Sellar, which describes itself as the marketplace for craft beer, has developed Sellar Credit, to ensure craft drinks producers get paid on time, every time.
It will create a world where craft breweries and drinks producers can get paid in full, on dispatch, for every order, while also offering their customers generous credit payment terms in one consolidated invoice.
Sellar Credit is a buy now, pay later option that gives trade customers up to 60-day payment terms, with over 250 craft drinks suppliers, paid in one invoice. Plus, Sellar Credit guarantees on-time payment upon dispatch to producers.
“Since we started Sellar back in 2019, breweries have always told us about the pain point of getting paid on time, sometimes if at all,” said Sellar chief executive, Julian Bourne.
“Payments in the craft drinks industry were already broken, then when Covid hit, hospitality experienced a cash crisis. A challenge our industry is still facing.”
Since Covid, many breweries stopped offering credit terms, or significantly shortened the leash on the terms they offered. On Sellar, 60% of buyers are on pro-forma terms, meaning they need to pay upfront, and of those that get credit terms, two-thirds of these agreements are less than 30 days.
From Sellar’s buyer research, they learnt that getting credit terms for buyers is extremely important in making their buying decisions and managing cashflow. Eighty-four per cent of trade buyers who use Sellar said they would be more likely to order from a supplier that offers at least 30-day credit terms.
Julian added: “At Sellar, we run towards solving the hardest problems. Payments in the craft drinks trade is up there. This problem resonated deeply with many of our former brewery employees, who were all too familiar with the burden of thousands of pounds in unpaid invoices. Equally, hard times have hit venues, and theyneed flexibility to grow.
“We’re at a point where buyers need credit, but suppliers need cash, something needed to change to help the craft drinks industry succeed.”
Sellar is looking to launch Sellar Credit in March, after a beta testing programme in February. To register interest, sign up here.
