First Wholesale Order Budget Allocator
You have a fixed amount of cash for your first wholesale order. This splits it into a reorder reserve, a shipping buffer, and a dollar amount for each category or vendor you want to test — so you don't spend everything before you know what sells.
💰 Your inventory cash
🧺 Your category / vendor buckets
Add 2–6 buckets. A bucket can be a category (jewelry, tops) or a specific vendor — just don't mix the two ways of thinking in one plan.
First-order budgeting, in plain boutique language
What is a first wholesale order budget?
Why reserve cash for reorders?
How many vendors should I buy from?
First-order allocator vs. Inventory Buy Planner
This tool answers "where do the dollars go?" The Boutique Inventory Buy Planner answers "how many styles and units does that buy, and what could it return?" Run this one first, then take each bucket's dollar figure into the planner.
First-order allocator vs. Open-to-Buy
The allocator is a one-time, pre-launch split of cash you have today. Open-to-buy is the ongoing control you use every month after launch, once you have stock on hand, merchandise on order, and real sales to plan against. When you're open for business, switch to the Boutique Open-to-Buy Calculator.
Choosing the buckets themselves
Start from what your customer needs, not from a vendor list — one vendor can cover several categories, and one category may take several vendors. If you're still deciding who to buy from, the wholesale vendors guide is the place to start.
Want the full method, three worked budget examples, and the vendor count tradeoffs? Read How to Split Your First Wholesale Order Across Vendors.
Frequently asked questions
- It's the portion of your available inventory cash that you actually commit to your opening assortment — after you set aside money for reorders and for shipping, freight, and prep costs that arrive alongside the invoice.
Your numbers stay in your browser — nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. These estimates are for planning purposes only and are not financial advice.
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