How to Qualify for Net-30 Terms With Wholesale Distributors
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Wholesale has a cash flow problem built into its structure. You pay for inventory today, ship it to Amazon this week, sell it over the next month, and get paid on Amazon's disbursement schedule after that. For most of that cycle your money is sitting in someone else's warehouse rather than in your account.
Net-30 terms fix the front end of that gap. Instead of paying at the time of purchase, you receive the goods, sell them, and pay the distributor 30 days later, often before the inventory has fully sold through. In effect, it's a short-term, interest-free loan from your supplier, which is exactly why distributors don't hand it out to anyone who asks.
Here's what distributors are actually evaluating, what to have in place before you apply, and the sequence that turns a prepay-only account into one with terms.
What Net-30 Really Is From the Distributor's Side
Understanding the risk you're asking someone to take makes the whole approval process legible.
When a distributor grants you net-30, they ship inventory and wait a month for money, financing your purchase out of their own working capital. If you don't pay, they've lost both the goods and the cash. They're not selling you a payment option; they're underwriting you.
That framing explains everything that follows. Every document on a credit application exists to answer one question: what evidence is there that this business pays its bills? Not whether you intend to, which every applicant claims, but whether anyone can confirm you already have.
Worth knowing on timing: net-30 usually means 30 days from the invoice date, so an invoice dated June 5 is due July 5. That isn't universal, though. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs most commercial sales of goods in the US, the default rule is payment on receipt of goods. Read the terms rather than assuming, especially with a new supplier.
You may also see terms written as 2/10 net 30, which means a 2 percent discount if you pay within 10 days, with the full balance otherwise due at 30. That discount is worth more than it looks on repeat orders and is often the single easiest margin improvement available to a wholesale buyer.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to qualify for net-30 with a distributor?
It varies by distributor and by your history. A business with an established credit file and solid trade references can be approved on a first application. A new reseller typically places prepaid orders for a few months first, then converts to terms. Building the underlying credit file often takes six months or more, which is why starting before you need terms matters.
Can a brand new business get net-30 terms?
Sometimes, usually with conditions: a personal guarantee, a small starting limit, net-15 instead of net-30, or a prepaid trial period first. Smaller regional distributors are frequently more flexible than large national ones, because they can evaluate you personally rather than through a scoring process.
Do I need a D-U-N-S number for net-30?
Many distributors require one before processing a credit application, and it's free from Dun & Bradstreet. Standard processing can take up to roughly 30 business days, so request it early. Check whether your business already has one, since D&B sometimes creates profiles automatically.
The B2B SupplierHub Team
Wholesale & sourcing
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