What is a sales rep order taking app?

It's a phone or tablet app that field reps use to place orders during a customer visit. The rep picks the account, sees that customer's prices, history and credit position, builds the order from the catalogue or by scanning barcodes, and sends it straight to the warehouse instead of phoning or emailing it in later.

Does a rep ordering app work offline?

It should. Stockrooms, basements and rural shops often have no signal. The apps we build keep the catalogue, customer prices and recent history on the device, let the rep finish the order offline, and send it when the connection returns. Stock figures shown offline are from the last sync, so the app says when that was.

What's the difference between pre-sell and van sales?

In pre-sell, the rep takes the order and the warehouse delivers later. In van sales, the rep carries stock and hands it over on the spot, so the app has to treat the van as a stock location, raise the invoice there and then, and reconcile what's left on the van at the end of the day.

Can reps print tax invoices from the app?

Yes, if we set it up that way. Most tax systems want each invoice to have a unique number, so we give each van or device its own number series and they never clash offline. The invoice layout follows your country's rules for VAT, GST or sales tax, which we confirm with your accountant during the fit check.

Can the app connect to our accounting system?

Yes. Rep orders flow into the same system as portal orders, and from there to accounting systems such as Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books or Sage through their official APIs. Payments and balances come back, so a rep can see before the visit whether an account is over its limit or on stop.

Sales Rep Order Taking App for Wholesalers

In short: a sales rep order taking app lets reps place orders in the customer's shop, offline if needed, with that customer's prices, order history and credit position on screen. If your reps also sell from a van, it should handle van stock and on-the-spot tax invoices. We build these apps on top of the same data as your trade portal.

A note on what exists today. Our trade portal for sales and warehousing is live and used every day by a UK vape wholesaler. A rep app isn't part of that live system yet; it's something we build for you on the same data.

What reps actually need in the shop

Most order-taking apps are sold on catalogues and product photos. Those help, but talk to a rep at 4pm on a Thursday and the list is different:

Speed. Search by code, name or barcode, and repeat last visit's order with changes.
The right price. The customer's own price list and deals, not the list price.
Credit before the order. The balance, the limit and whether the account is on stop, before the rep spends ten minutes building an order that can't ship.
No signal, no problem. The whole visit works offline and syncs later.
Notes that survive. "Owner away until Monday", "wants the new range", visible next time.

Reps take orders in the shop, see credit and the last order, and keep working with no signal. Illustrative screen, sample data.

Rep app, van sales app or trade portal?

These solve different problems. Many wholesalers and distributors need two of them.

	Pre-sell rep app	Van sales app	Self-service trade portal
Who places the order	Rep, in the shop	Rep, from van stock	Customer, any time
When goods arrive	Next delivery run	Immediately	Next delivery run or collection
Stock it checks	Warehouse	The van	Warehouse
Invoice raised	Later, from the office	On the spot	Automatically
Best for	Relationship accounts, new ranges	Convenience, cash-and-carry rounds	Regular reorders

Reps are expensive to run, so they get the most value from visits that need a conversation. Routine top-ups move to a B2B ordering portal, and the rep sees those orders too.

Van sales: invoices, stock and cash

The published guides to van sales apps rarely get into the paperwork. These are the parts we plan for, in any market:

Tax invoices at the counter. Whatever the tax is called where you trade, an invoice handed over in the shop usually needs a unique number, your tax number, the customer's details, prices and the tax charged. Offline devices can't ask a server for the next number, so each van carries its own series, such as VAN2-0417, and two reps never clash. Some tax systems also expect invoices to be reported to or registered with the tax authority; we build that step in where it applies.

The van is a warehouse. Loading the van moves stock out of the depot into a van location. Sales reduce van stock, and returns go back into it. At the end of the day, the rep counts what's left and the app shows any difference before the van is restocked.

Cash and card collected. Payments taken on the round are recorded against the invoice, and the day's takings reconcile against what the app expects.

Off-the-shelf rep apps, or one built on your system?

There are established rep apps. Orderspace includes sales-rep seats from its Ordering Plus plan (pricing). B2B Wave includes an Android and iOS rep app in its plans. Pepperi offers offline order-taking aimed at FMCG, food and drink and similar trades, and Aspin's PixSell is built for reps selling into independent retailers.

An off-the-shelf app suits you if…	A built app suits you if…
Your prices and discounts fit its model	You run deal rules it can't express
Pre-sell only	You run vans as well as reps
It already connects to your back office	Your back office is custom, or several systems
You're happy with its hosting and data terms	You want hosting in your chosen region and full CSV export

If one of those tools fits, it'll be quicker to start. We're the better choice when the app has to follow rules your business already runs on.

Regulated products: extra guards

If your reps sell age-restricted or duty-paid goods, the app needs a few more rules, whatever the country:

Trade accounts only. Every account verified as a business before a rep can order for it.
Duty on its own line. Where duty is charged per unit or volume, each item shows it separately from your price.
Blocked batches. Stock that can't legally be sold, such as goods missing a required stamp or past a legal deadline, is blocked in the app, from the van and everywhere else.
Samples and promotions. Deals and free samples follow your local rules, and reps can't override them.

If you're in the UK

HMRC says a full VAT invoice needs a sequential number "based on one or more series" (VAT Notice 700/21), which is what lets each van carry its own sequence. For supplies of £250 or less including VAT, a simplified invoice is allowed.

For vape reps, Vaping Products Duty is £2.20 per 10ml, and after 31 March 2027 unstamped batches can't be sold, so we set the app to block them (unstamped stock guide). Check DHSC's guidance on free distribution and discounts before reps hand out stock. More on our UK wholesale page and vape wholesale software page.

What we build, and how a project runs

We're a software company founded in 2020, with a development team in India and more than 500 projects delivered. We build rep apps for iOS and Android, and they sync with your portal, warehouse and accounting system through official APIs.

A 20-minute walkthrough. A rep describes a real visit; we show you the live portal the app would connect to.
Fit check. Accounts, price lists, van routes, invoice numbering and the stock that goes on each van.
Build and import, to a fixed plan and timeline agreed before work starts.
Ride-along launch. We train reps, watch the first weeks of real orders closely and keep supporting the app afterwards.

What drives the quote

You get a fixed quote after the walkthrough, and the full cost is known before any work starts. The main factors:

pre-sell only, or van sales with stock, invoices and cash;
number of devices and whether they print receipts or invoices;
how the app connects: to a portal we build, or to your existing system;
offline depth: the full catalogue with images, or codes and prices only;
routes, visit logs and rep reporting.

Book a 20-minute walkthrough. Bring a rep's last order sheet and we'll show you what the same visit would look like in the app.

A sales rep order taking app that knows your prices, stock and credit rules