Forty spreadsheets called 'Final'
You have a standard trade list. Then a large restaurant group negotiated better prices on its house wines. A hotel gets a rate on anything it lists by the glass. A bar has an agreed price on one Prosecco for a year. Each account's prices live in its own spreadsheet, copied from the standard list at some point and edited since.
When a supplier puts prices up, you update the standard list. Updating the forty account lists takes days, and in the meantime invoices go out at prices that do not match the list the account was sent.
Prices stored as copies, not rules
Each spreadsheet is a snapshot. It does not know that it was derived from the standard list, or why its exceptions exist. So every change to the standard list has to be copied into every account by hand, and every exception has to be remembered.
- Account lists are copies of the standard list that drift over time.
- Negotiated prices have no end date or reason recorded.
- The invoice system and the account's price list are maintained separately.
- In bond and duty paid prices are calculated by hand and sometimes mixed up.
- Nobody can easily say what margin a particular account is earning you.
What drifting price lists cost
An invoice that does not match the price list causes a query, a credit note and irritation. A negotiated price that should have ended but did not gives away margin for months. Staff time goes on updating lists instead of selling. And without a clear view, it is hard to know which accounts are profitable.
Account pricing, held as rules
- Your standard trade price is held once per wine and vintage, derived from cost using your margin rules, or set by hand where you prefer.
- Each account is placed in a band, such as standard, volume or group, with its own adjustment.
- Agreed exceptions are recorded per account and wine, with a reason, a start date and an end date.
- Prices can be shown on the basis you trade on, whether duty paid delivered or in bond, using the duty and delivery rules you and your adviser set rather than figures typed by hand.
- Any account's price list can be produced as a PDF or spreadsheet whenever it is needed, and the same prices feed invoices in your accounts package or EPOS.
- Exceptions nearing their end date are listed for review, so you decide whether to renew them.
- A margin view shows, per account, what the agreed prices mean against cost.
| Price source | Stored as | Changes when |
|---|---|---|
| Standard trade list | Rule from cost or set price | Cost or your margin rules change |
| Account band | Adjustment on standard | You change the band |
| Agreed exception | Account, wine, price, dates, reason | It is renewed or ends |
| Duty paid or in bond | Calculated from rules you set | Rates or delivery charges change |
Your prices and margins are your commercial decisions. What we build makes sure they are applied the way you agreed, everywhere at once.
A price rise without the spreadsheet week
When a supplier raises prices, you update the cost once. Every account's price changes according to its band and exceptions, and you can review the effect before it goes live. Accounts can be sent a fresh list the same day, and invoices charge exactly what the list says. Exceptions come up for review instead of quietly running on.
On a normal day, a rep negotiating with a new restaurant can see the standard list, choose a band and add two exceptions on a tablet, and the account's first price list is ready before he leaves.
Signs your trade pricing needs this
- Each trade account has its own price spreadsheet.
- Price rises take days to reach every account's list.
- Invoices sometimes disagree with the list the account holds.
- Negotiated prices have no end date.
- You cannot easily see margin by account.