Managing Your Price List

What is the Price List?

The Price List is your catalog of items you bill customers for. Instead of typing "Ducted AC unit - 14kW" and "$8,500" every time, you create it once in the Price List and add it to invoices with one click.

What goes in your Price List:

• Materials (equipment, parts, supplies)
• Labor (hourly rates for different staff/skill levels)
• Fees (service call, disposal, permit)
• Discounts (loyalty, bulk, seasonal)

Where to find it: Settings > Price List

Item Types

Every item in your Price List has a type. Material covers physical products you supply and install - things like ducted AC units, refrigerant, or copper pipe. Labor is for time-based charges, usually hourly, with different rates for different skill levels like senior techs or apprentices.

Fee covers fixed service charges like service call fees, disposal fees, or after hours fees. Discount is for price reductions like loyalty discounts or pensioner discounts.

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Item type selector showing all 4 options]

The types matter because when creating invoices, you can filter by type to show only Materials or only Labor, which makes finding items much faster.

Creating Price List Items

Step 1: Open Price List

1. Go to Settings (gear icon)
2. Click Price List (left sidebar under Business Management)
3. Click Add Item button (top right)

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Settings > Price List page with Add Item button]

Step 2: Fill in Item Details

Required fields:

Name - What you call this item

• Be specific: "Ducted AC 14kW Fujitsu" not just "AC Unit"
• Easy to search: Include brand, model, or key specs
• Examples: "Service call fee", "Senior tech hourly rate"

Unit Price - What you charge

• Enter amount without $ sign
• This is per unit (per item, per hour, per meter, etc)
• Examples: 8500 for equipment, 95 for hourly rate

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Create item modal with required fields highlighted]

Optional fields:

SKU - Stock keeping unit (product code)

• Use if you track inventory
• Must be unique (can't have two items with same SKU)
• Examples: "FJTS-14KW", "TECH-SR", "FEE-001"

Unit - What you're charging per

• Examples: "ea" (each), "hr" (hour), "m" (meter), "day"
• Default: "ea"

Default Quantity - How many you usually use

• Usually 1
• If you always install 2 of something, set to 2
• Saves time when adding to invoices

Tax Rate - GST percentage

• Usually 10 (for 10% GST)
• Enter as number: 10, not 0.10
• Can be 0 for non-taxable items

Category - Group similar items

• Examples: "Equipment", "Parts", "Labor", "Admin"
• Makes filtering easier
• Completely optional

Description - Extra notes

• Technical specs
• Installation requirements
• Notes to yourself

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Create item modal with all optional fields labeled]

Step 3: Save

Click Create Item - it's added to your Price List immediately.

Editing Price List Items

To change an item:

1. Find it in the Price List table
2. Click the Edit button (pencil icon)
3. Change any field
4. Click Save

What you can change:

• Name, price, tax rate
• Description, category, unit
• Activate or deactivate

What you can't change:

• SKU (would break references)
• Item type (Material, Labor, etc) - Delete and recreate instead

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Price list table with Edit button highlighted on a row]

Updating Prices

When you change a price:

• Only affects new invoices
• Old invoices don't change (they used the old price)
• This is good! Historical pricing stays accurate

Example:

• Today: Item costs $100
• You create invoice: Uses $100
• Tomorrow: You update item to $120
• Old invoice still shows $100
• New invoices use $120

Activating and Deactivating Items

Why Deactivate Instead of Delete?

Don't delete items you've used on invoices!

If you delete an item:

• Old invoices lose the reference
• Can't see what item was used
• Reports break

Instead, deactivate:

• Item hidden from search when creating invoices
• Old invoices still show it
• Can reactivate anytime
• History preserved

How to Deactivate

1. Find item in Price List
2. Click the toggle switch (Active/Inactive)
3. Or open Edit modal and uncheck "Active"

Inactive items:

• Show in gray in Price List (if you show inactive items)
• Don't appear when adding to invoices
• Still show on old invoices where they were used

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Active toggle switch on item row]

How to Reactivate

Same process:

1. Show inactive items (checkbox at top of Price List)
2. Find the item
3. Toggle back to Active

Using Price List Items on Invoices

Adding from Price List

When creating or editing an invoice:

1. Click Add from Price List
2. Search or browse items
3. Click to add to invoice
4. Item details pre-fill (name, price, tax)
5. Adjust quantity if needed

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Invoice editor with "Add from Price List" drawer open]

What gets copied:

• Name/description
• Default quantity
• Unit price
• Tax rate

What you can change on the invoice:

• Quantity (e.g., change from 1 to 3)
• Price (for special discounts)
• Description (add job-specific notes)

Original Price List item doesn't change - you're just using it as a template.

Saving Invoice Lines Back to Price List

If you create a custom line on an invoice that you'll use again:

1. Create the line on your invoice
2. Click Save to Price List
3. Choose item type (Material, Labor, Fee, Discount)
4. Item gets added to your Price List

Now you can reuse it on future invoices without retyping!

Organizing Your Price List

Categories

Use categories to group related items:

Equipment - AC units, heaters, major items
Parts - Small components, consumables
Labor - Different hourly rates
Fees - Service charges, disposal, admin
Discounts - Various discount types

To filter by category:

• Use the Category dropdown at top of Price List
• Only items in that category show

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Category filter dropdown]

Naming Conventions

Good naming:

• "Ducted AC 14kW Fujitsu ASTG14KMCA" - Specific
• "Senior Technician - Hourly" - Clear role
• "After hours service fee" - Explains when it applies

Bad naming:

• "AC Unit" - Too vague (which one?)
• "John" - Is this a person? A rate? Unclear
• "Fee" - What kind of fee?

Include key details in the name so you can find items quickly when searching.

SKU Strategy

Use SKUs if:

• You track inventory
• You order from suppliers (match their codes)
• You have lots of similar items
• You want barcode scanning (future)

Skip SKUs if:

• Small business with few items
• Don't track inventory
• Names are good enough

SKU tips:

• Keep them short and meaningful
• "FJ-14K" not "FUJITSU-ASTG14KMCA-14KILOWATT"
• Use consistent format across all items

Labor Items and Staff Defaults

Setting Up Labor Rates

Labor items are hourly rates for your staff:

Create a labor item for each rate:

• "Senior Tech - $95/hr"
• "Junior Tech - $75/hr"
• "Apprentice - $50/hr"
• "After Hours - $150/hr"

Fields:

• Type: Labor
• Unit: hr
• Unit Price: (hourly rate)
• Default Qty: 1

[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER: Creating a labor item]

Assigning Defaults to Staff

In Settings > Manage Team:

• Each staff member can have a default labor item
• When they create invoices, "Add My Labor" uses their rate
• Saves time and ensures consistency

Example:
John's default = "Senior Tech - $95/hr"
When John clicks "Add My Labor" on invoice → Line added at $95/hr automatically

See "Staff Labor Rate Defaults" for more details.

Common Questions

How many items should I have in my Price List? As many as you use regularly. Start with your top 20 most common items. Add more as you find yourself typing the same things repeatedly.

Can I have two items with the same name? Yes, but don't! It's confusing. Use names like "Ducted AC 14kW" and "Ducted AC 18kW" (different).

What if I change a price and need to honor old quotes? Quotes lock their prices when accepted. Changing Price List items doesn't affect existing quotes or invoices. Only new invoices use new prices.

Can I delete items I don't use anymore? Better to deactivate them. Deleting breaks references on old invoices. Deactivating hides them but preserves history.

Can my staff see the Price List? Yes - all team members can view and use Price List items on invoices. Only managers can edit, add, or delete items (depends on permissions).

What's the difference between Price List and Catalog? Catalog (Settings > Catalog) = Products for quoting (AC units, systems). Price List (Settings > Price List) = Items for invoicing (materials, labor, fees). Different purposes, both useful!

Tips for Maintaining Your Price List

Start simple:

• Add your top 10-20 items first
• Add more as you need them
• Don't try to add everything day one

Update prices regularly:

• Review quarterly or when supplier prices change
• Update before creating new invoices
• Old invoices stay at old prices (automatic)

Use descriptive names:

• Future you will thank present you
• "Senior tech" vs "Tech rate" - which is clearer?
• Include what makes it special

Deactivate, don't delete:

• Product discontinued? Deactivate it
• Old pricing? Deactivate and create new item
• Seasonal items? Deactivate off-season

Keep labor rates up to date:

• Review annually at minimum
• Update for award changes
• Different rates for different situations

Clean up once a year:

• Review inactive items (can any be deleted?)
• Merge very similar items (do you really need both?)
• Update categories if they're messy

Related Articles

• Price Kits - Create bundled pricing packages
• Importing and Exporting Price Lists - Bulk updates with CSV
• Staff Labor Rate Defaults - Setting default rates for team members
• Invoice Line Items - Using price list items on invoices

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