Your first business order: the invoice, the delivery, and the box that goes with it
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
A company orders from you instead of a consumer. What information needs to be on the invoice, what do you agree upon in advance regarding delivery and payment, and how do you pack and label a larger order?
You receive an email that reads differently than what you're used to. Not "can this be delivered by Friday," but: "we would like to purchase 40 of these, can you send a quote and deliver on invoice?" That's a pleasant email. It's also an email that asks three things of you that you never have to arrange with consumer orders: an invoice that meets requirements, agreements made in advance, and packaging that matches an order of forty instead of one.
A business customer asks for an invoice, not a receipt
your Chamber of Commerce number, if registered there;
the date on which you issue the invoice;
an invoice number, with consecutive numbers;
a description of the goods or services and the quantity;
the date of delivery;
the amount excluding VAT;
the applicable VAT rate;
the VAT amount.
There is an exception for small amounts: if your invoice amount is €100 or less including VAT, you can get by with less information. For a real business order, you rarely fall below that, so set up your invoice template completely right away. It saves you a corrective invoice two months later, when your customer's accountant points it out. Check the details with the Tax Authorities themselves - this is a summary, not tax advice.
Two practical points that save you from asking: number your invoices continuously from the beginning of the year and include a payment term. Without a term, you have no recourse later if payment is not made.
What you agree upon before delivery
A consumer clicks and pays. A business customer negotiates, even if they don't call it that. Therefore, record four things in writing, even if it's in the email confirming the order.
The quantity and variant. "40 pieces" is not an order if there are three colors. Confirm quantity, color, and size, with the article name included.
The delivery time, and what happens if you cannot deliver completely. Agree whether you will backorder or wait until everything is in stock. For a company with a trade show date, a partial delivery is often better than a complete delivery that arrives too late.
The delivery address and receiving hours. Companies are closed outside office hours and a warehouse sometimes has fixed unloading days. Ask before you drop off a package on a Friday afternoon.
Payment. In advance, on account, or partly. For a first order to an unknown party, prepayment or a down payment is normal, and no one is surprised by that.
Packaging: from single item to outer carton
Forty pieces of the same item require a different approach than forty separate orders. You're not packaging to fit a parcel through a letterbox, but to ensure a shipment arrives intact at a warehouse AND to allow the recipient to count quickly.
If you deliver this way more often, tape will be your biggest consumable. Individually, you'd calculate with six rolls of 48 x 66 mm (€21.00); if you consistently do volume, a box of 36 rolls of 48 x 66 mm (€108.00) is much more economical per roll. A tape dispenser with 2 rolls (€9.95) pays for itself in the time you save per box.
Counting and labeling
Where business deliveries most often go wrong is counting. On each inner package, state what's inside and how many. If your customer resells your items, they often want to receive them priced. A pricing gun with 5500 price stickers and 3 ink rolls (€24.95) makes this a matter of seconds; you can refill with white price stickers, 5000 pieces (€9.95) and a refillable ink roll of 20 mm (€2.95). However, first agree if your customer wants them priced — a store that uses its own prices won't be happy with your stickers.
Close the outer carton with a seal that visibly breaks. Security seals with VOID effect, 60 pieces (€9.95) leave a trace if someone pulls them off. In a discussion about missing items, you'll at least know if the box was opened en route.
What goes in the box
Include a packing slip with the same descriptions and quantities as on your invoice — not just item numbers, because the person unpacking is rarely the one who ordered. If you include the invoice on paper, keep it clean in a separate envelope; A4 envelopes of 229 x 324 mm, 10 pieces cost €4.00. If you include a sample or a presentation copy, a white packaging box with magnetic closure of 9.5 x 9 x 10 cm (€5.00) makes a better impression than a loose item in bubble wrap.
What you're already preparing
Being ready for a business order doesn't cost a large budget: a correct invoice template, a standard outer box size, tape in bulk, and something to label with. You'll find boxes and outer cartons in Packaging & Shipping, tape in Tape, labels and pricing guns in Pricing Guns & Labels, and larger bundles in Value Packs for Webshops. Do you want to know what a bundle costs per piece in your quantities, or which outer carton fits what you deliver? Email your question to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — we'll calculate it with you.
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