Contact Info
Australia
What role does an ERP consultant play for an Australian wholesaler?
For an Australian wholesaler, an ERP consultant brings trade account onboarding, credit terms, tiered trade pricing, quotes, GST-exclusive invoicing, adjustment notes and buying group rebates into one designed system. I map how your trade customers are opened, priced and credited, test platforms with your real deals and support the implementation remotely, so the counter, the reps and the online trade store all agree.
Last reviewed by Vikas Saroj
I work remotely with Australian wholesalers that sell to tradies, builders, independent retailers, cafes and institutions. Almost all of their revenue runs through trade accounts, and the commercial rules attached to those accounts, from credit terms to price tier to the quote a rep agreed last month, decide whether each sale makes money.
Many of these businesses grew up on an accounting package with an inventory add-on and a price spreadsheet maintained by the sales manager. That setup copes until a second branch opens, an online trade store is planned or a buying group asks for member pricing and monthly reporting.
I map the account lifecycle and the pricing rules first, then help you choose a platform that runs them without workarounds.
What I Do
Australian wholesalers usually reach me when the price spreadsheet, the accounting add-on and the reps' own notes no longer agree on what a trade customer should pay.
I map the application, ABN check, credit assessment, any guarantee and the approval of terms, so each new account starts with the right limit, price tier and documents on file.
Where your lawyer has advised retention of title or a security registration, I specify how the ERP records it against the customer, with review dates, alongside limits, holds and stop-supply rules.
Retail, trade, contractor and key account tiers are defined with clear rules for item exceptions, quantity breaks and rep discretion, so the counter and the online store reach the same price.
I design how a project quote for a builder becomes a time-limited price agreement the ERP applies automatically on later orders, instead of a PDF the counter staff have to search for.
Member pricing, group billing, settlement discounts and monthly member sales reports are captured as rules, so group accounts are priced and reported without manual exports each month.
I script demos with your trade accounts and quotes, score the platforms independently, and remain on hand remotely while the implementer configures, tests and launches.
What to Measure
An ERP for wholesale should make these numbers available without a spreadsheet. I design the data model and reports around them from the start.
Platform Fit
How I Work
Accounts, tiers and quotes
Account opening process
Price tiers in use
Quote and rep discretion
Buying group agreements
Rules the ERP enforces
Tier and exception rules
Quote agreement workflow
Adjustment note scenarios
Credit and hold policy
Build, test and train
Account and price migration
UAT on trade scenarios
Counter and rep training
First BAS period review
In Australian wholesale, the trade account application is where commercial risk is decided. The applicant supplies business details and an ABN, trade references and sometimes a director's guarantee. The wholesaler checks the ABN, assesses credit, sets payment terms, often counted from the end of the month, and assigns a price tier. Some suppliers also rely on retention of title clauses and register a security interest, which is a legal decision for your lawyer, not a system feature.
The process usually works on paper and falls apart in the system. Applications sit in an inbox, the limit is entered in accounting software, the tier is copied from a similar customer and nobody records when the guarantee or registration needs reviewing.
The requirement I write keeps every decision on the customer record: documents received, ABN verified, limit and terms with the approver, price tier, any security details with dates, and the person responsible for review. Orders are then checked against the limit at the counter, on the phone and in the online store. When a customer stops paying, the hold applies in every channel at once. This sits inside the process mapping phase, before platforms are compared.
Most Australian wholesalers run a tiered model: a retail or list price, a trade price, a better price for contractors or volume buyers, and key account pricing on top. Reps can usually discount within limits, and branch managers can go further. Then there are quotes. A builder asks for pricing on materials for a specific project, the rep sends a quote, and the builder buys against it over several months, often through different branches.
Quotes are where margin leaks. If the quote is just a document, the counter either cannot find it and charges trade price, upsetting the customer, or gives the quote price on items it never covered. I design quotes as agreements in the ERP:
The precedence between agreement, tier and promotion is written into a one-page table and signed off by sales and finance. In vendor selection I test each platform with a builder ordering at two branches against one agreement, which separates capable pricing engines from basic ones quickly.
Trade customers in Australia generally think in prices excluding GST, while counter customers paying cash may expect GST-inclusive shelf prices. The ERP has to show the right figure to each audience and still produce tax invoices with the information your business is required to include. Most items are taxable, some may be GST-free, and getting the coding right is a question for your accountant or BAS agent. My job is to list current coding per product group so they can review it.
Wholesale also generates plenty of adjustments. Returns, short deliveries, price corrections and rebates paid to customers all reduce what was originally invoiced. In Australian terminology these are typically handled through adjustment notes, and each should link to the original sale with a reason. When adjustments are raised as loose credits or journal entries, BAS reconciliation becomes harder and customer statements become confusing.
I map every adjustment type the business uses, agree how each is recorded, and add them to UAT scripts. The test I like most is a rebate paid to a buying group member, followed by a return on one of the original invoices, then a statement run: it exercises pricing, GST and reporting at once.
Independent retailers and trades in Australia often belong to buying groups that negotiate supplier terms on behalf of members. For a wholesaler, that can mean group price files, billing through the group, settlement discounts and monthly sales reports by member. I write each group's terms as a rule card the ERP can apply, so member accounts are priced correctly without anyone checking a list.
Online trade ordering is the other common project. Customers want to see their own prices, stock at the nearest branch, order history and invoices. That only works if the online store reads pricing and availability from the ERP rather than holding its own copy. I scope the store and its connection together as part of integration planning.
Usual starting points are MYOB or Xero paired with a stock management add-on, an older wholesale package, or a combination of both across branches. Migration covers active trade accounts with tiers, limits and security details, live quotes and agreements, buying group memberships and items with units and barcodes. Delivery is remote, with sessions booked in your mornings whichever state you are in. Related pages: Zoho Books for Australian businesses, the Australia ERP consultant page, the Australia hub and the wholesale ERP guide.
Tell me about your business and current systems. I’ll suggest the most sensible first step.
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Not sure which ERP you need?
Share your business requirements with me and I will help you understand the right process, architecture and platform before implementation.
FAQ
Yes, if the quote is set up as a price agreement rather than a document. The ERP then applies the agreed prices to that customer, and to a project if needed, until the validity date, at any branch or online. I design the rules for items outside the quote and test them with real orders before go-live.
No. GST coding and BAS questions belong with your accountant or registered BAS agent. I document how your products and customer types are coded now, highlight inconsistencies, and make sure the confirmed coding sits on item and customer records so every channel produces correct tax invoices and adjustment notes.
Not always. If your pricing is simple and you run one site, improving the current setup may be enough. Wholesalers with tiered pricing, quote agreements, buying groups and several branches usually reach a point where a full ERP is simpler. I assess that honestly before recommending any change.
I schedule workshops in your mornings and keep them short, so branch and counter staff can attend around trade hours. Process maps, requirement documents and test scripts are shared online for review between sessions. A visit can be discussed by arrangement, but the analysis and testing are designed to run remotely.
Every business is different. Share where you are today and what you want to fix, and I’ll tell you honestly whether and how I can help.
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