Price Levels
Price Levels let you sell the same item at different prices depending on who you're selling to (for example "Wholesale", "Retail" or "VIP"). You assign a price per item to each level, assign a level to each customer, and AdmCloud automatically uses the right price on every sale.
What is it and what is it for?
A Price Level is, in essence, a named price list. Instead of a single sale price per item, you can create several Levels (Wholesale, Retail, Distributor, Employees...) and enter a different price for each item on each one. That way you sell the same product at different prices without having to remember to apply a manual discount on every invoice.
An item's own prices for each level are entered on the Item record (pricing tab), where for each Price Level you can specify the Price, the currency, optionally a unit of measure, and an additional discount percentage.
If you don't want to type a separate price per item for every Level, you can create a Level based on another one: instead of its own prices, that Level automatically takes the price from the Base Price Level you choose and applies a percentage to it (for example, +10% for a "Cash with surcharge" level, or -15% for a "Discounted wholesale" level).
Every Customer has a default Price Level set on their record. If you also check the customer's "Allow Multiple Price Levels" option, and your company has enabled showing the price level on sales transactions, you'll be able to change the Level line by line when invoicing them, instead of always being tied to their default level.
Price Levels are also used to set the default price for your online store and, at the company-wide level, as your company's general Price Level.
How to use it
- Create the Price Level. Open Price Levels, click New and enter the Name (for example "Wholesale"). The Notes field is optional.
- Optional — base it on another Level. If you don't want to type prices item by item, pick an existing Base Price Level and enter the Base Price Level Percent: a positive percentage increases the base level's price, a negative one reduces it.
- Save using the Save button.
- Assign prices per item. Open each Item record and, on its pricing tab, add a line for each Price Level with the matching price (this doesn't apply to Levels based on another Level, since their price is calculated automatically).
- Assign the Level to your customers. On each Customer record, select their default Price Level. If you want the user to be able to pick a different Level on each sale to that customer, also check Allow Multiple Price Levels.
- Use it when selling. If your company has enabled showing the Price Level on sales transactions, you'll see a column to pick it on the lines of your invoices, quotes and sales orders; otherwise, AdmCloud automatically applies the customer's default Level's price without showing that column.
From a Price Level's details screen you can view its information in read-only mode, edit it or delete it using the corresponding buttons.
Key fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the Price Level (for example "Wholesale" or "VIP"). It's required and must be unique: you can't create two Levels with the same name. |
| Notes | Free, optional text for any additional comment about the Level. |
| Margin | An optional, informational field to note the profit margin this Level represents; it doesn't affect the automatic price calculation. |
| Base Price Level | Another existing Price Level this Level will automatically calculate its price from. It's optional: if you leave it empty, you'll need to enter each item's price directly on this Level. |
| Base Price Level Percent | The percentage applied to the base Level's price to calculate this Level's price. It's required (and must be non-zero) if you set a Base Price Level; positive increases the price, negative reduces it. |
Validations when saving
- Name is required and must be unique: it can't match another existing Price Level's name.
- If you set a Base Price Level, the Base Price Level Percent is required (it can't be left at zero).
- If you do NOT set a Base Price Level, the Percent must be zero. You can't enter a percentage without first choosing the Level it's calculated from.
- A Base Price Level can't itself have its own Base Price Level. Only one level of inheritance is allowed (you can't chain three or more Levels together).
- You can't turn a Level "based on another one" if other Levels already use it as their base. If other Levels already calculate their price from this one, you must unlink them first.
- A Price Level that's in use can't be deleted. The system blocks the deletion (and shows you the detail) if the Level has item prices entered, is the base of another Level, is assigned to a customer, appears on invoices, quotes or other sales transactions already recorded, is the level on a CRM opportunity, is your online store's default level, or is your company's general Price Level.
Availability and permissions
- How many Price Levels you can have depends on your plan; some plans allow only one, others a limited number, and higher-tier plans allow unlimited Levels. If you try to create or edit a Level beyond your plan's limit, AdmCloud shows you a message stating how many Levels your edition allows.
- Showing the Price Level column on your sales transaction lines (invoices, quotes, sales orders, etc.) depends on a feature that must be enabled for your company from Enable Beta Features; without it, AdmCloud still applies the customer's default Level, just without showing the column to change it.
- Whether a user can change a customer's Price Level on a specific sale also depends on that customer having "Allow Multiple Price Levels" checked on their record; if it isn't checked, their sales always use their default Level.
- Access to this screen is controlled by the "Price Levels" permission on your user group, with separate levels for browsing, adding, editing and deleting.
Tips and common pitfalls
Use a Level "based on another one" for simple variants. If your Wholesale Level is always 15% cheaper than your Retail Level, don't enter prices twice: create the Wholesale Level with Retail as its Base Price Level and a -15% percent. If you change the item's price on the base Level, Wholesale recalculates automatically.
Can't delete a Price Level? The system blocks the deletion if it's already in use: it has item prices entered, is the base of another Level, is assigned to a customer, appears on already-issued sales documents, on CRM opportunities, on your online store, or as your company's general Level. You must remove those references first.
Don't confuse a Price Level with an invoice discount. The Price Level sets the list price before any additional discount you apply by hand on the document; both can be combined on the same line.