How prices and discounts are set on a sale

When you pick an item on a sales invoice, a quotation or the POS register, the system fills in its price and discount for you. Knowing where those numbers come from helps you set prices once, in the right place, instead of correcting every invoice.

Step 1: the base price comes from the price list

The Price list you choose on the document sets the base price of each item. If the item has a sale price on that list, that price is used. Otherwise the item's own sale price applies. You manage these prices under Sales › Pricing. See Create a price list and set item prices.

You can only choose price lists that are assigned to your user. See Assign price lists to users.

Step 2: the customer's cascade can discount it

A customer can have Price-list cascades on their record in the CRM. Each row is tied to one price list and applies to all categories, to specific categories, or to a single product. A row is either:

• a Discount cascade: one or more steps, each a percentage or a fixed amount, applied one after the other; or

• a Fixed price for one product: that price becomes the sale price for this customer.

When several rows match an item, the most specific one wins: a product row beats a category row, which beats an all-categories row. Among rows at the same level, the higher priority wins.

Steps compound. A 10% step followed by a 5% step gives 14.5% off, not 15%.

What you see on the line

When a cascade discount applies, the line shows Base with the list price struck through and Net with the price after discount. The Discount box holds the discount amount for the line.

If you change the Customer or the Price list after adding items, the system reprices every line, so a discount from the previous customer never stays on the invoice. If repricing fails you see Could not refresh pricing for the new customer/price list. Please re-check the line prices before saving.

Step 3: the system checks again when you save

The prices on the screen are checked again when you save. If a line's price or discount does not match what the price list and the customer's cascade give, the save is refused, unless you hold the permission to change prices or discounts on sales invoices. Users without that permission see the price and discount fields locked.

A negotiated price entered by a user with the permission is accepted and recorded as a manual change.

Discounts on the whole document

Invoice discount applies to the whole invoice, as a Value or a Percent (%). It is separate from the line discounts and never causes a price mismatch.

Selling below cost

Below cost price under a unit price warns you that the line sells under the item's cost. Your branch can also set a minimum margin over cost. A line priced below that margin is refused when you save.

Common questions

How do I give one customer a standing discount on one category? Add a cascade row on the customer for that price list and category, instead of editing prices on every invoice.

How do I change the shelf price for everyone? Change the item's price on the price list.