A wholesale price list tells a store what it will pay and what it can sell for: each item with its code, size and case pack, the wholesale price each and by the case, any discount for larger orders, the suggested retail price, and the terms, minimum order and delivery. The column buyers look at first is the one most lists leave out: the store's margin at the suggested retail price, because that's what decides whether the product earns its shelf. In the example below, a soap maker's list prices bar soap at $4.50 each, $54 a case of 12, with a suggested retail of $9 that leaves the store 50%, and 5% off cases ordered ten or more at a time. Below is what goes on a price list, a filled-in example, setting suggested retail, terms, changing prices, and a free template.
The short version
- Business, effective date, terms, minimum order, larger-order discount, delivery.
- For each item: name, code, size, case pack, price each, price a case, larger-order price, suggested retail.
- Show the store's margin at the suggested retail price; buyers will work it out anyway.
- Keystone, retail at twice wholesale, is a common starting point, not a rule.
- Check your own margin at the wholesale price before printing the list.
- Date every list; a price change is a new list with a new date.
- TaroStack keeps margins by product and customer, so the list's prices can be checked against what things cost. More below.
What goes on a price list
| Part | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Effective date | Prices effective November 1 | Which list is current |
| Terms | Net 30 after a prepaid first order | When the store pays |
| Minimum order | $150 | Keeps small orders worth the trip |
| Larger-order pricing | 5% off at 10 cases or more | Rewards bigger orders |
| Item, code, size | Lavender oatmeal bar soap, SB-LAV, 4.5 oz | What the buyer writes on the PO |
| Case pack | 12 | Stores order by the case |
| Price each and a case | $4.50 and $54.00 | What the store pays |
| Suggested retail and margin | $9.00, 50% | Whether it's worth the shelf |
| Shelf life | 24 months | How long it can sit |
The item code is the one thing to get right: it's what goes on the store's purchase order, your packing slip and your invoice, so the three can be matched line by line. The order itself can come on a wholesale order form template.
A filled-in example
Salt Marsh Soap Co., a made-up soap maker in Charleston, South Carolina, I use in these examples, sends this list to gift shops and boutiques:
| Item | Code | Size | Case | Each | A case | 10+ cases | Suggested retail | Store's margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavender oatmeal bar soap | SB-LAV | 4.5 oz | 12 | $4.50 | $54.00 | $51.30 | $9.00 | 50% |
| Unscented goat milk bar soap | SB-GMU | 4.5 oz | 12 | $4.50 | $54.00 | $51.30 | $9.00 | 50% |
| Hand and body lotion | LO-SAL | 8 oz | 6 | $7.50 | $45.00 | $42.75 | $15.00 | 50% |
| Lip balm, peppermint | LB-PEP | 0.15 oz | 24 | $2.00 | $48.00 | $45.60 | $4.00 | 50% |
| Sea salt soak | BS-SEA | 12 oz | 6 | $6.00 | $36.00 | $34.20 | $12.00 | 50% |
Terms are net 30 after the first order, which is paid on delivery; the minimum order is $150; delivery is free over $300 within 50 miles. A list like this goes out with a one-page sell sheet that tells the product's story.
Setting the suggested retail
Every item on the example list is keystoned: the suggested retail price is twice the wholesale price, so the store keeps 50% of the shelf price. Keystone is a common starting point for gift and specialty shops, but grocery categories and some distributors work on other margins, so ask a store what it expects before printing. Then check the other side: at $4.50 wholesale, does a bar of soap still leave you enough after its ingredients, packaging and time? How to work that out is in how to price handmade items for wholesale.
Terms and the larger-order price
The terms tell a store when to pay, and the first order paid on delivery protects a small maker from a new account that doesn't pay. The larger-order discount, 5% at ten cases, is worth offering only if a big order really costs you less to fill: one delivery instead of three, one invoice, a production run that's already scheduled. The minimum order keeps a two-bar order from costing more to deliver than it earns.
Changing prices
When costs rise, send a new list with a new effective date, at least a month ahead, and a short letter saying what's changing and why; the letter is in price increase letter. Keep the old list on file, so an order placed before the date is billed at the old price.
Get the template
Download the wholesale price list template. One printable sheet: your business, effective date, terms, minimum order, larger-order threshold and discount, and delivery, then up to 30 items with code, size, case pack, price each, suggested retail and shelf life. It works out the price a case, the larger-order price and the store's margin at the suggested retail. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Twenty items, two price lists for shops and distributors, a price change in the spring, and orders that have to be billed at the price on the list the store had when it ordered. A sheet can't show whether each wholesale price still covers what the item costs to make, or which accounts earn the most after delivery.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps margins by product and by customer, so the list's prices can be checked against what things cost.
What things cost. Each product is a recipe of its ingredients and packaging, and every batch is costed at what it used, so the cost behind each wholesale price is current. A price-creep report per supplier shows whose prices are rising, which is the early warning for the next price list.
Orders at the list's prices. Store orders are sales orders that show whether the cases are on the shelf while you're still typing, and the delivery note and invoice follow from the same order.
And what each account earns. Margins are reported by product and by customer, so a store that only orders at the larger-order price, or always needs a special delivery, shows up.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Does $4.50 still cover a bar of soap? | Last year's costing | Each batch, at what it used |
| Whose prices are rising? | Noticed on the invoice | Price creep by supplier |
| Store orders, slip and invoice | Typed three times | One sales order |
| Which accounts earn the most? | A feeling | Margins by customer |
Recipes, batches, sales orders and margins by product and customer are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.