How flexible payment terms help Sandbanks win larger orders without the added admin or the risk

Sandbanks is a British premium clothing and lifestyle brand, founded in 2019. Alongside selling directly to customers online, it supplies a network of wholesale customers across the UK.

Sandbanks’ wholesale customers often need to place large orders ahead of a new season. Offering flexible payment terms can make those orders easier for customers to commit to but managing those payments in-house can be challenging.

With iwocaPay, Sandbanks can offer wholesale customers the option to spread their payments over 1 or 3 months, while Sandbanks receives the full payment upfront.

‍Payment terms were difficult to manage in-house

Before iwocaPay, most wholesale customers paid in full for their orders. Payment terms were available to selected customers but managing them came with a cost. A significant number of payments were missed, which affected Sandbanks' cash flow and meant the team had to spend time following up on unpaid invoices.

"Prior to using iwocaPay, we mainly offered our customers pro forma payment, with selected accounts being offered payment terms. However, managing payment terms proved challenging, as we experienced a significant number of missed payments, which had an impact on our cashflow and resource." – Ella Godden, Operations Manager at Sandbanks

Sandbanks wanted to give more customers the flexibility to pay over time, without putting pressure on their cash flow or adding more work for their team.

Customers get a spending limit of up to £30,000 and choose the payment terms that work for them

Sandbanks chose iwocaPay because it was easy to use. The iwocaPay team worked with them to find a setup that fit their existing processes. Rather than changing the way they invoiced customers, Sandbanks was able to introduce flexible payment terms in a way that worked for both their customers and team.

"It stood out as the most user-friendly solution on the market and the team were very open and willing to work with us to find the right solution for our business."

Now, before a new season, customers can sign up for an iwocaPay account. Approved customers get a spending limit of up to £30,000, which they can use towards their next order. Sandbanks sends its usual Xero invoice with an iwocaPay paylink and customers can use their spending limit to pay.

Flexible payments help customers place larger orders, while Sandbanks gets paid upfront without any extra admin

For customers making larger orders, being able to spread the cost gives them more confidence to go ahead. It means they can commit to the stock they need without having to pay the full amount upfront.

“iwocaPay has significantly improved our ability to supply customers with the stock they need.”

The payments are then managed by iwocaPay. That means Sandbanks doesn't have to chase customers or spend time managing unpaid invoices. iwocaPay also takes on all of the credit risk. 

“This has improved efficiency for our finance team and, importantly, means we no longer have to deal with unpaid invoices.”

The impact was clear in Sandbanks' latest season:

“Our recent SS27 sales campaign has been a huge success. Having flexible payment options available gives customers greater reassurance when committing to larger stock orders, while allowing us to continue supplying them with the products they need.”