A wholesale order form for a food distributor needs more than an item and a quantity. To be packed right the first time, it should say who is ordering and for which delivery, list each item with its SKU, pack size and unit, show the price, give an estimated weight for items sold by the pound, and say whether substitutions are allowed. Below is a free template with those fields and six example lines, followed by what each field is for and how to use the form by email, fax or text.
The wholesale order form template
Select a table, copy it, and paste it into Google Sheets, Excel or Word. The customer, items and prices are examples; replace them with your own.
Order details
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Customer (business name) | Harbor Street Bistro |
| Account no. | C-0187 |
| Delivery address | 214 Harbor St, back door |
| Delivery date and window | Tuesday, October 13, 6–9 am |
| PO number | 4471 |
| Ordered by and phone | J. Rivera, (312) 555-0142 |
| Received by (name and signature) | Left blank until delivery |
Order lines
| SKU | Item | Pack / unit | Qty | Unit price | Est. weight | Est. amount | Subs OK? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR-1042 | Roma tomatoes | 25 lb case | 3 | $28.50 / case | – | $85.50 | Y | Ripe for Friday |
| PR-1210 | Romaine hearts | Case of 24 | 2 | $34.00 / case | – | $68.00 | N | – |
| MT-2301 | Beef striploin, Choice | Piece, ~12 lb, priced per lb | 2 pieces | $13.90 / lb | ~24 lb | ~$333.60 | N | Trim to ¼ in. fat |
| SF-3115 | Atlantic salmon fillet, skin on | Fillet, ~2.5 lb, priced per lb | 4 fillets | $11.25 / lb | ~10 lb | ~$112.50 | Y | Pin bones out |
| PR-1388 | Lemons | Case of 115 | 1 | $42.00 / case | – | $42.00 | Y | – |
| SU-5020 | To-go containers, 32 oz, with lids | Case of 150 | 1 | $39.95 / case | – | $39.95 | N | Same brand as last time |
Estimated subtotal for this example: $681.55, before any delivery fee and sales tax. The striploin and salmon lines will be billed on the weight actually packed.
What each field is for
Every field on the form exists because leaving it off causes a particular kind of mistake.
Order details
- Customer and account number. Two customers with similar names are easy to mix up. The account number ties the order to the right prices, address and billing.
- Delivery address. A customer with more than one location has to say which one. Add receiving notes such as the back door, a key drop or receiving hours.
- Delivery date and window. Write the date rather than “tomorrow”, because forms are often read the next day.
- PO number. Many restaurant groups, schools and hospitals cannot pay an invoice without their purchase order number on it.
- Ordered by and phone. The person to call when something is short or unclear.
- Received by. A name and signature at delivery, as your record of who accepted the goods.
Order lines
- SKU. Your item code, and the fastest way to settle “which tomatoes?”.
- Item. A plain description the customer recognizes.
- Pack / unit. Case of 24, 25 lb case, per lb, each. A quantity without a unit causes the worst mix-ups, because “5” can mean five cases or five pounds.
- Qty. The number of units, or of pieces for items sold by weight.
- Unit price. The customer’s price when they order, so a disagreement shows up before the delivery instead of on the invoice.
- Est. weight. For catch-weight items only: the expected weight, marked “~”. The final charge follows the actual weight. Our catch weight pricing guide explains how to estimate it.
- Est. amount. Quantity × unit price, or estimated weight × price per lb.
- Subs OK? Y or N. Whether you may send a similar item if one runs short. A chef who needs romaine hearts for a specific dish will write N.
- Notes. Cutting instructions, ripeness, a preferred brand.
Printing and pre-filling it
- Print landscape on US Letter. Nine columns fit with room to write.
- Leave 20 to 25 blank lines, with rows tall enough to write in by hand.
- Pre-fill one for each regular. List the items they usually buy, with SKU, pack and their price, so the customer only fills in quantities. Many distributors call this an order guide.
- Put your cut-off and delivery days at the top, and your phone number and email at the bottom.
- Add a version date. When prices change, old forms in a kitchen drawer cause disputes.
- Use a two-part copy if customers sign for deliveries, so the driver keeps one.
Using the form by email, fax or text
By email
Send it as a spreadsheet the customer fills in and sends back. A typed spreadsheet is easier to read than a scanned page. Ask customers to reply in the same email thread each week so their orders are easy to find.
By fax
Still common in some kitchens. Ask for a dark pen and large digits, because a faxed 1 can look like a 7. Ask for a call when an order is unusually large.
By WhatsApp or text
A photo of a filled-in form works if the page is flat, in focus and complete. Reply to confirm you received it, since a photo nobody opened is a missed order.
Whatever the channel, confirm every order in writing, and hold forms to the same cut-off as any other order. Our guide to order cut-off times covers how to set one.
Where a paper or emailed form falls short
- Everything is typed twice. The customer writes the order and someone in your office types it into your system, with room for error both times.
- Handwriting. Fives and sixes, ones and sevens, “2 cs” or “2 ea”.
- No live prices or stock. The form shows the price from the day you printed it, and cannot tell a customer that an item is limited this week.
- No tax or real total. The customer sees no sales tax, delivery fee or final total until the invoice arrives.
- No record of changes. A customer who calls to change a line after sending the form leaves you with two versions of the same order.
- It arrives anywhere, any time. Forms come in by email, fax and text, at all hours, in several inboxes.
When to move the form online
For a distributor with a dozen customers and a short product list, a good order form may be all you need. These are signs it is time to move online:
- someone spends a large part of each morning retyping forms;
- credits and re-deliveries caused by misread orders come up every week;
- orders sent after hours are not seen until picking has started;
- you keep several versions of the form for different price levels, and they go stale.
Our guide to taking wholesale orders online covers how to make the switch without losing the customers who like paper.
The same form, online, in Supligo
In Supligo each customer orders from your ordering page with these fields built in: their own prices, the delivery address and date, a delivery time slot, a PO number and a note. Catch-weight items show an estimate marked “~” and are charged on the packed weight. Customers see the subtotal, delivery fee, sales tax and total before they place the order. If an item runs short, you can offer a substitute and the customer answers yes or no from an email. Nothing is swapped without a yes.
Customers who still send a form or a text are handled in the same place. You type or paste their order in, it becomes order lines at their prices, and a person checks it before it is confirmed.