Butter went up again
The butter price has risen for the third time this year. The croissants are now barely worth making at the old price. The owner decides a new price list is needed, then realises that half the customers are on their own prices, agreed over the years, and some were promised no increase until spring.
Writing to everyone takes an evening. Updating prices in Xero takes another. A month later, one customer is still on the old price because their account was missed.
Why price changes are so painful
Wholesale bakery prices are rarely one list. They grew customer by customer: a discount for the big cafe group, a special on sourdough for the deli, a round-number price for the pub. When costs rise, each has to be handled, and the history of what was agreed is scattered.
- Customer-specific prices are held in the invoicing system with no notes.
- Promises made to customers are in emails or memory.
- Notices are written one by one.
- There is no record of who was told and when.
- Invoices keep the old price until someone edits each account.
What a messy price change costs
Increases start late, or not at all for some accounts. Customers are annoyed by a notice that ignores what they were promised. Invoices go out at the wrong price and have to be credited. And the owner puts off the next necessary increase because the last one was so much work.
The price change tool we build
- Every customer's current prices are brought in from your invoicing system, along with notes on any agreements your team records, such as a price held until a date.
- You set the change: a percentage or a new price per product, and any customers or products to exclude.
- The tool shows the new price for each customer and product side by side with the old one, and flags any customer with an agreement that the change would break.
- A personal notice is drafted for each customer, listing their products with old and new prices and the effective date, and sent by email, with a printed copy for drivers to hand over if you prefer.
- The tool records who has been sent a notice and when, and any replies are collected for the owner to answer.
- On the effective date, the new prices are applied in Xero, QuickBooks or Sage through their API, and the first invoices after the change are checked.
| Step | Recorded |
|---|---|
| Price change set | Old and new price per customer |
| Agreements checked | Customers with a held price flagged |
| Notice sent | Date and method per customer |
| Effective date | Prices updated in invoicing |
| First invoices | Checked against new prices |
A price change done in one sitting
You decide the change, check the effect, and send it. The tool keeps track of who knows. Invoices change on the right day for every account. And because the history is recorded, the next increase starts from a clear picture of what each customer is paying and what they were promised.
The tool also shows the effect of the increase before you commit to it. You can see which products and customers carry the most of the rise, and whether a smaller increase on bread and a larger one on laminated pastry would suit your customers better than a flat percentage.
Conversations with customers get easier too. A notice that lists their own products and prices, with a clear date, reads as fair and organised, which helps when you are asking them to pay more.
Signs you need this
- Price increases take evenings of letters and edits.
- Customers have been left on old prices by mistake.
- Special prices are held with no record of why.
- You are not sure which customers were told.
- You have delayed a needed increase because of the work.