Understanding Product Pricing Types
Products are the additional items you add to proposals alongside the base product. They can have different pricing strategies:
1. Fixed Price
What it is: A simple, unchanging price.
Example:
- “Pool Handover Kit - $150”
- “Safety Inspection - $200”
When to use:
- Items with consistent pricing
- One-time fees
- Standard packages
2. Unit Price
What it is: Price per unit of measurement, multiplied by quantity.
Example:
- “Pool Coping - $45 per meter”
- “Glass Fencing - $280 per meter”
- “Hourly Service - $120 per hour”
When to use:
- Items sold by measurement (meters, hours, bags)
- Quantities vary per project
In Proposals: User enters the quantity needed, system calculates total.
3. Variable Price (Smart Pricing)
What it is: Price changes based on rules you define, evaluated against the base product.
Example: “Pool Excavation”
| If Pool Size… | Then Price… |
|---|---|
| Less than 5m | $1,500 |
| 5m to 8m | $2,250 |
| Greater than 8m | $3,500 |
More Complex Example: “Chemical Startup Package”
| If Pool Volume… | AND Pool Shape… | Then Price… |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 30,000L | Any shape | $180 |
| 30,000L - 50,000L | Rectangle | $250 |
| 30,000L - 50,000L | Kidney or Freeform | $280 |
| Over 50,000L | Any shape | $350 |
When to use:
- Pricing depends on base product size, volume, or attributes
- Different scenarios need different pricing
- Want to avoid manual price calculation
Benefits:
- ✅ Automatically calculates correct price
- ✅ Reduces errors
- ✅ Consistent pricing across team
- ✅ If customer changes base product, prices auto-update
4. Attribute Price
What it is: Price multiplied by a specific base product attribute value.
Example: “Pool Chemicals (per load)”
- Cost per load: $15
- Price per load: $25
- Pool has 3 loads
- Calculated Price: 3 × $25 = $75
Another Example: “Heating (per liter)”
- Price per liter: $0.04
- Pool volume: 45,000 liters
- Calculated Price: 45,000 × $0.04 = $1,800
Important Note: The system multiplies the attribute value by your price. Make sure your price per unit matches how the attribute is stored:
- Volume is stored in liters, so set your price per liter (e.g., $0.04 per liter)
- Loads is stored as a count, so set price per load (e.g., $25 per load)
- Size uses your chosen unit, so set price per that unit (e.g., $50 per meter or $15 per foot)
- The system performs direct multiplication - it doesn’t convert units or divide by larger amounts (e.g., can’t automatically do “per 10,000 liters”)
When to use:
- Price is directly proportional to a base product measurement
- Linear pricing relationship
- Simpler than variable pricing with rules
Benefits:
- ✅ Simple to set up
- ✅ Automatically scales with base product
- ✅ Great for volume-based or size-based pricing
If an attribute-priced product is selected before its required custom pool detail has been entered, Neptune keeps the product visible at $0 and identifies the missing detail. Complete that pool detail before saving the proposal.
5. Base + Variable
Choose Base + Variable under Price Type for a package that includes a quantity, with an extra charge above it. Set Base cost, Base sell price, and Included quantity, then choose Attribute or Per unit under Variable source. Set the extra Variable cost and Variable sell price.
For example, a package priced at 500 includes 10 metres. With an extra sell rate of 20 per metre, 12 metres costs 540. Quantities at or below the included amount keep the base price; the extra charge cannot become negative.
Build up a fixed product cost
Select Add cost breakdown beside Cost to enter its component costs. Once a breakdown is saved, Cost is calculated from those items and cannot be edited directly. Use Edit cost breakdown to change the items, or remove the breakdown to return to a single cost.
Review a category’s pricing
When Edit pricing is available under Inventory > Products, you can review and adjust several products before saving. See Review and Update Product Pricing for the calculation rules, bulk adjustments, and save review.
Import products from the catalogue
If Import is available on your Products list, select it to search the product catalogue by name or category. Select the products you need, review their cost, sell price, markup, and category, then use the plus action on each row to add it. A successful row shows a check mark. This adds products to your organisation; it does not update existing supplier prices.
The current Products table includes a Photo column with a thumbnail for products that have a photo. Click a thumbnail to preview it. The older Products table does not show product photos.
Import supplier price lists
When supplier imports are available, use Import price list on the equipment or pool list. Follow the supplier price import guide to map columns, review matches, and apply approved changes. This differs from adding an individual product or importing products from the older shared catalogue.