ProServe training
Before you can sell or serve your products, you and your staff must be certified with ProServe Liquor Staff Training.
Getting paid for your products
From an accounting standpoint, when you sell a liquor product (whether to another AGLC licensee or directly to a consumer), you don’t get paid directly. Instead:
- You sell your product to AGLC
- Your purchasers pay AGLC
- AGLC pays you after you submit your weekly sales report
If you sell your products to the public, you technically first sell products from your manufacturing side (your Class E license) to your public-facing side (Class A or Class D license). This internal transaction also follows the above rules: that is, you sell your product to AGLC as a Class E licensee, then pay AGLC as a Class A or Class D licensee.
For more details, see Get paid.
Who can you sell to?
Who you can sell to depends on what licenses you have. Most liquor manufacturers have all three licenses.
Class E: Allows you to sell to other licensees (such as liquor stores, bars or restaurants).
Class A and Class D: Allows you to sell your products directly to the public.
To sell to someone with a Special Event Licence, you must have a Class D licence. You will first sell your product to yourself from your Class E license to your Class D licence, and then sell it from your Class D license to the customer who has the Special Event Licence.
Self-distributing and Connect Logistics
As an Alberta liquor manufacturer, you can distribute your products in three ways:
- Self-distribute your products
- Use Connect Logistics Services (CLS) for distribution
- Use a combination of both
Self-distributing
When you self-distribute your products, you process all of your sales yourself. This means you’re responsible for all parts of the sales process:
- Invoicing customers
- Ensuring that they pay for the products before delivery
- Delivering the products
As a self-distributor, you can sell your products in two ways:
- Sell directly to other licensees (such as liquor stores, bars and restaurants): Those licensees will pay the AGLC for your products. You'll be paid for your products after your weekly sales report is processed.
- Sell to the public. You'll sell the product from your Class E licence to your Class A or Class D licence.
- When you move the product from your Class E license to your Class A or Class D licence, AGLC deems that a sale has taken place. This means you must pay AGLC the wholesale price for your product. Note that the sale occurs regardless of whether you physically move the product or just mark the sale on paper.
- You can then resell those products to customers from your Class A or Class D license. You will receive the invoice price back after your Class E sales report is processed.
For more details on how payments work, see Get paid.
For more details on selling at markets, online or outside of Alberta, see the Distribute your products.
Using Connect Logistics Services
Connect Logistics Services Inc. (CLS) warehouses and distributes spirits, wine, coolers and domestic and imported beer in Alberta under contract with AGLC. CLS ships orders to licensees in over 320 Alberta communities.
If you use CLS to distribute your products, they will process all of your orders for you, including the following tasks:
- Receiving payment from licensees
- Paying the AGLC
- Delivering the products
For more details about CLS services and fees, contact CLS.