5. Dealer portal orders
Dealers order from their own portal at their trade price. You accept it, which raises and approves the invoice, then send it the usual way.
Where it is
- Orders desk → Dealer
- Dealer Portal — Dealers, users and setup
Settings for this
- Dealer Portal → Setup — Orders & invoicing and everything else about the portal
- Settings → Orders — Who’s on duty for dealer orders; customer update emails
Who this is for: whoever looks after dealers, and the warehouse.
Setting a dealer up (once)
- Sidebar Dealer Portal › Dealers › + Add Dealer. Pick their company (or create one), set the Pricing tier and press Add dealer.
- Click the dealer to open it. On Details, set Payment terms, a Credit limit, and whether they Can order on account and Can drop ship. Press Save changes.
- On the dealer's Users tab press + Invite user. Enter their email, choose a role (Buyer can place orders) and press Send invitation. They get an email with Access Dealer Portal → and choose a password the first time.
What the dealer does
- Products: they browse at their trade price (shown inc. GST, with the % off) and press Add to cart. A list of SKUs can go into Quick order on the cart.
- Cart › Continue to checkout.
- At checkout they choose:
- Submission type: Place order, or Save as quote to have you price it first.
- Your reference: their PO number.
- Delivery: Deliver to me, Pick up, or Drop ship to my customer (sent in plain packaging with no prices).
- Payment: On account (only if you allowed it), Pay now by card, or Pay by bank transfer.
- They press Place order (Place drop-ship order for a drop ship, Pay $X by card, or Place order & get invoice for a bank transfer).
- Afterwards they follow it under Orders, Shipments (with tracking) and Invoices (with Make payment and a Statement).
What you do
- It lands on the desk under the Dealer channel at New, and the on-duty person gets a bell.
- Accept it. The next step is Raise the invoice; press Accept, which raises the invoice and approves it in one go. If you set Dealer Portal › Setup › Orders & invoicing to Draft the invoice when everything is in stock (the default is Sales order only), the invoice is already drafted and the button is Approve.
- Send it like any other order: Pick it, then the Dispatch board (lesson 9). For a drop ship, use the blind packing slip (no prices, your name as sender). The invoice and the dispatch screen show a Drop ship card with Print packing slip.
- Paid on account? Nothing more to do; it's paid on their terms.
Paid by bank transfer or card
- Bank transfer: the invoice is raised at checkout with your bank details. The desk shows Waiting for payment, the customer's move. When the money arrives, open the invoice and press Record Payment. Don't send the goods until it shows Paid.
- Card: the dealer pays by card at checkout and the invoice is raised already. Check the invoice shows Paid before you send.
Quote requests
When a dealer picks Save as quote, the desk shows Review quote request. Press Open quote, check the pricing and stock, adjust if needed, and press Approve. The dealer then presses Convert to order in their portal, and it comes back to you as an order.
What you'll see on the Orders desk
| When | Stage | Next step | Whose move |
|---|---|---|---|
| New order, no invoice | New | Raise the invoice | Us |
| New order, invoice drafted | New | Approve the invoice | Us |
| Quote request | New | Review quote request | Us |
| Bank transfer, not paid yet | Accepted | Waiting for payment | Customer |
| Accepted, all in stock | Ready | Pick & pack | Us |
Keeping the dealer informed
The dealer always sees the status, invoices and tracking in their portal. If you switch on Customer updates (Settings › Orders), they're also emailed when the order is confirmed, goes on backorder and goes out.
Where it ends
Sent and paid: the order drops off the desk.
Lesson 5 of 10 in Orders, start to finish. Previous: 4. Shopify orders. Next: 6. Franchise orders: head office.