ERP for wholesale distribution. Order to cash for distributors, with credit, stock and sales tax watched daily.
From order to cash for distributors: credit checked before the order ships, the right lot out first, resale certificates on file, and payment reminders that get firmer the later an invoice gets. The United States edition opens from early 2027.
From early 2027How does Kinnow help a distributor? Credit is checked before the order ships, not after. The right lot leaves the warehouse first, the invoice comes from the dispatch, and overdue customers get a reminder that gets firmer the later they are. Sales tax is added up by state, with exemption certificates in view. Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person.
Your business in one paragraph
A distributor buys from a manufacturer and sells on credit to hundreds of dealers and resellers. The margin is thin, so money is made or lost in four places: how much credit goes out, how fast it comes back, which lot leaves the warehouse, and whether a sale made without sales tax is backed by a resale or exemption certificate. Reps work accounts on phones and paper, the warehouse works from pick slips, and the accountant matches everything up at the end of the month. The same customer exists as a name in four places.
Credit that lives in someone's head
A customer goes over the limit and the order still ships, because the check depends on someone remembering.
Receivables that age past 90 days
Reps chase the next order, not the last payment, and old invoices turn into bad debt.
Untaxed sales with no certificate
A sale made without tax looks the same as a correctly exempt one, until an audit asks for the document.
Bring your three biggest accounts and we will show the credit check on their accounts.
How your month runs on Kinnow
This is the cycle from order to payment, with the buying and delivery steps that feed it.
| # | Step | Who | Application | Where a person signs off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rep visits the customer; the inquiry is entered and becomes a quotation | Sales rep | Sell, Field | Quotation approved before it converts |
| 2 | The order goes through the credit check: limit, overdue invoices, any hold placed on the customer | Credit controller | Sell | Only a person with the authority can clear a credit hold; the reason is recorded |
| 3 | Sign-off by order value (automatic, sub-manager, manager, managing director) | Sales manager | Sell | Each level signs off its own range |
| 4 | Stock allocated; pick list built with the earliest-expiry lot first | Warehouse supervisor | Stock & Ship | Pick confirmed; if a different lot than the earliest-expiry one is picked, it is flagged |
| 5 | Dispatch: delivery order, trip and the carrier's receipt | Dispatch clerk, carrier | Stock & Ship | Dispatch confirmed by a person |
| 6 | Invoice approved. The sales-tax line is set from the ship-to state; a zero-tax line needs an exemption certificate reference or reason | Accounts executive | Account, Comply | Invoice approval |
| 7 | Driver or rep confirms delivery; the delivery order closes | Driver, rep | Field, Stock & Ship | Delivery confirmed |
| 8 | Collections: reminders based on days overdue, payments matched to invoices | Collections executive | Account, Sell | A person approves each reminder |
| 9 | Restock: reorder suggestions that take open purchase orders into account; match bill, goods received and order | Procurement officer | Buy | Purchase orders above your limit need approval |
| 10 | Month-end: sales-tax totals by state, the close, payroll for reps and drivers | Accountant, finance head | Comply, Account, People | Return and close signed by a person |
What the ready-made setup covers
The ready-made setup for distribution and trading (we call it an industry pack) brings seven limits, four sign-off routes, eight report codes and ten starter questions for Ask Kinnow. The United States setup adds seven more limits, six sign-off routes, twelve starter questions and nine report codes. The figures are plain numbers, so we go through each starting figure with you in dollars before you begin.
| Limit | Effect | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Customer credit limit | Needs approval | Credit is the distribution business; this is a lending decision |
| Sales order above a value | Needs approval; the US setup also warns | A large order on top of what the customer already owes is where a bad debt starts, and it is the last easy moment to collect a certificate |
| Purchase order above a value | Needs approval | Ties up working capital with one supplier |
| Invoice above a value (US setup) | Needs approval | The tax on an invoice depends on where it ships and whether you hold a permit for that state |
| Stock write-off above a value (US setup) | Needs approval | Scrapped stock bought tax-free for resale needs its tax treatment checked |
| Manual journal above a value | Needs approval | Changes the books, or the sales-tax liability account, without a source document |
| Sales-tax return, net payable (US setup) | Needs approval | Filing is irreversible |
| Lead, campaign budget, campaign with no audience | Warning | They change the forecast or spend money with no consent on record |
The ready-made routines include Order to collection, Replenishing the warehouse, Campaign to first order, Dispatch to delivery, Customer return to credit, Invoice correction by credit note and Stock transfer between warehouses.
Ask us to run last month's overdue list through the Collections agent.
Agents for wholesale distribution
Collections
Drafts overdue reminders and steps them up according to how many days a payment is actually late. A person approves each reminder before it goes out.
Credit-risk assessment
Looks at a customer's payment history, how their balance is trending and how often they order, before an order is approved, and recommends approve, approve with conditions or block.
Reorder Planner
Recommends how much to reorder and when. It skips an item that already has a draft reorder open, and it never raises a PO by itself.
StockFEFO/FIFO selector
A rule built into the pick list: it uses the lot that expires first (FEFO) or the one that came in first (FIFO), as you choose when the list is made, and checks again when the pick is confirmed.
StockSlow-mover Detector
Finds stock that has not moved for a set number of days and ranks it by the money tied up in it, so you can review it.
ReachReactivation / Winback
Finds buyers who have gone quiet, using your ledger, and drafts a message to win them back for a person to send.
Expiry Watchdog
Checks stock lots every night and marks those past expiry, so they stop being offered for sale.
Dead Stock Recovery
For each dead-stock item, works out the value at risk and suggests moving it to a faster-selling warehouse, a discount sale or a write-off. A person decides.
Each agent is tested with each client before it touches their books, and everything it produces waits for a person.
Sales tax and compliance for a US distributor
The United States has no federal sales tax and no federal e-invoicing mandate, so there is no national return and no portal-issued invoice number to wait for. What a seller files depends on the states it is registered in. The first release has basic support for this, and we confirm every date and rate with you and your tax adviser.
| Filing | What Kinnow prepares | Who confirms |
|---|---|---|
| State sales-tax returns | A calendar line per registered state and period, and totals of taxable sales and tax collected by the state each sale belongs to. Sales with no state are listed by name so they do not go missing from a state's figure. Kinnow does not produce a file for a state portal | Accounts executive, then your tax adviser |
| Sales-tax permit and nexus | A tracked permit registration for each state. Kinnow does not decide economic nexus (whether your sales into a state are enough to need a permit there) | Tax adviser |
| Exemption and resale certificates | An exemption certificate reference or a reason is expected on any line with zero tax, and a large order raises a warning so you ask for the certificate early | Accounts executive |
| Tax on purchases | Sales tax is charged once, at the sale: tax paid on purchases is a cost, so there is no input credit to match | Accounts executive |
| State annual report, foreign qualification | Tracked registrations; a due date appears only once you enter the state's schedule | Finance head |
| Payroll for reps and drivers | Federal income tax withholding and FICA (Social Security and Medicare tax) in the payroll run; state income tax is not included, and each payslip says so | HR head |
Kinnow holds the state base rates; county, city and district rates are not looked up by address in the first release, and we confirm every rate with you before use.
What the owner sees
Type these into Ask Kinnow, and each answer names the report it came from and what it cost before it runs.
- Which customers are over their credit limit? (Receivables aging)
- What did we sell by brand last month? (Sales register)
- Show me pending sales orders by branch. (Pending sales orders)
- Which SKUs are dead stock? What is my depot stock worth right now? (Dead stock, stock valuation)
- Which customers have not ordered recently? Where is my pipeline stuck by stage? (Lead pipeline by stage)
- Which sales went out with no tax charged, and under what treatment? (Sales tax rate summary)
- Which states am I registered to collect sales tax in? (Comply registrations)
Illustration · sample data
| Customer | Outstanding | Limit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeside Supply, Ohio | $48,600 | $40,000 | On hold |
| Brennan Wholesale, Texas | $24,700 | $25,000 | 99% of limit |
| Pine Street Foods | $8,300 | $20,000 | Within limit |
Numbers that matter
| Number | Report | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Receivables by age band | Receivables aging | How much is past 60, 90 and 120 days, and with whom |
| Pending orders by branch | Pending sales orders | What is booked and not yet shipped |
| Dead and slow stock value | Dead stock, stock valuation | Capital that is not turning |
| Sales by brand and item group | Sales register, item-group yearly sales | Which suppliers and lines carry the year |
| Tax collected by rate and state | Sales tax register and rate summary | What is owed to each state before you file |
| Pipeline by stage and source | Lead pipeline, lead source performance | Which accounts you are winning and from where |
See the receivables aging on a copy of your own ledger.
Applications switched on
Screen labels follow the industry setup. Some of its labels were written for India, so we settle your US wording with you at the start.
Questions
Can Kinnow stop orders to customers over their credit limit?
Yes. A sales order goes through a credit check before dispatch; a customer with an active credit hold cannot ship until someone with the authority clears it, and the reason is recorded. A customer who is overdue beyond the limit (90 days by default, which you can change) is stopped from ordering.
Who approves an order, and for how much?
Sales orders are signed off by value at four levels: automatic, sub-manager, manager and the managing director. You set the ranges, and the US setup adds a warning on a large order and an approval on a large invoice.
Does Kinnow file my sales tax return?
No. In the first release Kinnow adds up taxable sales and tax collected by state for a person to type into each state's own return. A person files on the state portal. Kinnow does not decide whether you have nexus in a state.
How are resale and exemption certificates handled?
A large sales order raises a warning, because the order is the last easy moment to collect a certificate, and the US invoice check expects an exemption certificate reference or a stated reason on any line with zero sales tax. A list of certificates is part of the basic support that we complete with early-access customers.
Can we move our customers, price lists and opening stock from our current software?
Yes. Masters and opening balances are brought in during the first week, and we go live alongside your current software until the month-end numbers match.
How does the Collections agent behave when the customer is a key account?
It drafts a reminder that gets firmer as the days overdue grow, and a person approves it before it goes out, which is where key accounts normally sit.
What if an agent is wrong, and when does the US edition open?
Everything an agent produces waits for a person and shows what it used, and each agent is tested with each client before it touches their books. Reject it and the reason is kept. The United States edition is available from early 2027.
Show me Kinnow for wholesale distribution.
Answer three questions. Get the applications, the agents and a two-week plan for your business.