The business
Family owned and operated since 1957, Edmondson Supply runs a Shopify store that sells hand tools, power tools, replacement parts, plumbing supplies and hardware. A hardware distributor's carts run from a single wrench to valves by the case.
What a US trade order needs on paper
Trade buyers want things a retail receipt skips. A purchase order number so their accounts team can match the bill. Terms, like Net 30. A due date. A freight line. A tax row that is separate from the goods, because their bookkeeper will ask for the figure.
Sales tax adds its own wrinkle. The US has no federal VAT, so each state sets its rate and local governments add more, and a buyer who holds a resale certificate can buy without tax as long as the seller keeps that certificate on file. Contractors like a written quote before a large order.
Put together, one customer might need a quote on Monday, an invoice with a PO number on Friday and a packing slip in the truck. Three documents, one order.
How Edmondson Supply uses PDF Invoice
Edmondson Supply has used the app since 2022. The account carries a Quote template for Shopify draft orders plus templates for orders, packing slips, invoices and refunds, and it has quote documents, automatic invoice emails and the tax ID fields switched on. Everything goes out in English.
Draft orders are the Shopify feature that makes quotes work. A rep builds the order by hand, and the quote template turns that draft into a document the buyer can approve. Once the buyer says yes, the same lines can carry on into an invoice.
The document on this page is a quote, made with the Quote template that heads the account. It is a sample, and all of it is invented. A mechanical contractor in Nashville, Tennessee asks for a price on 41 items. The page opens with the word QUOTE, the draft order number, the date and the amount, then the supplier block and the billing and shipping addresses. In this layout the Price and Subtotal columns both show the line total. Below the item table sit a $789.60 subtotal, a Tennessee sales tax row at 9.25% for $76.28, $35.00 of freight and a grand total of $900.88. A note tells the driver where to deliver, and the footer says the quote is valid for 14 days. The tax row covers goods and freight together, so $824.60 at 9.25% gives the $76.28. Tennessee taxes delivery charges along with the goods, and the row follows that rule.
Results
More than 28,000 documents sent since 2022. Quotes, invoices and packing slips come out of the same set of templates, so a draft order can become a quote and later an invoice without retyping the lines.
The merchant gave no figures on hours saved or revenue, and this page does not invent any. A public App Store review from 2022 rated the app four stars. The review text is below.
Try it for your store
If you sell to trade buyers on Shopify, set up a quote template for draft orders first. Then add the PO number, the terms and the due date to your invoice, and check that the tax row matches the state you ship from.