Roaster wholesale software that costs less and looks better

Why roasters pick Crate over RoasterTools

• Standing orders for $80/month, not $499. RoasterTools lists automated recurring orders as beta, starting on Automate at $499/month on a 1-year term. On Crate Growth, cafes set, change, skip and pause their own standing order.
• No per-pound bill. RoasterTools plans include a set number of pounds roasted (1,000 lb on Essentials) and charge $0.01 to $0.10 for every pound over. Crate's price does not move when you roast more.
• Works with Square and Clover today. RoasterTools lists Square as coming soon and does not list Clover. Crate pulls your Square, Clover or Shopify catalog and stock, and connects to QuickBooks Online.
• Cheaper bank payments. RoasterPay lists ACH at 1% + $0.25, up to $20 a payment. Crate invoices charge 0.5% for ACH, capped at $5, with no extra Crate fee on cards.
• Less to sign. RoasterTools bills Organize once a year and puts Automate and up on 1- or 2-year terms. Crate plans are priced by the month.

May still fit: if you want deep green-coffee inventory and production automation in one tool and roast tens of thousands of pounds a month. See the full Crate vs RoasterTools comparison.

Why roasters pick Crate over Cropster

• Built for your buyers, not just your roaster. Cropster Commerce pulls orders in from Shopify, WooCommerce and Beans stores and plans roasting from them. Its feature list has no portal where a cafe logs in and sees its own prices. That portal is the core of Crate.
• About a quarter of the price. Cropster Commerce packages start at $329/month, and Cropster's roasting plans add volume charges after 250 kg roasted. Crate is $50 to $150/month, flat.
• Prices you can see. Cropster does not publish most plan prices on its packages page. Crate's prices are on the pricing page and you can start today.
• Square, Clover and QuickBooks. Cropster's Commerce material names Shopify, WooCommerce and Beans. Crate connects to Square, Shopify, Clover and QuickBooks Online.

May still fit: if you already use Cropster for roast profiles and green grading. You can keep it for roasting and run wholesale ordering in Crate.

Why roasters pick Crate over Shopify B2B

• Every cafe gets its own prices. On Basic, Grow and Advanced, Shopify allows three active B2B catalog assignments and cannot assign a catalog straight to a company. Crate has no catalog cap: tiers, volume pricing or a price for one cafe.
• Standing orders that work. Shopify lists subscriptions as not compatible with B2B. Crate Growth includes buyer-managed weekly, two-week and four-week standing orders.
• No Plus bill. Unlimited catalogs and direct company catalogs need Shopify Plus, from $2,300/month. Crate Plus is $150/month.
• Keep your Shopify store. Crate imports your Shopify products and stock, so retail stays on Shopify and wholesale runs in its own portal.

May still fit: if you only need two or three price lists and no recurring orders. See Shopify B2B limits.

Why roasters pick Crate over generic B2B tools

• Coffee is built in. General tools like B2B Wave and Orderspace sell anything, so there are no roast days, roast dates, grind choices or production sheet. Crate has all of them.
• Lower price. Orderspace lists plans from $65 to $185/month, and B2B Wave starts at 270 GBP a month on its UK pricing. Crate starts at $50/month.
• Your POS stays in charge. Crate pulls products and stock from Square, Shopify or Clover instead of making you keep a second catalog by hand.

Sources: Orderspace pricing, B2B Wave pricing.

What roasters get with Crate

• A portal that looks like a modern online store, on your own domain, with your logo and product photos.
• Prices for each cafe: tiers, volume pricing, a set price for one customer, and private-label coffees only that customer sees.
• Bag sizes and grind choices on every coffee, saved on each cafe's standing order.
• Roast days with an order cutoff shown to buyers, and a roast date on every order.
• A production sheet that adds up orders by coffee and size, plus batch size, roast loss and blend recipes.
• Payment terms per cafe, minimum order amounts, free samples, and invoices through Square, QuickBooks Online or Crate.
• Delivery routes for your own drivers, and Shippo or ShipStation labels for shipped orders.
• An order inbox that turns orders cafes email or text you into real orders.

A roaster using Crate

Nice Coffee Roasters in Los Angeles runs wholesale on Crate. Doug Meils says that before Crate some accounts texted orders, some emailed and some sent them through Instagram. Read their story.

Questions

What is the best wholesale software for a coffee roaster?

For most small and mid-size roasters, Crate. Cafes get a clean, store-like portal with their own prices, standing orders and roast dates, and you get invoices, terms and a production sheet, from $50/month with no per-pound fees. RoasterTools charges per pound over its caps and puts recurring orders in a $499/month plan; Cropster Commerce starts at $329/month.

Is Crate cheaper than RoasterTools?

Yes. Crate Starter is $50/month and Growth, with buyer-managed standing orders and invoicing, is $80/month. RoasterTools Essentials is $99/month for up to 1,000 lb roasted, Organize is $199/month billed once a year, and its automated recurring orders (in beta) start on Automate at $499/month on a 1-year term. Crate never charges by the pound.

Does Crate work with Square?

Yes, today. Crate pulls your Square catalog and stock, can send confirmed wholesale orders back into Square, and can bill through Square invoices. It also connects to Shopify, Clover and QuickBooks Online. RoasterTools lists Square as coming soon.

Can cafes set up standing orders themselves?

Yes, on Crate Growth ($80/month). Buyers pick weekly, every two weeks or every four weeks, and can change, skip or pause it from their account. Each cycle becomes a normal order at that buyer's current prices.

Can each cafe get its own prices and private-label coffee?

Yes. Crate supports pricing tiers, volume pricing and a set price for one customer, and you can show private-label products only to the customers they belong to.

Why not just use Shopify B2B?

On Basic, Grow and Advanced, Shopify B2B allows three active catalog assignments, cannot assign a catalog straight to a company, and does not work with subscriptions, so there are no scheduled standing orders. Unlimited catalogs need Shopify Plus, which starts at $2,300/month. Crate imports your Shopify catalog and gives every account its own prices for a fraction of that.