A line sheet is the document wholesale buyers order from. If you sell to shops, boutiques, cafés or distributors, sooner or later a buyer will ask "can you send me your line sheet?", and what they mean is a clear, complete list of your products with the numbers they need to place an order. This guide explains what a line sheet is, what goes on one, how buyers actually use it, and how to make one that gets orders instead of questions.
What is a line sheet?
A line sheet is a sales document that presents a brand's wholesale range: one block per product with a photo, a style number, the wholesale price, the suggested retail price and the details needed to order, such as colors, sizes and minimums. It usually ends with the brand's wholesale terms: opening order minimum, payment terms and shipping times.
The term comes from fashion, where brands present each season's "line" to store buyers, but the format is now standard in jewelry, beauty, home goods, gifts, stationery, specialty food and almost every category sold to independent retailers. Some industries call it a wholesale catalog, a sell sheet or a trade price list; the purpose is the same.
What goes on a line sheet
| Element | Why buyers need it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Product photo | Recognize the item, judge quality and style | One photo on a plain background |
| Style number / SKU | Unambiguous ordering and reordering | JW-E203 |
| Product name | Easy reference in conversation | Luna Huggie Hoops |
| Wholesale price | What the buyer pays you | $18.00 |
| MSRP | The suggested retail price, which shows their margin | $42.00 |
| Options | Colors, sizes, scents, finishes available | Gold vermeil, Sterling silver |
| Minimum per item | How many they must order of each | 4 pairs |
| Key details | Material, dimensions, ingredients, care | 12 mm, hypoallergenic posts |
| Terms | Opening minimum, payment, shipping | $200 opening order, Net 30 |
| Contact and ordering | How to place the order | Email, phone, WhatsApp, order form |
The header usually carries your logo, the collection or season name, and the date. The footer carries your contact details and page numbers.
How buyers use a line sheet
Understanding the buyer's process explains why line sheets look the way they do.
- Discovery. A buyer finds you at a trade show, on Instagram, through a wholesale marketplace or because a customer asked for your products. They request your line sheet.
- Screening. In the first minute they check three things: does the product fit the store, does the margin work (wholesale versus MSRP), and are the minimums affordable for a test order.
- Building an order. They mark quantities against style numbers, often in a spreadsheet or directly on a printed sheet, working within an open-to-buy budget for the season.
- Ordering. They send the order by email, order form, phone or message, quoting style numbers.
- Reordering. Months later they reorder the bestsellers, again by style number, often from the same line sheet or an updated one.
Every part of a good line sheet serves one of these steps. Photos and names help screening. Wholesale and MSRP side by side answer the margin question. Style numbers make ordering and reordering error-free. Terms and minimums let the buyer build a valid order without emailing you first.
Line sheet examples by industry
The structure is the same everywhere, but what buyers look for changes by category.
Fashion and apparel
Clothing line sheets add size ranges, fabric content, colorways per style and, crucially, delivery windows with start-ship and cancel dates, because buyers plan by delivery month. See the clothing line sheet template.
Jewelry
Jewelry buyers want the metal and finish spelled out on every line (gold-filled, vermeil, solid gold), stone type, chain lengths and ring size runs. Photos at a consistent scale matter more than in most categories. See the jewelry line sheet template.
Candles and home fragrance
Candle line sheets group by scent family and season, with vessel size, wax type, burn time and case packs of 6 or 12 per scent. Holiday collections carry prebook deadlines. See the candle line sheet template.
Beauty and skincare
Beauty line sheets need sizes in ml or g, key ingredients, skin type, shelf life and tester policies, plus only the claims a brand can substantiate. See the skincare line sheet template.
Specialty food and drink
Food line sheets add net weight, case pack, shelf life, storage and allergens. Chocolate makers note summer shipping policies; coffee roasters note roast days. See the chocolate line sheet template.
Line sheet vs catalog vs lookbook
A line sheet is dense and numeric: built for ordering. A lookbook is visual and emotional: built to sell a collection's story, usually without prices. A product catalog sits between them, with larger photos and descriptions and prices that may be retail or wholesale. Our comparison of line sheets, lookbooks and catalogs covers when to send each.
How to make a line sheet
You can build a line sheet in a spreadsheet, a word processor or a design tool, but the quickest route is a template that keeps your product data and layout separate.
- List your products in a spreadsheet: style number, name, wholesale, MSRP, options, minimum, category.
- Shoot or collect one consistent photo per product.
- Decide your terms: opening and reorder minimums, payment terms and ship times. Our guide to wholesale terms has typical numbers.
- Import the spreadsheet into a line sheet maker, add photos, logo and terms.
- Check the PDF on a phone and on paper, then send it, or share an online version that buyers can order from.
Build a line sheet from your product list in minutes, free.
Make a line sheetHow often should you update your line sheet?
At least once per selling season, and every time a price, minimum or product changes. Many brands issue a full line sheet twice a year (for example spring/summer and fall/winter, or before the holiday buying season) and update it between seasons for new products. Always change the date or season name when you do, and tell existing stockists what changed. An online version saves a lot of this work: buyers always see the current line, and you send a fresh PDF only when someone asks for a file.
Common line sheet mistakes
- No MSRP. Without a suggested retail price, buyers have to guess their margin, and many will not bother.
- Inconsistent photos. Different backgrounds, crops and lighting make a good range look amateur.
- Style numbers that do not match invoices. This causes wrong shipments and painful reorders.
- Terms hidden in an email. If the opening minimum is not on the sheet, the first order often falls below it.
- No date or season. Buyers keep old sheets and order at old prices.
- Too much copy. Long descriptions belong on your website; a line sheet needs facts.
- A 40 MB PDF. Compress images; buyers often open line sheets on a phone.
Line sheet checklist
- Logo, collection or season, and issue date in the header
- One consistent photo per product
- Style number on every item, matching your invoices
- Wholesale price and MSRP side by side
- Options (colors, sizes, variants) listed per item
- Minimum per item and case packs
- Opening order minimum, reorder minimum and payment terms
- Ship window or lead time
- How to order and full contact details
- PDF under 10 MB, checked on a phone
A good line sheet is not complicated. It is consistent, complete and current, and that is exactly what a buyer with fifty brands to review wants to see.
Written by the CatalogKite Team. Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us at the email address in the footer.