Doudlah Farms B2B Site Launch
Overview
The Doudlah Farms B2B wholesale ordering site is in active development and approaching launch. The primary goals are to reduce manual order entry burden on Lucy Doudlah, automate invoice tracking, and provide wholesale clients with a self-service ordering experience. A full team walkthrough is scheduled for the following Friday (approx. 2026-01-30).
See also: [1] | [2]
Key Decisions
QuickBooks Integration: Plugin Over Custom Build
Decision: Implement the $100/year QuickBooks plugin rather than a $300 flat-fee custom build.
Rationale: Speed to launch. Neither the client nor the Asymmetric team has bandwidth for a custom build right now. The plugin covers the core need — automated invoice tracking and payment reminder capability — with acceptable limitations. The custom build remains an option if requirements outgrow the plugin later.
"Let's just do that, and later we decide. Maybe when the dust settles a little bit here, we can shift." — Mark Hope
Owner: Karly Oykhman — install plugin before the Friday walkthrough.
Site Status & Recent Improvements
Several checkout improvements were implemented following early B2B user feedback (from Vitruvian and Outpost):
- Company name is now a required field and autofills from the user's profile in ShipStation
- Shipping information autofills from profile but can be overridden
- Purchase order field added to checkout — clients can enter their own PO number
Complex Client Accounting: The Epic Case
The most significant open challenge is supporting clients with non-standard accounting structures. Epic is the primary example:
- Epic has five separate kitchens, each with its own accounting
- Orders may come from multiple contacts (not a single buyer)
- Each kitchen requires its own distinct invoice/PO number (e.g.,
DF26001-F,DF26001-J,DF26001-VH) - What appears to be one order is functionally four or five separate orders from an accounting standpoint
Currently, Lucy manually deconstructs these orders and generates the appropriate invoice numbers. This is a significant time cost.
Options discussed:
| Option | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Status quo | Lucy continues manual order entry and invoice splitting | Fallback only |
| Admin-assisted entry | Hired administrator creates orders in B2B site on behalf of clients who won't self-serve | Under consideration |
| Custom program | Write logic to handle multi-kitchen order splitting and PO generation | Deferred — would be additional cost |
The administrator hire was flagged as the most practical near-term solution — someone who could handle order entry, inventory management, and shipping coordination across both B2B and Amazon operations. See [3].
Willie Street Co-op was also noted as a client with a similar multi-PO structure (transaction number + PO number per store location).
B2B Walkthrough Plan
- When: Next Friday (approx. 2026-01-30), using the existing weekly meeting slot
- Who: Lucy Doudlah, Mark Doudlah, Jason Doudlah, Karly Oykhman
- Prep: Karly will resend test login credentials before the meeting so the Doudlah team can explore the site independently beforehand
"Send it out so we can play with it before then so we come into your meeting ready to go." — Mark Doudlah
Action Items
- [ ] Karly — Resend B2B test login to Lucy, Mark Doudlah, and Jason before Friday walkthrough
- [ ] Karly — Install $100/year QuickBooks plugin on B2B site before Friday walkthrough
- [ ] Lucy — Email Brian (Outpost) B2B feedback screenshots to Karly
- [ ] All — Attend B2B walkthrough next Friday; come prepared having tested the site
Open Questions
- Can the existing purchase order field + unique order numbers satisfy Epic's per-kitchen accounting requirements, or does a custom solution remain necessary?
- Is an administrator hire feasible in the near term, and could that role be shared across Asymmetric clients to offset cost?
- At what point does the $100/yr plugin become a limiting factor, and what would trigger a move to the custom build?