B2B Wholesale Overview
Use this page to understand how wholesale works in Brother POS — who sells, who buys, and how an order gets from one to the other.
At a glance
- Distributors sell wholesale: they share a catalog, approve orders, pack and hand them over, and invoice. Retailers buy: they connect to a distributor, order, and receive the stock. A store can be both.
- Turn the parts you need on under Settings > Edit Settings, Sales & Integrations tab, in Wholesale Feature Controls. Whether your store is set up as a distributor, a retailer or both is part of your account — ask Brother POS support to change it.
- A retailer connects to a distributor through the Distributor Directory or with a 6-character pairing code. The distributor approves it, and the retailer can order.
- An order goes Pending → Approved → Packed → picked up, delivered or shipped. Approving it takes the stock off and, by default, creates the invoice.
- Buyers who don't use Brother POS can order through your Wholesale Portal.
- Each side only ever sees its own orders.
Start here: Pairing · Distributor Features · Retailer Features · Wholesale Portal · Invoicing
More detail: store types and the feature switches
Brother POS includes a B2B wholesale system that connects distributors with retailers. Distributors share wholesale catalogs, manage retailer relationships, and fulfill wholesale orders. Retailers connect to distributors, place purchase orders, and receive inventory — all from within Brother POS.
Store Types and Features
Each store's account is set up as a distributor, a retailer, or both. This is part of how Brother POS sets up your account — contact Brother POS support if it needs changing.
The wholesale features themselves are switched on by a store admin under Settings > Edit Settings > Sales & Integrations tab, in Wholesale Feature Controls:
| Setting | Shown to | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Distributor Connections (ordering) | Retailers | Connect to distributors and place wholesale orders from them |
| Enable Distributor Directory | Retailers | Browse distributors listed on Brother POS and request connections |
| Enable Wholesale Portal | Distributors | A web portal where buyers who don't use Brother POS can order |
| Enable Retailer Connections (B2B) | Distributors | The Retailers page for managing connected Brother POS retailers |
If your store does not buy from or sell to other businesses, leave these features off. Most wholesale pages then stay out of your admin menu.
Store Modes
Distributor
When your store acts as a distributor (seller), you can:
- Be found in the Distributor Directory, and approve connection requests.
- Generate pairing codes for retailers to connect.
- Share your wholesale catalog with wholesale pricing.
- Manage retailer connections, pricing tiers and credit limits.
- Receive and fulfill wholesale orders.
- Send invoices and record payments.
- Set up a wholesale portal for web-based buyers.
Retailer
When your store acts as a retailer (buyer), you can:
- Find distributors in the directory, or enter pairing codes, to connect.
- Browse distributor catalogs with wholesale pricing.
- Place purchase orders through Brother POS.
- Track order status from placement to delivery.
- Receive inventory into stock, with new products arriving complete with photo and details.
Both
A store can be both a distributor and a retailer at the same time. For example, a store might buy from licensed producers (acting as a retailer) while also supplying smaller retailers (acting as a distributor).
More detail: privacy and how stores connect
How Orders Stay Private
When both stores are on Brother POS, orders pass straight between them inside Brother POS. A distributor sees only the orders placed with it, and a retailer sees only its own purchase orders and the invoices issued to it. Nobody else — including other stores buying from the same distributor — can see them.
The Connection Process
Distributors and retailers connect in one of two ways:
- Distributor Directory — the retailer finds the distributor and sends a request. The distributor approves it with pricing and credit terms, or it is approved automatically.
- Pairing code — the distributor generates a 6-character code and shares it with the retailer (by phone, email, or in person). The retailer enters it to request a connection, and the distributor approves it.
Once approved, the connection is Active and the retailer can order. A pairing code connects one retailer and is then used up. A retailer store can connect to several distributors, but only once to each. See Pairing for step-by-step instructions.
More detail: the order lifecycle, credit and fulfillment methods
Wholesale Order Lifecycle
Once a connection is established, a wholesale order moves through these stages:
Retailer places order
|
v
Order: PENDING
|
/ \
v v
APPROVED REJECTED
(invoice created by default)
|
v
PACKED
|
+--> Pickup: READY FOR PICKUP --> PICKED UP
+--> Delivery: SHIPPED (out for delivery) --> DELIVERED
+--> Shipping: SHIPPED --> DELIVERED
Orders placed by a retailer on Brother POS are Pickup orders.
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending | Order placed, awaiting distributor review |
| Approved | Distributor accepted the order; inventory deducted and, by default, the invoice created |
| Packing | Distributor has started packing the order (optional step) |
| Packed | Order is ready for pickup, delivery or shipping |
| Ready for Pickup | Pickup order is packed and waiting for the buyer to collect it. The buyer is notified. |
| Shipped | Order has left for delivery or been shipped |
| Picked Up | Buyer collected the order |
| Delivered | Order has been delivered |
| Cancelled | Order cancelled after approval; inventory restored |
| Rejected | Distributor declined the order |
The order page only shows the action buttons that apply to the order's fulfillment method. A pickup order offers Mark as Ready for Pickup, a local delivery order offers Mark as Out for Delivery, and a shipping order offers Mark as Shipped. If an order has no invoice by the time it is delivered or picked up, one is created then. See Distributor Features for each step.
Credit Management
Brother POS includes built-in credit management for retailer connections:
- Credit Limits: Set a credit limit per retailer. $0 means no limit.
- Current Balance: Goes up by the order total when you approve an order, and down when you record an invoice payment.
- Credit Check: An order that would take the retailer over their limit is refused when it is placed.
Fulfillment Methods
Wholesale orders record one of these fulfillment methods: In-store, Pickup, Local delivery, or Shipping. Buyers on the Wholesale Portal choose Pickup, Local delivery or Shipping at checkout.
More detail: when both stores are on Brother POS
Stores on Brother POS
When both the distributor and the retailer run on Brother POS:
- Prices come from the distributor. Each line is priced from the distributor's product at the quantity ordered, with the retailer's pricing tier, and checked against the distributor's minimums and stock.
- Tax is the distributor's. The order is taxed at the distributor's tax rate, because the distributor is the seller.
- One order number. The retailer's purchase order uses the same order number as the distributor's wholesale order, so both sides can refer to it.
- Statuses stay in step. The retailer's purchase order status updates automatically as the distributor approves, packs, hands over or cancels the order.
- The invoice reaches the retailer. It is emailed to the retailer's store and shown on their purchase order.
- Cancelling. The retailer can cancel while the order is pending, and it is cancelled at the distributor too. Once approved, only the distributor can cancel it.
- Receiving. The retailer can receive once the order is approved. Products they don't stock yet arrive finished — photo, description, brand, strain, THC/CBD and category — and the retailer sets their own shelf price as they receive.
See Retailer Features for the whole flow from the retailer's side.
More detail: wholesale revenue in orders and reports, and security
Wholesale Revenue in Orders & Reports
When a wholesale invoice is fully paid, Brother POS also records the order as a regular sale, under an automatically created wholesale customer. Paid wholesale orders then show up in:
- The regular Orders list, tagged with a Wholesale badge. The Source filter has a Wholesale option so you can see just these.
- Your sales reports.
These sales are not tied to a register's cash drawer session, so they do not appear on Z-Reports. Recording the sale does not change stock again — inventory was already deducted when the order was approved. If the wholesale order is later cancelled, the sale is voided.
For wholesale-specific analytics (revenue by retailer, aged receivables, top SKUs, fulfillment breakdown), use Reports > Wholesale. It is available when the Wholesale Portal or Retailer Connections feature is enabled.
Security Principles
- Each side sees only its own orders. Other retailers of the same distributor can't see yours.
- Pairing codes expire. You choose how long each code lasts, and you can delete a code that hasn't been used yet.
- Connections need approval. A retailer cannot order from you until you (or your auto-approval settings) accept the connection.
What's Next?
- Pairing — Set up your first distributor-retailer connection.
- Distributor Features — Manage your wholesale catalog and retailer relationships.
- Retailer Features — Browse catalogs and place wholesale orders.
- Wholesale Portal — Set up a web-based portal for wholesale customers.
- Invoicing — Generate and manage wholesale invoices.