---
title: How standing orders work on Wholesale Handler
Metadescription: How standing orders work on Wholesale Handler - weekly through four-weekly recurring orders, three-day preview emails with one-click skip and pause.
Display description: A standing order places the same delivery on a repeating schedule, so a regular customer doesn't have to repeat last week's order every week. Wholesale Handler generates each delivery a few days ahead, emails a preview with a one-click skip link, then locks at the cutoff.
author: Dan Edwards
author_role: Founder
author_url: https://danedwardsdeveloper.com
author_linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-edwards-developer
published: 23-05-2026
---

# How standing orders work on Wholesale Handler

By **[Dan Edwards](https://wholesalehandler.com/about)**, Founder.

A standing order places the same delivery on a repeating schedule - same products, same quantities, same day of the week - so a regular customer doesn't have to sign in every week to repeat last week's order. The customer or the merchant can set one up. Wholesale Handler generates each upcoming order a few days ahead of time, emails the customer a preview at today's prices with a one-click skip link, then locks the order at the usual cutoff.

## What is a standing order?

A **standing order** is a rule that generates regular orders automatically. The rule sets the day of the week, the cadence (weekly, fortnightly, three-weekly, or four-weekly), the first delivery date, and the products and quantities. From there, each delivery's order is created without anyone having to log in.

The generated orders show up in the normal [Orders](/orders) list and behave like any other order - same cutoff, same lock rules, same packing slip, same invoice. The only difference is who created them.

## Who can create a standing order?

Either party. A customer signs in, opens [Standing orders](/standing-orders) and starts a new one with a merchant they already order from. A merchant can also create one on a customer's behalf from the same page, after picking the customer.

Each customer can have up to 10 active standing orders with one supplier. Cancelled ones don't count toward the limit.

## How do I create a standing order?

Open [Standing orders](/standing-orders) and start a new one. The form asks for:

-   **Day of the week** for the delivery. Only days the merchant accepts are selectable. Each day shows how many standing orders are already scheduled for it, so a customer adding a second Monday order can see they already have one.
-   **Cadence** - weekly, fortnightly, three-weekly, or four-weekly.
-   **First delivery date** - a list of the next 60 days, with anything outside the merchant's lead time, cutoff, or accepted-days settings shown disabled with the reason inline.
-   **Products and quantities** - the same picker as the one-off order form. Leave a quantity blank to skip a product.
-   **Optional label** - a short name like "Monday Breads" or "Friday Veg" that replaces the default "Weekly on Mondays" title on the detail page and in emails. Useful when a customer has more than one standing order with the same merchant.
-   **Optional delivery notes** - reused on every generated order.

The summary updates as quantities change so the total cost per delivery is visible before submit.

## What does each status mean?

### Active

Generating orders as scheduled.

### Paused

A pause window covers today. Bounded pauses show "Paused until \[date\]" and resume themselves on their own once that date passes; indefinite pauses show "Paused indefinitely" and stay paused until someone resumes the schedule.

### Needs attention

Wholesale Handler can't generate the next order without a decision - for example the merchant stopped accepting that day of the week, or a product on the standing order was discontinued. The schedule's detail page shows the specific cause and the action to take.

A schedule that hasn't been paused or cancelled stays Active. Paused is automatic - a paused schedule flips back to Active on its own once the pause end date passes.

## How do I skip a single delivery?

Two ways:

-   **From the email** - each upcoming order's preview email has a "Skip this order" link. Clicking it opens a confirmation page with the order summary and a final skip button. Two clicks total, to protect against email clients pre-fetching the link.
-   **From the website** - on the standing order's detail page, click Skip... and confirm. The action affects only the next delivery.

Skipping cancels the already-generated upcoming order if Wholesale Handler has created one, then tells the schedule to skip that one date on the next pass. The standing order stays active and the delivery after that is unaffected.

## How do I pause a standing order?

On the standing order's detail page, click Pause.... The form lists the next dozen upcoming deliveries plus a "Pause indefinitely" option. Pick the delivery date the customer wants to resume on, or pick indefinitely if they don't know yet. The submit button names the consequence - "Resume on Wed, 28 May" or "Pause indefinitely" - so there's no surprise on click.

While paused:

-   No new orders generate for that schedule.
-   Any already-generated order with a delivery date inside the pause window is cancelled. Pausing stops the very next delivery even if Wholesale Handler has already created the order for it.
-   The status row shows "Paused until \[date\]" or "Paused indefinitely".

Bounded pauses resume themselves on their own. Indefinite pauses stay paused until someone clicks Resume... on the detail page. There's no maximum pause length either way.

## How do I cancel a standing order?

Click Cancel... on the detail page and confirm. Cancelling stops the schedule from generating any more orders. Orders that have already been generated stay where they are. The cancelled schedule becomes read-only and can't be reactivated, so a customer who changes their mind has to create a new standing order.

## What's the difference between pausing and cancelling?

**Pausing** is temporary and reversible. The standing order keeps its history, its products, its day, and its cadence, and either resumes itself on the chosen date or waits for someone to resume it. Use it for holidays, school terms, off-seasons, or any predictable gap.

**Cancelling** is permanent. Use it when the customer wants to stop the arrangement, not pause it. Creating a fresh standing order later is the way back.

## When does my standing order's order lock?

The same rules as a one-off order - the order locks at the cutoff for its delivery date, unless the merchant has set a shorter lock window. See [How orders work on Wholesale Handler](/articles/how-orders-work-on-wholesale-handler) for the full picture - the standing order doesn't change any of it.

The preview email shows the exact cutoff timestamp so there's never any ambiguity about when the next chance to edit closes.

## What emails does the customer receive?

Two:

-   **One email when the standing order is created** to both the customer and the merchant. Includes the cadence, the first delivery date, the product list, and a link to the standing order's detail page.
-   **One email three days before each delivery** to the customer only. Includes the delivery date, the cutoff timestamp, the product list with today's prices, and a "Skip this order" link that doesn't need a login.

Both emails are a copy for the customer's records. The standing order and its upcoming order on the site are the source of truth either way. If the customer does nothing with the preview email, the order fires normally at the cutoff.

## What about bank holidays?

Holiday handling for standing orders is on the roadmap. Until it lands, the safe default is to skip the affected delivery from either the preview email or the detail page once it's been generated.

## Can a merchant manage a customer's standing orders?

Yes. The merchant's [Standing orders](/standing-orders) page shows every customer's schedules in one table, with a day-of-week filter for finding all the Monday schedules at once. Clicking through opens the same detail page the customer sees, with the same skip, pause, and cancel actions. Useful when a customer calls and asks for a change without going through the site themselves.

## How Wholesale Handler handles standing orders

The standing orders list at [Standing orders](/standing-orders) shows every active and paused schedule in one place, with the day of the week, cadence, item count, next delivery date, and status visible inline.

Each generated order appears in the main [Orders](/orders) list as soon as it's created. From there it's an ordinary order - the customer can update it, skip it from the preview email, or let it lock at the cutoff. The standing order itself is the rule; the upcoming order is the thing about to be delivered.

## Q&A

**Q: Can I skip just one delivery without cancelling the whole standing order?**
A: Yes. Each upcoming order's preview email has a "Skip this order" link that doesn't need a login, and the standing order's detail page has the same option. Skipping affects only that one delivery - the schedule keeps running.

**Q: What happens if I pause my standing order while an order is already being prepared?**
A: Pausing cancels any already-generated order whose delivery date falls inside the pause window, even if Wholesale Handler created the order earlier in the week. Orders that have already locked are left alone - locked orders are real commitments.

**Q: Can I change the products on my standing order?**
A: Yes. Open the standing order's detail page and update the lines - the change applies to every future delivery. To change just one upcoming delivery, edit that order on the Orders list instead.

**Q: How many standing orders can I have with one supplier?**
A: Up to 10 active ones per supplier. Cancelled standing orders don't count toward the limit.

**Q: Will my standing order keep firing on bank holidays?**
A: Holiday handling for standing orders is on the roadmap. Until it lands, skip the affected delivery from the preview email or the detail page.

**Q: Why didn't I receive an email for my standing order this week?**
A: Check the standing order's status on its detail page. If it's Paused or Needs attention, no order will have been generated and no email will have been sent. The status row explains the cause.

**Q: Can the supplier manage my standing order on my behalf?**
A: Yes. The merchant's standing orders list shows every customer's schedules and they can skip, pause, or cancel any of them on the customer's behalf, the same as if the customer did it themselves.

**Q: What's the difference between pausing and cancelling?**
A: A pause is temporary - the standing order resumes itself on the chosen date with the same products, day and cadence. A cancel is permanent and a new standing order has to be created from scratch to start again.

**Q: When does a standing order's order actually lock so I can't edit it?**
A: At the cutoff for the delivery date, unless the merchant has chosen a shorter lock window in their settings. The preview email shows the exact cutoff timestamp.

**Q: How do I see what's about to be delivered?**
A: Each upcoming order appears in the Orders list alongside any one-off orders. The standing order's detail page also shows the next few upcoming deliveries.