Trade / Order Sheet

You need two documents and most founders have neither.

A customer flyer sells the product to the person who will use it — visual, benefit-led, A5, glossy. A trade sheet lets a shop, distributor or partner say yes — price, their margin, minimum order, delivery time, how to reorder.

A shopkeeper cannot stock you if they do not know their margin. This one page converts better than any conversation they have to remember.

This is the trade sheet. Keep it to a single side.

`[COMPANY NAME]` — Trade Price List

Effective from: [date] · Valid until: [date]

Products

Product	Pack size	MRP	Trade price	Your margin	MOQ	Barcode
				%
				%
				%

(A distributor margin in the 25–35% range is a common starting point in many retail categories, but the norm varies widely by sector — find out what your channel actually expects before you set it.)

Terms


Minimum order
Delivery time	`[be honest and be specific — "3 days for X, 10 days for Y" beats "quick delivery"]`
Delivery charge
Payment terms
Unsold stock	`[returnable / exchangeable / no returns — say which]`
Shelf life
Storage

To order

WhatsApp [number] — or scan:

┌─────────────┐
│             │
│  [QR CODE]  │   → opens WhatsApp with the order message pre-drafted
│             │
└─────────────┘

Email: [ ] · Phone: [ ] · Contact: [name]

Trial offer

[e.g. "First order: 10 pieces free on trial. Keep them on your counter for two weeks. If they sell, reorder at trade price. If they don't, I'll collect them — no cost to you."]

Removing the risk entirely is what gets you shelf space. You are buying information as much as a sale.

What has to be on it, and why

Element	Why it matters
Their margin, stated as a number	The only figure they actually care about. Do not make them calculate it.
Minimum order	Without it they do not know if they can afford to try you
Delivery time, per product	Different products, different lead times. Say so — a missed delivery costs the relationship.
How to reorder, in one action	A QR opening a pre-drafted WhatsApp message beats a phone number they have to find
Barcode	Any organised retailer needs one. Get them early — it is cheap and it blocks you at exactly the wrong moment.
A photograph of the product	They are choosing shelf space; they need to see what will sit on it
Your name and face	Trade is a relationship business. They should know who to call.
A date on it	Prices change. An undated sheet gets quoted back at you a year later.

Print

A4 or A5, one side. Two sides gets lost.
Glossy if you can afford it, matte if you cannot. Do not print at home.
Take fifty with you every time you go out. You will always run out sooner than you expect.
Print in your customer's language, and in a local market test the local language against English rather than assuming.

The customer flyer is a different document

Do not merge them. Trade prices in a customer's hands undercuts every retailer stocking you, and a shopkeeper handed a consumer flyer still cannot work out their margin.

	Customer flyer	Trade sheet
Audience	End user	Shop, distributor, partner
Leads with	Benefit, story, photograph	Price and margin
Shows MRP	Yes	Yes
Shows trade price	No	Yes
Call to action	Buy / scan / visit	Order via WhatsApp
Format	A5 glossy, visual	A4/A5, tabular, plain