. The Accounts receivable report groups what is owed by how long past due it is. Money in on an imported bank statement can be recorded as an invoice's payment.

Can my accountant see the books?

Yes. You add your accountant by their email address or Magpie handle. They join the team as a guest with Accounting only. They keep the books with you. They cannot open anything else, such as your online shop, its orders or its customers.

Can staff handle wholesale orders without changing prices?

Yes. You give each person only the Store permissions they need, such as Ship and edit orders. Changing price lists needs Manage products, because they set product prices. Answering requests and changing a shop's terms needs Manage customers.

Open your online shop to stockists.

Create a Magpie account and set up your online shop.

Create account