A quote accepted, a margin gone
A homeowner accepts a quote from six weeks ago. The battery in it has gone up at your wholesaler since then, and the particular panel is now only available at a higher price. Nobody noticed, because the pricing spreadsheet was last updated two months ago and open quotes are never reviewed. The job goes ahead at a margin much thinner than you intended.
Or the opposite happens: prices fell, and your quotes are losing to competitors who updated theirs.
Why prices go stale
- Wholesaler price lists change and arrive by email as spreadsheets or PDFs.
- The pricing spreadsheet is updated by one person, occasionally.
- Quotes have validity periods that are not enforced.
- Nobody knows which open quotes use an item whose price changed.
- Substitute products are chosen on the day without checking cost.
What stale prices cost
Margin lost on jobs quoted at old costs. Quotes lost to competitors when your prices are too high. Awkward conversations when a quote has to be revised. And no clear view of your cost base when setting prices.
A price book that stays current
- Wholesaler price lists are imported as they arrive, from spreadsheet, PDF or supplier feed, and matched to your product codes.
- Changes are shown as a list: which items moved and by how much, for a person to accept.
- Accepted prices update the price book that your proposal tool uses.
- Open quotes and confirmed jobs not yet ordered are checked, and those using changed items are flagged with the effect on cost.
- Quote validity dates are enforced; expired quotes prompt a re-price before acceptance.
- Each quote records the price book version it used, so you can see its cost basis later.
Whether to re-quote, absorb a change or honour an old quote is your decision, within your terms and consumer code.
Open quotes affected by a price change
| Quote | Item changed | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Quote A | Battery | Open, cost up, review |
| Quote B | Panels | Accepted, not ordered, review |
| Quote C | None | No action |
| Quote D | Inverter | Expired, re-price before acceptance |
Quotes on today's costs
New quotes use current prices. Open quotes affected by a change are visible. Expired quotes are re-priced rather than accepted blind. And you can see your margin on each job as it stood when quoted.
Cost basis on every quote
Recording which version of the price book a quote used sounds like a small detail. It matters when a quote is accepted weeks later, when someone asks why two similar jobs were priced differently, or when you look back at the margin you expected on jobs from a particular month. Without it, the cost behind each quote is lost as soon as the spreadsheet changes.
It also makes the decision on an accepted quote easier. You can see exactly what moved since it was issued, by how much, and choose to honour it, absorb the change or explain a revised price, knowing the numbers.
For businesses buying from more than one wholesaler, the imported lists also make price comparisons quick, which is often a pleasant side effect.
Are your prices out of date?
- Your pricing spreadsheet is updated occasionally.
- Quotes are accepted after their validity date without review.
- You have discovered thin margins after ordering.
- You do not know which quotes a price change affects.