If you run a wholesale or distribution business, you already know how much time disappears into taking orders by phone, email and text. Every order someone keys in by hand is a chance for an error, a wrong price or a missed line. The good news is you don't need a big budget — or even any budget — to fix it. Cognit now has a Free plan that lets you take wholesale orders online for $0 a month, forever.
What is free B2B ordering software?
B2B ordering software is a private online store for your trade customers — sometimes called a B2B ordering portal or a wholesale ordering system. It is not a public retail website. Instead, each customer logs in to an account, sees the products and prices that apply to them, and places their own orders whenever it suits — including outside your business hours. Every order flows straight back to you in one place, ready to process.
"Free" means the software itself costs nothing to run. With Cognit's Free plan there is no monthly fee and no credit card required — you set up your B2B online store, invite your customers and start taking orders online.
Why would a distributor start free?
Starting free is the lowest-risk way to move your customers off phone and email. You prove the idea works with real orders before you commit to anything. The wins show up quickly:
- Fewer order errors — customers pick their own products, so nothing gets mis-keyed at your end
- Time back — orders arrive ready to process instead of as voicemails and emails to transcribe
- 24/7 ordering — customers order when it suits them, not only when someone is at the desk
- A more professional front — a clean online portal makes a small distributor look as sharp as a big one
- No financial risk — there's nothing to lose by trying it, because it's free
What Cognit's Free plan includes
The Free plan is built to get a smaller distributor — or anyone testing the waters — online and taking orders. It includes:
- The built-in B2B online store with customer logins
- Order management — every online order lands in one place for you to action
- Up to 100 products in your catalogue
- Up to 25 customer accounts
- 1 user (you)
It is genuinely free and yours to keep — there is no trial clock on it and no card on file. For a lot of small wholesalers, that's enough to run their online ordering indefinitely.
When to upgrade — and what you get
The Free plan handles ordering. The moment you want to run the rest of the business in the same system — live stock, buying, invoicing, customer pricing tiers and reporting — you move up to the Standard plan at NZD $499 a month. It adds:
- Inventory with live stock on hand and reorder levels
- Purchasing and goods receipting
- Invoicing and accounts receivable
- Customer-specific and group pricing
- Tablet stocktakes and full reporting
- Unlimited products and customers, plus multiple users
The best part: Standard comes with a 14-day free trial and no credit card, so you can try the full ERP before you decide. And because it's the same Cognit, upgrading is a switch you flip — your products, customers and orders carry straight over. Nothing to rebuild.
Getting started this week
You can be live in days, not months. Create your free account, load your products, set your customer prices, invite your accounts and turn the store on. We walk through the practical steps in our guide to taking wholesale orders online for free. Made in New Zealand and supported here, Cognit is built for exactly this — see the full module list when you're ready to grow into it.
Frequently asked questions
Is there genuinely free B2B ordering software in New Zealand?
Yes. Cognit has a Free plan that costs $0 per month, forever — no credit card required. It includes a built-in B2B online store and order management for up to 100 products, 25 customer accounts and 1 user. Your trade customers log in, see their pricing and place orders online, and those orders land in one place for you to process.
What is a B2B ordering portal?
A B2B ordering portal is a private online store where your trade customers log in to see their own catalogue and pricing and place repeat orders themselves, 24/7. Unlike a public retail website, it is account-based — each customer sees only what applies to them — and every order flows straight to you instead of arriving by phone, email or text.
What's the catch with Cognit's Free plan?
There isn't a catch. The Free plan is genuinely free and yours to keep. It is limited to 100 products, 25 customers and 1 user, which suits a smaller distributor or a business getting started online. When you outgrow those limits or want inventory, purchasing, invoicing and reporting, you upgrade to the Standard plan, which has a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
When should I upgrade from the Free plan?
Upgrade when you pass 100 products or 25 customers, need more than one user, or want the full ERP — live inventory, purchasing, invoicing, customer pricing tiers, stocktakes and reporting. The Standard plan at NZD $499 per month covers all of that, and you can try it free for 14 days before you pay anything.
