Net terms for pet, feed and equestrian suppliers
Pet shops, feed stores, livery yards and kennels order heavy goods often and pay in their own time. Terms Due keeps every account inside its limit and chases the rest.
Who your buyers are
Independent pet shops and feed merchants ordering weekly, livery yards and kennels ordering monthly, groomers and trainers ordering small amounts often. Many are rural, run by one or two people, and operate from a phone in a yard. Invoices are regular, goods are bulky and margins are modest, so an unpaid month is a real loss.
Seasonality matters: feed orders rise in winter, and so do the balances. Limits that flex with the season, and a hold rule that does not, keep the book healthy through both.
What goes wrong
- Monthly feed orders stacking up on Net 30 so two are always open.
- Yards that pay when their own liveries pay.
- Reminders by email to a yard office that is a tack room.
- Deliveries continuing because the animals need feeding.
- No clear number for how much the book is late.
Before and after
Before
- Limits in someone's head.
- Chasing by phone from the van.
- A yard that owes two months ordering a third.
- Winter balances that surprise everyone in March.
With Terms Due
- A limit on every account, raised for winter and lowered after.
- A text to the yard owner's phone with a pay link.
- A hold at 14 days, lifted on payment.
- The aging report in Monday's email all winter.
Suggested starting settings
| Setting | Suggested | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Terms | Net 30 | Matches monthly yard accounts |
| Default limit | One month of orders | Two open months is the warning sign |
| Winter | Raise limits by the seasonal uplift, with a date to drop back | Feed orders rise; keep the ratio the same |
| Grace period | 14 days | One payment cycle |
| Reminders | Text at 0, 7, 14; email alongside | Yards run from a phone |
| Statements | Monthly | Yards and kennels reconcile monthly |
Worked example
The livery yard in February
A feed supplier delivers $2,100 a month to a livery yard on Net 30 with a $2,500 limit. January is unpaid when February's order is placed: $2,100 open plus $2,100 in the cart is over the limit, and 12 days late. Checkout stops. The yard owner pays January from her phone that evening and February ships. In March a livery leaves the yard owing her money; she is late again, held again, and pays again. The supplier is never more than one month exposed to a customer whose own cash flow is unpredictable.
| Monthly order | $2,100 |
|---|---|
| Limit | $2,500 |
| Maximum exposure | one month |
| Reminders sent by hand | 0 |
Questions
Some customers are farms and sole traders. Does that change anything?
Limits, holds and reminders work the same. For UK business buyers, statutory late payment interest applies to sole traders buying for the business too.
Can limits go up for winter automatically?
Limits are changed by you, but it takes a minute per company and the Monday email reminds you if a company is near its limit.
Do holds stop a delivery that is already booked?
A hold stops new orders at checkout. Orders already placed are fulfilled as normal; it is up to you whether to hold a delivery by hand.
Related
Food and drink wholesale
For food and drink suppliers selling to cafes, delis and restaurants on Shopify: weekly orders on terms, credit holds and text payment reminders.
Read moreCredit limits
Set a credit limit for each Shopify B2B company. Terms Due checks open balance plus the new order before checkout, so no buyer runs up more than you agreed.
Read moreOffering Net 30 on Shopify
A step-by-step guide to offering Net 30 payment terms to wholesale buyers on Shopify, from company setup and trade terms to reminders and collection.
Read moreStop chasing wholesale invoices by hand
Install Terms Due, set a credit limit for each buyer and let the app hold, remind and collect.
Install on Shopify