Wholesale Line Sheet
A line sheet is the document a wholesale buyer sees first — brand block, terms (MOQ, lead time, payment), and a per-SKU table of wholesale price, MSRP, and case pack. This Excel workbook gives you a buyer-ready front sheet with the pricing math wired in behind it, so a multiplier change reprices every SKU at once.
A three-tab Excel workbook for makers, bakers, and small-batch sellers stepping into wholesale. Tab one is a Read Me that walks the workflow and explains every term a buyer will see. Tab two is the Line Sheet itself — brand block, terms (minimums, lead time, payment), and a per-SKU table of wholesale price, MSRP, case pack, and MOQ — print-to-PDF ready. Tab three is the Pricing Math: per-SKU true unit cost (materials, labor, packaging, overhead), wholesale and retail multipliers, and a margin sanity check that flags anything below the 50% wholesale floor. Change a multiplier on the math tab and the line sheet updates itself.
- A buyer-ready Line Sheet tab — brand block, terms, and per-SKU table you can print to PDF and send the same day
- A Pricing Math tab with the formulas wired in — true unit cost, wholesale price, MSRP, and margin check
- A 50%-margin sanity check that flags any SKU priced too low for wholesale (the floor most retailers won't budge on)
- Adjustable wholesale and retail multipliers so you can model 1.7× food margins or 2.5× jewelry margins without rewriting cells
- A Read Me tab covering minimum opening order, reorder minimum, lead time, payment terms, and the fields buyers expect
- Sample SKUs (candles and soap) you can replace with your own catalog in five minutes
Educational tool only — not legal, financial, or contractual advice. Wholesale conventions (MOQ, payment terms, returns, the 50%-margin keystone) vary by category, channel, and jurisdiction; the workbook's defaults are starting points, not industry standards. Have a wholesale agreement or terms-and-conditions document reviewed by counsel before extending net terms or signing with multi-location retailers. Pricing math is an estimate; actual cost-of-goods varies batch to batch.
What buyers expect on a line sheet
A buyer-ready line sheet has six sections: a brand block (logo, contact, website), terms (minimum opening order, reorder minimum, lead time, payment terms — Net 30 is standard, prepay is common for new accounts), a per-SKU table (SKU code, name, wholesale price, MSRP, case pack, MOQ), product imagery (one photo per SKU at minimum), an effective-date or season label, and contact information for re-orders.
Skip the lifestyle marketing copy that works on retail sites. Buyers are speed-reading hundreds of these — they want SKU codes, prices, and MOQs in the first 30 seconds.
Why the 50% wholesale margin floor matters
Most independent retail buyers expect keystone pricing (50% off MSRP) at minimum, with some product categories (bath/body, cosmetics) pushing to 55–60% off because the buyer's margin floor is higher. If your wholesale price is more than 50% of retail, the buyer's margin shrinks below their threshold and the order gets passed.
The pricing-math tab in this workbook flags any SKU whose wholesale price exceeds 50% of MSRP — the floor most retailers will not budge on. If it flags red, either your retail price is too low or your wholesale price is too high; both are upstream cost or margin problems, not line-sheet problems.
Or skip the spreadsheet entirely
A line sheet is a snapshot. The day you take a wholesale order, you need real per-SKU costs that update when ingredient prices move, and a separate price tier you can apply with one click. Ardent Seller maintains both retail and wholesale pricing tiers per product, with formulas tied to the recipe — so the line sheet you send next quarter is built from numbers, not memory.
Pricing tiers (retail & wholesale)
Maintain retail and wholesale prices per product, with one-click application of multipliers — the same math the spreadsheet runs, but always synced with cost changes.
Recipe costing
Roll material, labor, and overhead into a true unit cost that updates automatically when an ingredient price moves — so your wholesale floor moves with it.
Customer & wholesale account tracking
Track wholesale buyers as customers, store their terms (Net 30, prepay) and minimums, and keep order history per account.
Frequently asked questions
What is a wholesale line sheet?
A wholesale line sheet is a single document (usually a PDF) that lists a brand's products with wholesale prices, suggested retail prices (MSRP), case packs, minimum order quantities, terms, and contact information — formatted for retail buyers to review and place orders from. It is the wholesale equivalent of a retail product catalog.
How do I price products for wholesale?
Standard wholesale pricing is keystone (50% off retail / MSRP), giving the retailer a 50% margin to work with. To set your wholesale price: calculate true unit cost (materials + labor + packaging + overhead), apply your target wholesale margin (typically 50% wholesale margin = 2× cost), and confirm the resulting price is 50% or less of your retail MSRP. If wholesale exceeds 50% of MSRP, the math is broken — increase MSRP or reduce cost.
What is the difference between MOQ and minimum opening order?
Minimum opening order (sometimes "first order minimum") is the dollar threshold for a buyer's first purchase — typically $200–$500 for handmade brands. MOQ (minimum order quantity) is the per-SKU minimum a buyer must order — typically 6 or 12 units of a given product. Reorder minimums are usually lower than the opening order ($150–$300 is common).
What payment terms should I offer wholesale buyers?
For new accounts: prepay (full payment before shipment) or 50% deposit, balance on delivery. For established accounts with credit history: Net 30 is the industry standard. Avoid Net 60 or Net 90 unless you have cash flow to support it. Always run a credit check on first-time wholesale accounts requesting net terms — bad debt from a single retailer can wipe out a quarter's profit.
Related resources
Product Pricing Calculator
A working Excel pricing calculator — materials, labor, packaging, and platform fees in, a defensible retail price out. Plus a batch tab that shows what 50 vs. 10 actually costs.
Jewelry Maker's Cost-Per-Piece Calculator
A working Excel cost-per-piece calculator for handcrafted jewelry — metals by the gram, gemstones by the piece or carat, findings, chain, labor in minutes, and gift-wrap in; per-piece fully-loaded cost plus suggested retail and wholesale out. Defaults stamped with a date so metals-price staleness is visible.
Soap Maker's Cost-Per-Bar Calculator
A working Excel cost-per-bar calculator for cold-process and melt-and-pour soap. Oils, lye (auto-calculated from SAP values), fragrance, colorants, mold and packaging in; per-bar fully-loaded cost out — with cure-weight loss baked into the bar count.
Should I Raise My Prices? Decision Tool
A live web tool that runs the +10% / +20% / +30% price-hike math for one product — including the volume drop that comes with each — and tells you which scenario clears the most monthly profit.
Spreadsheet vs Inventory Software: The Decision Guide
When a spreadsheet is enough, when it stops working, and how to tell the difference before it costs you.
Craft Seller Startup Checklist
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From the blog
Articles that dig deeper into the topics this tool covers.
Free Wholesale Line Sheet Template for Handmade Sellers (with the Pricing Math Built In)
A working Excel line sheet you can rename, repopulate, and send to a buyer this afternoon — with the wholesale-and-MSRP math wired in behind it. Every cell explained, every formula in plain English, and the one sanity check that catches the "this wholesale price loses money" mistake before you mail the order.
Wholesale Pricing for Handmade Products: How to Set Minimums, Protect Margins, and Not Undersell Yourself
A boutique owner wants to carry your products. You have no idea what to charge. Most makers default to 50% off retail and hope the volume makes up for it. It usually does not. Here is how to set wholesale prices, minimum orders, and terms that grow your business without gutting your margins.
Case Study: How a Soap Maker Cut Wholesale Order Losses 32% in One Quarter
Maya runs a six-figure soap line shipping to 28 boutiques. A third of those accounts were quietly losing her money. Inside the per-account audit, the three patterns she uncovered, the boutique conversation that almost cost her three accounts, and the changes that turned wholesale into a profit center in one quarter.
Margin vs Markup: The Pricing Math Mistake That's Quietly Ruining Your Profit
Half the sellers who say they run a "50% margin" are actually running a 33% margin and subsidizing their own business. Here is the difference between margin and markup, why the confusion costs real money, and the pricing math that separates the sellers who stay open from the ones who quietly close up shop.