Buyer’s guide
Distributor software for teams who'd rather ship than implement
Live in a weekend, not a quarter. One tool for catalog, customer portal, orders, and inventory — with an API when you need one.
What to know about distributor software
'Distributor software' is the broad category every wholesaler ends up evaluating somewhere between their 50th order and their first audit. It ranges from single-purpose tools (just a portal, just inventory) to full ERPs, with most distributors landing somewhere in the middle: a focused platform that covers orders, customers, and inventory in one place, and integrates cleanly with whatever they already use for accounting.
Most of the pain in this category isn't picking features — it's picking something you'll actually finish implementing. Enterprise tools can do more and rarely get rolled out. Self-serve tools do less and go live.
Evaluating tools
What to look for
Ask these of every tool in your shortlist — including ours.
- 1
Time-to-first-order is measured in days, not months
If the fastest path to a real order in the system involves an implementation partner, you're buying a project, not a product. Self-serve onboarding — CSV import, invite first customer, accept first order — is the best proxy for whether a tool actually fits your scale.
- 2
Your customers stop emailing orders
The highest-leverage feature of distributor software is the one that removes the most human steps per order. A customer portal where buyers self-serve (with their prices and their credit limit) is where 40-70% of the savings come from.
- 3
Stock, orders, and customers share one ledger
The moment stock, orders, and customers live in separate tools that sync at night, you're running a reconciliation practice, not a distribution business. One ledger keeps month-end honest.
- 4
You can integrate without rewriting the world
You already have QuickBooks or Xero. You probably have a shipping tool. You may have a CRM. Distributor software should talk to those via published APIs and webhooks, not via CSV exports you rebuild every year.
- 5
Pricing that doesn't punish growth
Per-seat pricing punishes you for inviting your warehouse team. Percentage-of-GMV pricing punishes you for scaling. Flat tiers on orders-and-integrations age best — they match how the platform actually uses its resources.
How Distribu handles it
What you get on day one
Self-serve onboarding, live the same day
Import products by CSV, invite your first customer, take your first order — all before lunch, if the data's ready. No implementation call, no setup fee, no 'kickoff week.' The 14-day trial is full-feature and doesn't require a credit card.
Start free →A branded storefront at your own slug
Your customers sign in at distribu.app/store/{your-slug} and see a catalog priced for them, with their credit limit and address book already wired up. Multi-user accounts support ADMIN / BUYER / VIEWER roles, so one company can have a controller who approves orders and buyers who just place them.
See the storefront →Orders, stock, and customers on one ledger
Every order writes a stock-movement row and an audit entry in the same transaction. One database, one source of truth — so a stockout, a refund, or a credit-limit breach can't be 'not my tool's problem.'
Feature tour →A REST API and signed webhooks in the base plan
Nine permission scopes per API key, per-key rate limits, and twelve webhook events with HMAC signatures and zero-downtime secret rotation. Anything the dashboard does, your code can do — no upsell required.
API reference →Flat tiers, full feature set in every plan
Distribu doesn't gate B2B features behind an enterprise tier. Per-buyer pricing, credit limits, the API, webhooks, the audit log — all in the base plan. Tiers scale on orders-per-month and integrations, not on which buttons you're allowed to see.
See pricing →Frequently asked
What is distributor software?
Distributor software is the operating system for a wholesale-distribution business — covering catalog, customer portal, orders, and inventory in one tool. It replaces the typical small-distributor stack (spreadsheets, a shared inbox, a basic accounting tool) with a single system of record.
How is distributor software different from an ERP?
An ERP covers accounting, HR, manufacturing, and distribution in one (often heavy) package. Distributor software covers only the order-and-inventory loop for a wholesale business and syncs to the accounting tool you already use. For most small distributors, the ERP adds work without adding value.
Can I switch from my current distributor software without downtime?
Usually yes, with a weekend cutover. Export products and customers to CSV from the old tool, import into Distribu, reconcile open orders, then flip your portal URL. We walk teams through this on the 14-day trial so you can verify your data before committing.
Does distributor software handle accounting?
The better tools don't try to — they sync cleanly to QuickBooks, Xero, or your ERP. Distribu books orders as invoices and refunds as credit memos in QuickBooks Online via a native OAuth app, so accounting stays as the system of record for journals and tax.
Is there a free plan?
Distribu offers a 14-day full-feature free trial with no credit card required. After that, paid plans start at $79.99/month. The trial is long enough to onboard products and customers, take real orders, and test the integrations you'd rely on in production.
See it in your own tenant
14-day trial, no credit card. Or walk through it with us first — 20 minutes, your catalog, your questions.
Built for
Built for
Wholesale distributors
Per-buyer price lists, credit limits, and one shared order queue. Your reps, your ops team, and your customers all look at the same record.
Built for
Small manufacturers
Audited stock movements so finance and production read from the same ledger. Webhooks so your ERP and MRP stay in sync without brittle CSV cron jobs.