The Isle of Man has a genuine food-producing community — bakeries, butchers, dairy farms, fishmongers, honey and egg producers — supplying a small, tightly connected market. What it doesn't have is the ordering infrastructure that would let those producers sell reliably to island businesses.
Two problems, one of them unusual
The first is the same one every small producer has: orders arrive by phone, text and WhatsApp, get copied into a spreadsheet, and nothing is ever final enough to plan production against.
The second is specific to the island. Stripe does not support businesses registered in the Crown Dependencies, and Shopify Payments won't accept island bank accounts either. That single constraint has stalled a lot of Manx producers who wanted to sell online and found the standard toolkit simply unavailable to them.
Why invoice-based B2B sidesteps it entirely
Trade customers don't pay by card. A café ordering bread, a restaurant ordering meat, a shop restocking its fridge — these are account relationships settled on invoice. OrderSlots is built for exactly that flow, which means a Manx producer can run the whole ordering side without a card processor at all.
The 6% problem
Only around 6% of food consumed on the island is locally produced, and Tynwald has passed a motion pushing government departments toward more Manx produce — with a target of 25% local content in school meals. Meeting a procurement commitment like that needs producers who can take a structured order and evidence what was supplied. Right now most of that ordering runs through channels that leave no usable trail.
What a Manx producer gets
- A branded ordering page on your own domain — your name, not a marketplace's.
- A cut-off so island cafés, shops and restaurants order by a deadline you set.
- One production or picking list per delivery day, totalled across every customer.
- Invoice terms for trade accounts, with no card processor required.
- Free to start — one slot and a few buyers, no card details needed to sign up.
Common questions
Does this work if I can't use Stripe on the Isle of Man?
Yes. B2B trade ordering runs on invoice terms, so no card processor is needed to take and manage orders. That's the main reason the platform suits island producers.
Is there a Manx version of the platform?
A locally branded Isle of Man edition is something we're actively interested in building with the right partner. Get in touch if that's of interest.
Can government departments or schools order through it?
Yes — any trade buyer can be given an account, and orders leave a clear record, which matters for local-sourcing commitments.
Can I get my order and product data out?
Yes. You can export your orders, and download a consolidated slot-totals sheet as a PDF for each delivery day. Your product catalogue can be imported and updated by CSV. Your data isn't locked in.
Does it actually invoice my trade customers, or just record the order?
It generates a numbered PDF invoice per order that you can download and send — not just a note that the order is on account. Trade orders run on invoice terms, so no card processor is required.
Can it handle VAT for a Manx business?
Yes. You can set a VAT rate on each product and show your VAT number to buyers. Isle of Man VAT is aligned with UK VAT, so standard rates apply as usual.
Can I set minimum orders and delivery terms?
You can set a minimum order value, including a separate minimum for trade (B2B) accounts. Delivery days come from the cut-offs and slots you set; delivery charges are usually agreed with each trade account rather than set per customer in the platform today.
Is it quick for my regulars to order every week?
Yes. Buyers order each cycle from the same branded link with their own account, so repeat ordering is fast. On your side, you can copy a completed slot — items and all — to set up next week in a couple of clicks.
Where is my data hosted, and what if it's down at my cut-off?
The platform runs on UK/EU cloud infrastructure. You set and control your own cut-off times and can extend a deadline if you ever need to, and orders already placed are saved. If anything ever looks wrong near a deadline, contact us and we'll help.
Try it with one delivery day
Set up a slot, invite a few regular customers, and see the consolidated list for yourself. Free to start — no card required.
Get started free