Question 1

How much do Essential and Professional cost?

Accepted Answer

Essential is £45 per month plus VAT. Professional is £120 per month plus VAT. Both rates are shown before VAT on the supplier membership page.

Question 2

How do Essential and Professional differ?

Accepted Answer

The published comparison describes Essential for specialty beverage and café supply, including coffee, tea, matcha, chai, drinking chocolate and café consumables. It describes Professional for suppliers whose offer also covers commercial coffee equipment, bean-to-cup, rental or leasing, servicing, corporate contracts and multi-site opportunities. These categories describe the supplier offer; they do not create exclusive matching access or priority in the app.

Question 3

Do I need Professional for coffee enquiries or routine equipment and barista support?

Accepted Answer

No. The application records your requested membership plan, but current matching does not use that plan as an eligibility rule. Active Essential and Professional supplier profiles are assessed against the buyer brief using location, offerings, equipment and any relevant category, capacity or service details. An Essential supplier can be considered for an ordinary coffee enquiry or routine complementary equipment or barista-support need when the profile fits. Supplier inbox access separately requires a supplier-member role, a linked account and an active supplier profile. Neither plan guarantees an enquiry or business result.

Question 4

What are the proposed founding terms?

Accepted Answer

The supplier membership page labels these as proposed terms: a 90-day paid founding period from the first confirmed checkout, billed monthly at the selected plan price. It is not a free trial. The proposed cancellation term is to cancel before the next monthly renewal through the billing portal; access continues through the paid period, and partial-month refunds are not proposed. No discounted founding price was supplied. Final terms would need confirmation at checkout.

Question 5

Does applying take payment or start a subscription?

Accepted Answer

No. Your application includes your business and offer details; its membership portion records your plan choice and paid-membership interest only. GBP subscription checkout is not available yet, so the application takes no payment and starts no subscription. If approved, a paid membership can begin only after you explicitly confirm a separate checkout. An existing subscription is not changed by the application.

Question 6

What information should I include in my application?

Accepted Answer

Provide your business or roastery name, contact name and email, location, beverage categories, at least one product or service offering, equipment you can supply, install or support, and a supplier logo. Phone, website and additional notes are optional.

Question 7

What happens after I submit the application?

Accepted Answer

BeanExchange reviews applications before creating a supplier profile. If an application is approved, the team creates a draft profile. The profile must be made active before it can be considered eligible for matching; approval by itself does not guarantee an enquiry.

Question 8

What should I keep up to date on my supplier profile?

Accepted Answer

The profile workspace supports beverage categories, delivery coverage, ongoing service capabilities and whether your business offers a complete beverage solution. It also shows your recorded product and service offerings. Keeping these details accurate helps assess eligibility against a buyer brief.

Question 9

How are suppliers matched with buyer enquiries?

Accepted Answer

Matching is eligibility-based. Active supplier profiles are compared with the details in a buyer brief, including location, offerings, equipment and any relevant category, volume or service needs recorded. An enquiry is assigned only to eligible profiles.

Question 10

What can I do when an enquiry is assigned to me?

Accepted Answer

Review the buyer enquiry in your supplier inbox and decide whether it is a fit for your business. You can choose whether to submit a proposal or quotation; you are not required to respond to every enquiry.

Question 11

Are matching, enquiries or business outcomes guaranteed?

Accepted Answer

No. Eligibility-based matching, enquiries, responses, customers, sales and profit are not guaranteed. A membership does not promise a particular number of enquiries or a business result.

Clear answers for coffee suppliers.

Membership costs and proposed terms

From review to an active profile

Eligibility, proposals and expectations

Tell us about your business.