Advanced Pricing & Price Levels in QuickBooks Desktop (and a Peek at Online)

Mastering Advanced Pricing & Price Levels in QuickBooks Desktop (and a Peek at Online)

If you’ve ever wished QuickBooks could read your mind when it comes to custom pricing—good news! Whether you’re using QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, or Enterprise, there are robust tools to help you automate, customize, and streamline your pricing strategies. Let’s break down how Price Levels and Advanced Pricing can work for your business, and what you need to know if you’re using QuickBooks Online.

What Are Price Levels in QuickBooks Desktop?

Price Levels are your go-to tool in QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier for setting up custom pricing for different customers or jobs. Instead of manually adjusting prices every time, you can let QuickBooks do the heavy lifting.

Why use Price Levels?

• Custom Pricing: Set special rates for your VIPs, loyal clients, or contract customers.
• Automatic Application: When you create an invoice, estimate, sales receipt, sales order, or credit memo for a customer/job with an associated price level, QuickBooks automatically pulls in the right price.
• Billable Time & Mileage: Price levels tied to customers are used for billable time and reimbursable mileage items (but not for reimbursable expenses from purchase transactions or invoices created from estimates).
• Manual Override: Need to make a one-off adjustment? You can still tweak prices on the fly.

Types of Price Levels

1. Fixed Percentage Price Levels:
   Apply a percentage increase or decrease across all items for a customer or job. (E.g., give a 10% discount to your favorite client.) You can even round prices up for cleaner numbers.

2. Per Item Price Levels:
   Set custom prices for specific items by customer/job. Perfect for those “special deal” clients who get Product A for $8 (normally $10), Product B for $5 (normally $5.50), and so on. Also handy for custom service rates—think $50/hr for research instead of the standard $70.

   Note: Per Item Price Levels are only available in Premier and Enterprise, not Pro.

How to Set Up Price Levels

• Lists menu > Price Level List > New.
• Name your price level and choose either Fixed Percentage or Per Item.
• Set your rules and save.

How to Use Price Levels

• Apply directly on a sales form: Select the price level in the Rate column.
• Associate with a customer/job: In Customer Center, edit the customer, go to Payment Settings, and pick the price level. From then on, their sales forms will auto-fill with the custom pricing.

Advanced Pricing in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

If you’re ready to take pricing to the next level, Advanced Pricing (exclusive to Enterprise) gives you even more control and automation:

What does Advanced Pricing do?

• Automated Price Rules: Set up rules based on customer type, item, quantity, date ranges, and more.
• Scheduled Price Changes: Plan future price changes that go live automatically.
• Quantity Discounts: Offer lower prices for bulk purchases.
• Stackable Rules: Combine rules for nuanced pricing strategies.
• Price Rounding: Keep your prices looking tidy.
• Audit Trail: Track changes to your pricing rules for peace of mind.

Who needs Advanced Pricing?

Businesses with complex pricing structures—think wholesalers, distributors, or anyone running frequent promotions or needing tiered/volume pricing.

Converting from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online: What Happens to Price Levels & Advanced Pricing?

If you’re considering moving your business from QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier, or Enterprise) to QuickBooks Online, it’s important to know how your custom pricing will be affected. Here’s the bottom line:

Price Levels and Advanced Pricing Rules Don’t Transfer

All those carefully crafted price levels and advanced pricing rules you set up in Desktop? Unfortunately, they do not transfer when you migrate to QuickBooks Online. This includes:

• Fixed percentage price levels
• Per item price levels
• Advanced pricing rules (like quantity discounts, scheduled price changes, or stackable rules)

QuickBooks Online simply doesn’t have a way to import these settings—so all your custom pricing work will need to be rebuilt from scratch in the Online platform.

What You’ll Need to Do

1. Recreate Pricing Rules Manually:
   After migration, you’ll need to manually set up new price rules in QuickBooks Online using its “Price Rules” feature (available in Plus and Advanced plans). Be aware that QBO’s price rules are less robust—they don’t support quantity-based pricing or the full range of automation available in Desktop’s Advanced Pricing.

2. Review Your Pricing Strategy:
   Take this as an opportunity to review your current pricing structures. Since QBO has limitations, you may need to simplify or adjust your approach to fit what’s possible in the online version.

3. Communicate with Your Team/Clients:
   Make sure everyone knows about these changes, especially if they rely on custom pricing for certain customers or products.

Limitations to Expect in QuickBooks Online

• No quantity-based pricing
• No stackable or scheduled pricing rules
• Fewer options for rounding and automation
• All price rules must be recreated manually

Pro Tip

If custom pricing is vital to your business and you rely heavily on complex price levels or advanced pricing, carefully weigh the pros and cons before making the switch. The migration process is smooth for most data, but pricing rules are a notable exception.

Price Rules in QuickBooks Online: The Basics

While QuickBooks Online doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of Desktop’s Advanced Pricing, it does offer Price Rules (in Plus and Advanced plans and has been in "Beta" for what seems like years):

• Custom Price Rules: Set up discounts or markups for specific customers or items.
• Promotions: Schedule temporary price changes.
• Multiple Rules: Stack rules for overlapping promotions.
• Limitations: No quantity-based pricing (yet!) and fewer customization options than Desktop.

Pro Tips & Takeaways

• Choose the right tool: Price Levels are perfect for straightforward discounts or custom rates. Advanced Pricing is your solution for layered, automated, and quantity-based pricing.
• Switching platforms? If you’re moving from Desktop to Online, review your pricing workflows—some features don’t transfer one-for-one.
• Consistency = less manual work: Set it up once, and let QuickBooks keep your pricing strategy humming.
• Manual overrides always possible: Flexibility when you need it.

Need More Customization? Method CRM Bridges the Gap

If your business relies on the advanced pricing flexibility you had in Desktop, don’t panic! Method CRM can help you bridge the gap and bring those robust pricing workflows into your QuickBooks Online environment.

• 100% Customizable: Every screen and workflow in Method can be tailored to your business, letting you recreate (and even enhance) the pricing features you had in Desktop.
• Advanced Pricing Logic: With Method, you can set up complex rules—like quantity-based discounts, customer-specific pricing, scheduled changes, and more—then sync that data seamlessly with QuickBooks Online.
• Integrated Workflows: Method connects with QBO, so your custom pricing, sales, and customer info all work together in the cloud.
• Work with a Pro: Method’s flexibility is powerful, but to get the most out of it, it’s best to work with an experienced customization specialist who can build exactly what you need.

Bottom Line

Migrating to QuickBooks Online means starting fresh with your custom pricing. If you need more than QBO’s native price rules, Method CRM can give you back the power of Desktop’s Advanced Pricing—plus the benefits of cloud-based workflows and endless customization.

In summary:
Migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to Online means starting fresh with your custom pricing. Plan ahead, document your existing rules, and be ready to adjust to the more limited capabilities of QuickBooks Online’s price rules.

Price Rules in QuickBooks Online: The Basics

While QuickBooks Online doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of Desktop’s Advanced Pricing, it does offer Price Rules (in Plus and Advanced plans):

• Custom Price Rules: Set up discounts or markups for specific customers or items.
• Promotions: Schedule temporary price changes.
• Multiple Rules: Stack rules for overlapping promotions.
• Limitations: No quantity-based pricing (yet!) and fewer customization options than Desktop.

Pro Tips & Takeaways

• Choose the right tool: Price Levels are perfect for straightforward discounts or custom rates. Advanced Pricing is your solution for layered, automated, and quantity-based pricing.
• Switching platforms? If you’re moving from Desktop to Online, review your pricing workflows—some features don’t transfer one-for-one.
• Consistency = less manual work: Set it up once, and let QuickBooks keep your pricing strategy humming.
• Manual overrides always possible: Flexibility when you need it.

Bottom line:
With Price Levels and Advanced Pricing, QuickBooks Desktop gives you the power to create a pricing system that works for your business—whether you’re running a simple discount program or navigating a maze of customer-specific deals. And if you’re on QuickBooks Online, Price Rules will cover the basics until you’re ready for the big leagues.