Wholesale Handler
Merchants and customers both have full Wholesale Handler accounts. Both sign in with an email and password, both can reset their password, both manage their own data. The differences are in how the account gets created and who pays. Merchants self-sign-up on the website and pay after a free trial. Customers join only by invitation from a merchant and never pay anything.
How does a merchant create an account?
- Click "Start free trial" on the homepage.
- Enter your email and choose a password.
- Click the link in the confirmation email to verify your address.
- Set your business name, time zone and currency in Settings.
You can also try the app as a demo merchant before signing up. The free trial converts the demo into a real account, keeping the data you've added.
Can I try inviting customers before signing up?
Yes. Visitors get the full app - add products, set price lists, create customer records, place orders, see how everything fits together. Real email sending only starts once you've created an account and confirmed your email address. So you can build a realistic test setup with sample customers without anyone actually receiving an email.
How does a customer create an account?
A merchant invites them. The merchant enters the customer's email address, contact name and business name. Wholesale Handler emails the customer a one-click link. The customer clicks it, sets a password, and lands in their customer portal ready to place an order.
There's no public sign-up for customers - every customer account is tied to one specific wholesaler from the moment it's created.
Do my customers need to pay to use Wholesale Handler?
No. Customers never pay anything to use Wholesale Handler. There's no payment step on the invitation, no card details collected, no usage limits on their side. The merchant pays the subscription; the customer uses the site for free, forever.
Can my customers sign in and reset their password?
Yes. Once a customer accepts an invitation, they have a normal account. Customers and merchants both use the same sign-in page - Wholesale Handler detects which type of account is signing in and routes them appropriately. Password resets go through the standard "forgot password" flow, and customers can update their email address from their settings page.
What does a customer see in the invitation email?
The email is sent on behalf of the merchant with a single "Accept invitation" link. Clicking the link opens a short form where the customer sets their password.
There's no app to download, no merchant directory to browse, and no decision to make about which wholesaler they're joining. The link is specific to one merchant and one customer. The account they create is permanent - they sign in with the same email and password every time they place an order.
How long does an invitation last?
14 days. After that the link expires and the customer sees an error message if they click it. The merchant can resend, which extends the expiry by another 14 days using the same link.
Can I resend an invitation?
Yes, with two limits: a 60-minute cooldown between resends, and a maximum of 5 resends per invitation. Old email links keep working after a resend - the link doesn't change.
If an invitation has bounced, the email needs correcting first.
What happens if my customer's email bounces?
The customer row shows a red "Bounced" badge with the message "This email could not be delivered" and an inline "Update email…" action. Resending is blocked until the address is corrected.
This applies to hard bounces - invalid addresses, full mailboxes, blocked domains. Soft bounces are retried automatically and never reach you.
Can I correct a typo in a customer's email?
Yes. Open the customer's drawer (or their detail page on mobile), click "Update email…" and enter the correct address. A fresh email goes out immediately, the old link stops working, and the bounce status clears.
Update the email rather than deleting and re-inviting - it keeps the invitation history intact.
What if the email failed to send entirely?
If Wholesale Handler couldn't reach the email provider after retries, the customer row shows "We couldn't send this email" with an inline "Resend" action. This is rare and usually a temporary provider issue.
How many customers can I invite?
Up to 50 in total - pending invitations and confirmed customers combined. Get in touch if you need more.
Do customers see each other?
No. Each customer only sees their own account, their own orders, and the products and prices the merchant has set for them. Customers can't see other customers exist.
How Wholesale Handler handles invitations
The customers list shows the state of every invitation at a glance. Bounced emails appear as red badges with an "Update email…" action. Failed sends get a "Resend" button. Once a customer accepts, they move to the main list automatically.
