A bearing and power transmission distributor sells to a varied list. Large plants with formal purchasing. Mid-size OEMs building conveyors, packaging machines or agricultural equipment. Small machine shops and motor repair shops. Other distributors who resell your stock. Each wants terms, each is a different kind of risk, and many of them buy in ways that may be tax-exempt.
When opening an account means a paper application, a round of reference calls and a week of waiting, a new customer buys on a card for a while, and some never become real accounts.
Credit applications without the paper chase
The app has an online credit application with a signature. The customer fills it in from a phone or computer and signs it. It arrives in your office, where you can review it and approve terms with one tap.
A rep who meets a new OEM's purchasing manager, or a plant that just moved into the area, can send the application the same day, rather than leaving a paper form behind.
Tax exemption certificates that stay current
In many states, parts that become part of a manufactured product, or equipment used directly in production, can be exempt. Resellers buying for resale can be exempt too. That covers a lot of a PT distributor's sales: the OEM building bearings and belts into its machines, the manufacturer replacing a reducer on a production line, the smaller distributor filling a gap. The weak point is the certificate: never collected, expired or lost in a drawer.
The tax exemption certificates tool shows every exempt account and whose certificate is missing or expired. That gives your office a short monthly list to work, instead of a surprise during an audit.
Offering better terms, safely
Good terms can win an OEM that a national house holds to strict limits, especially a growing builder with uneven cash flow. But you want to extend terms only where you can see what is happening. The app gives you the controls:
- Monthly budgets on an account, so orders past the budget are held for approval.
- Approval required on accounts where every order goes to a manager first.
- Quotes-only mode for customers who should request prices but not order directly.
- Invoices and pay links, so customers can see and pay what is open.
- Collections reminders that run from friendly to firm on a schedule.
With those in place, you can open a growing OEM with a sensible limit, watch how they pay and give them more room as their volume grows. For a young builder, real terms from a PT supplier is a reason to stay.
Larger customers benefit too. A company with several plants can be set up as a master account with the terms set once, so every plant runs on the same terms without separate applications.
Big-ticket items deserve care. A large gearbox, a motor or a set of spherical roller bearings for a crusher can be a sizable order on its own. Budgets and approvals make sure an order like that is seen by the right manager before it ships, which protects both of you.
The goal is to open good accounts quickly, keep certificates current, and give terms to the customers who earn them. When credit is easy to get and easy to manage, it helps sell.
Want to see it with your own bearings, belts and plant accounts? See how it works.