What to ask on a wholesale account application.

The questions worth asking

Who they are

• Their name and email, so you can answer them.
• Their business’s legal name, and the name it trades under if it has one.
• A phone number and the business’s address.

That the business is real

• The business’s tax ID, such as an EIN in the United States.
• Its website, or where it sells: a storefront, a salon, a clinic, online.

That they may buy what you sell

• A resale or tax exemption certificate, if they will resell and not pay sales tax. Whether a certificate is valid, and for what, is your decision; ask your tax adviser.
• A professional license and its number, if your products may only go to licensed buyers.
• Proof of membership, if you sell to the members of a group.

What to leave out

• Anything you will not use to decide. If no answer would change your mind, do not ask.
• Bank and card details. Buyers pay at checkout, so you never need them on a form.
• Personal identity numbers. A business’s tax ID is enough.

Make it easy to finish

• Use a list to choose from where answers should match, such as the kind of business.
• Mark as required only what you truly need, and say what a document is for in its label.
• Ask for documents as a file people already have: a PDF or a photo of the certificate.

How to ask for each in GateVentory

Each application is built from a few kinds of field: short answers, lists to choose one or several from, a phone number, an address with matches as it is typed, and document uploads in PDF, PNG or JPG. Name and email are always asked. Any field can be required.

A certificate asked for this way can mark the buyer tax exempt in the same press that approves them. See Wholesale applications.

Read next

• Wholesale applicationsBuild your wholesale account application, approve or reject buyers from your inbox, and let only approved buyers see their prices and order from your store.
• How to approve wholesale customersA simple way to review and approve wholesale customers: what to check, when to approve on its own, how to say no kindly, and how to let your known buyers in.
• Professional-only productsSell professional-only products to licensed buyers. Ask for a license upload, review each one, and keep the prices hidden from everyone you have not approved.