Once a buyer says yes, you need a clean way for them to actually order from you — at wholesale prices, on agreed terms, without you re-explaining everything each time. That's what a wholesale account is. In plain terms, a wholesale account is an approved buyer relationship that unlocks your B2B pricing and ordering terms for one business. This guide explains what a wholesale account is from the seller's side and how to set one up so ordering is frictionless for both of you.
What a wholesale account actually is
When a consumer buys from you, there's no account to approve — they pay retail and they're done. Wholesale is different. A wholesale account is a vetted, ongoing relationship where a specific business gets:
- Access to your wholesale price list, not your retail prices.
- Agreed order terms — minimum order quantity, payment terms, shipping.
- A record of who they are — business details, resale certificate, contact.
- A repeat-order path so their next order doesn't start from scratch.
Think of it as the difference between a walk-in customer and a member. The account is what turns a one-time buyer into a repeat wholesale relationship, which is the whole point of selling B2B.
Why you approve buyers instead of selling to anyone
You don't hand wholesale pricing to just anyone who asks. A wholesale account has an approval step for good reasons:
- Price protection. If anyone could buy at wholesale, resellers could undercut your retail and Amazon listings.
- Tax records. Resale buyers should provide a resale certificate; you keep it on file (more on that in do you need a business license to sell wholesale).
- Fit. You want buyers who match your brand and will actually reorder, not one-off bargain hunters.
Approval doesn't need to be bureaucratic. For most small brands it's a short form and a quick check that the applicant is a real business.
What to collect when setting one up
Keep onboarding light but complete. For each wholesale account, collect:
- Business name and details — legal entity, website, and what they do.
- Resale certificate (for resale buyers) so you can sell tax-free and keep clean records.
- A primary contact — the person who places orders and the one who pays.
- Shipping and billing addresses.
- Agreed terms — their pricing tier, MOQ, and payment terms.
That's enough to open the account and start taking orders without friction on either side.
The terms that live inside the account
The account is where your standard wholesale terms get attached to a specific buyer. The core ones:
- Minimum order quantity (MOQ). The smallest order you'll accept — it protects you from tiny, unprofitable orders.
- Pricing tier. Which volume tier of your price list applies to them.
- Payment terms. Prepaid, deposit, or net 30. New accounts often start prepaid and earn terms over time.
- Shipping terms. Who pays freight, and any free-shipping threshold.
Spelling these out once, inside the account, means every future order runs on the same rails. No renegotiating from zero each time. If you're still working out the numbers behind these, start with how wholesale pricing actually works.
How to actually deliver a wholesale account
You don't need software to run wholesale accounts, especially early. Your options, from simplest up:
- Manual. A spreadsheet of approved buyers plus a shared price sheet and email or invoice ordering. Perfectly fine for your first handful of accounts.
- Shopify with a wholesale channel or app. Lets approved buyers log in and see wholesale pricing directly.
- A wholesale marketplace like Faire, which handles account approval and ordering for you (in exchange for a cut and less control of the relationship).
Most brands start manual, then add a self-serve ordering portal once the volume justifies it. Don't over-build before you have accounts to fill it.
The onboarding experience matters more than the tooling
However you deliver it, a good wholesale account onboarding does three things well:
- Makes the first order easy. Clear price sheet, obvious MOQ, simple payment.
- Sets expectations. Lead times, reorder process, who to contact.
- Invites the next order. A satisfied first buyer should know exactly how to reorder.
The whole reason to set up accounts properly is repeat revenue. Where the first order sits in the larger arc — from cold email to reorder — is worth understanding in full; see the wholesale sales cycle explained step by step.
A wholesale account isn't paperwork for its own sake. It's the rail that turns a hard-won first order into an easy tenth order. Build the rail once and reordering becomes the default.
Accounts need buyers first
Setting up wholesale accounts is only useful once you have buyers to approve. The upstream problem — finding businesses that want your product and getting them to that first order — is where most brands get stuck.
WholesalePilot solves that side: paste your ASIN, and it finds matching B2B buyers, writes the outreach, and books the calls. Once a buyer says yes, you open their wholesale account and the reorders follow. When you're ready to fill your first accounts, start with your ASIN.