Prices a seller can use.

A shop with two locations wants clear discount limits instead of giving 10% off every product. After the costs of each sale, the owner wants at least $8 left per mug, $7 per tea pouch and $10 per tote. These are amounts chosen for this example. They may not be enough to cover all the business’s other costs.

There are three products and four rows to calculate. The mug costs different amounts at the two locations, so it needs two rows. The proposed one-off service covers up to 20 such rows, steps to put the result to use, one set of follow-up questions and answers, and one later check. Correcting a significant CRL mistake is separate from that set of questions.

All prices and costs in this example leave out tax that the business can reclaim. A real business must check how its own taxes apply before using prices with customers. The fee is charged on the actual price after the discount.

Delivery, other sale costs and the expected cost of customer returns are shown for one item. This example has one item per order. The separate fixed fee for each sale is confirmed as $0. If a real order contains several items, agree how to share any order fee between them. Do not use 0 for a cost you do not know.

In the made-up comparison period, September 1–14, the shop sold 40 North mugs, 30 South mugs, 60 tea pouches and 20 totes. It has 56, 44, 90 and 29 of those items in stock, in the same order. The example does not assume customers will buy more. This calculation for each item leaves out regular business costs, tax, borrowing and money the owner takes out. It does not show the business’s final profit.

Download the starting figures, including where they came from, what each amount covers and how tax is handled.

Amount left after sale costs means the selling price minus the costs tied to that sale. It still needs to help pay regular business costs such as rent. It is not the business’s final profit.

1. Discounted price = usual price × (1 − discount).
2. Fee = fee rate × discounted price, rounded to cents.
3. Amount left = discounted price − cost to buy − delivery − other sale costs − expected cost of returns − fixed fee per sale − percentage fee.
4. Guide to a minimum price = (sale costs other than percentage fees + minimum amount wanted) ÷ (1 − fee rate), rounded up to cents.
5. Items needed to leave the same total = previous items sold × amount left per item before the discount ÷ amount left per item after the discount. Round up to a whole item.

Sale prices and fees are rounded to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounded up. The minimum-price guide is rounded up to help leave the chosen amount after sale costs. Because fees are also rounded, it can be a cent above the exact lowest price. It does not approve a discount or predict how much customers will buy. If each sale loses money, selling more at that price cannot solve the problem.

North mug at 10% off: $21.60 − $0.65 fee − $11.75 other sale costs = $9.20, down from $11.53. Forty previous sales would need at least 51 sales at the discounted price to leave the same total amount after sale costs: an additional 27.5%, assuming the costs and stock available stay the same.

South mug at 10% off leaves only $7.45, below the owner’s chosen $8 minimum. At 5% off it leaves $8.62. The tote at 10% off leaves $8.58, below its chosen $10; at 5% off it leaves $10.14.

Keep the regular prices unchanged. These are suggested maximum discounts for an offer that the owner must approve separately. They do not mean staff should discount every sale. The owner wanted simple 5% and 10% rules.

The owner could choose no discount, a smaller discount or an offer on a different item. Discounts can leave less money from purchases customers would have made anyway. Customers might switch from full-price items or expect discounts in future. These calculations alone cannot show which choice is best.

Download the prepared price list. This CSV file can be opened as a spreadsheet. Check your till’s file requirements before importing it.

• Staff must not choose their own discounts before the owner approves the exact version of the rules, the reason for the offer and its dates.
• Use the discount only for the listed item and location, up to the approved limit and within the approved dates. Do not combine it with another offer. Check stock and make sure delivery and payment arrangements match the approved rules.
• Stop and ask the owner if a cost or fee changes, the item is missing from the list, a customer asks for a bigger discount, or the number of items or expected customer returns differ from the calculation.
• Record the price actually charged, number of items, fee, refunds, staff member and a reference to the owner’s approval. Link each return to the original purchase.
• Do not overwrite the source rule or extend its end date. Request a new approved version.

Download the rules with approval fields. The approval spaces are deliberately blank. This example does not give anyone permission to use these discounts.

1. Confirm costs, stock, offer purpose, loss limits and start/end dates. The owner approves the exact files. CRL’s required internal approval follows independent checks before the first client material can be released.
2. Save current prices and rules as a backup. Match each of the four rows to the correct item and location in the till. Check that the till can read the file correctly before importing it.
3. The owner, or someone they have authorized, makes only the approved change. If CRL cannot connect to the till, we provide the files and instructions. We then need evidence from the owner that the change was made.
4. Reopen the saved settings and check one sale covered by the rules for each item and location. Check the actual fee and whether the till combines discounts. Sending a file does not prove the till changed.
5. If a price differs, stop using that rule. Restore the old settings only where permission to do so has been agreed. A changed cost, rule or file needs a new check and approval.

This example has not been applied to a real system. Preparing the files, getting the owner’s approval, confirming the changes were made and measuring any benefit are four separate steps.

Agree one check 14 calendar days after the changes are confirmed as made. Its exact date is recorded when application is confirmed. For illustration, September 16 application would mean a September 30 check; that is not a sent reminder or appointment.

Compare similar 14-day periods for each product and location: purchases, items sold, money actually left after sale costs, refunds, days with stock available and the percentage of sales discounted. Record the time staff and the owner spend, any exceptions to the rules and other changes. Check whether the time of year could explain a difference before saying the rule caused it.

Measured effect on the business: unknown. There are no real purchases or results from after these changes. If there is too little information, say so and agree what to collect. Stop or review the offer if the money actually left after sale costs falls below the approved minimum, prices differ from the file, or another limit agreed with the owner is reached.

• Starting figures: four item-and-location rows (CSV spreadsheet file)
• Calculated price list (CSV spreadsheet file)
• Staff discount rules with spaces for approval (CSV spreadsheet file)
• Save the full written example

All materials open without registration or email. Use the free tools, or check the exact price, what is included and which records you need for help with your own items. A one-off order does not sign you up for monthly help.

For questions and how the work is checked, see how CRL works and the proposed service terms.