The first time a boutique asked me for "net 30," I said yes before I knew what it meant. What it means, practically, is: you are the bank now. You ship the goods, and payment arrives — in theory — 30 days later. Wholesale runs on this arrangement, and handled well it's fine. Handled loosely, it's how small brands end up financing their own retailers into the ground.
What goes on a wholesale invoice
Every wholesale invoice needs, at minimum:
- Invoice number and date — sequential numbers make your books auditable and your brand look established.
- The store's details — legal name, contact, ship-to address.
- Line items with SKUs — name, SKU, quantity, unit wholesale price, line total. If a promo applies (say, "buy 8 get 2 free"), show the free units at $0 rather than deleting them — it documents the precedent honestly.
- Terms and due date — not just "Net 30" but the actual date. "Due August 1" gets paid; "Net 30" gets interpreted.
- How to pay — with a link. This is the single highest-leverage change most founders can make. An invoice with a payment link (Stripe or similar) removes every step between "I should pay this" and paying it. In our experience the gap between link-invoices and "check in the mail" invoices is measured in weeks.
Choosing terms without getting burned
A sane ladder for a founder-led brand:
- First order: payment up front (or 50% deposit, balance on ship). This is normal and no good store will blink. You have no history with this buyer; don't extend credit to a stranger.
- Established accounts: Net 30. Earned after a clean first order or two. Put the due date on the invoice and follow up on day 31 — kindly, promptly, every time. Stores pay the vendors who notice.
- Net 60: only when the account earns it and only if your cash flow genuinely tolerates it. Seasonal shops will ask; you're allowed to say "we do Net 30" or meet in the middle with a deposit.
The relationship rule: firmness about terms doesn't cost you accounts. Chaos does. Buyers respect a brand that invoices immediately, states dates plainly, and follows up on time — it signals you'll be around next season.
The follow-up nobody enjoys (and how to make it kind)
Late payments are usually disorganization, not disrespect. The note that works is short, warm, and assumes good faith: "Hi Dana! Flagging that invoice #1042 ($612) came due Tuesday — here's the payment link again in case it's easier: [link]. Hope the spring set is selling beautifully!" Send it the week payment is late, and again two weeks after. If you dread writing these, automate the drafting — this is exactly the kind of work an assistant should do for you (Mira drafts payment reminders in your voice; nothing sends without your tap).
Speed is the real system
Here's the pattern behind everything above: the money moves at the speed of the invoice. An order that sits three days as an unstructured email is an invoice that goes out three days late, is paid three weeks late, and is reordered a month late. The founders with the healthiest wholesale cash flow aren't the ones with the toughest terms — they're the ones whose order-to-invoice pipeline takes minutes. That's the entire premise behind Mira: the conversation becomes the invoice, with the payment link attached, in about 30 seconds — so the clock starts while the buyer is still excited.