Check your pricing matrix: avoid gaps in your price list

Checking your pricing matrix manually seems straightforward, until you start combining options. Three choices, each with five values, already result in 125 possible price combinations. Just one missed combination is enough to prevent you from showing a visitor a price.

That’s frustrating for the visitor, but also for you. You often only realise there’s a gap in your price list when someone abandons the process or gives you a call. A thorough check identifies missing price rules before your configurator goes live and alerts you if anything is missing later on.

Why do three choices already result in 125 price combinations?

Each choice multiplies the number of possible variants. Do you have five width categories, five depths and five types of roofing material? Then that’s not just fifteen prices to fill in, but 5 × 5 × 5 = 125 combinations.

If you later add a colour, installation method or extra option, that number increases rapidly once more. That is why checking a price list by eye only works for a very small range of products. As soon as you’re dealing with sizes and variants, you can no longer easily spot a missing row amongst all the others.

A practical example from the canopy industry illustrates this clearly. Suppose you have the following price-determining options:

• width: 300–400, 401–500, 501–600, 601–700 or 701–800 cm;
• depth: 250–300, 301–350, 351–400, 401–450 or 451–500 cm;
• roof material: clear glass, tinted glass, opal polycarbonate, clear polycarbonate or sandwich panel.

You want to be able to display a price for every combination. Perhaps you’ve filled in almost everything, but the price for 601–700 cm wide, 401–450 cm deep and tinted glass is missing. That is precisely the combination a visitor chooses on a Sunday evening. In that case, the configurator cannot display an accurate price when that visitor is ready to proceed.

How do you set up all the price combinations in advance?

Don’t start by manually coming up with rows. First, decide which options actually determine the price. These are often dimensions, material and a few key finishes. You don’t need to include details that have little or no impact on the price in the same matrix.

In ‘Klantly’, you can then specify which options together determine the price. The system will prepare all combinations of those options and size fields for you. You then enter the amounts or import your existing list.

This has two advantages. You don’t have to remember which combinations are still missing. And you can immediately see how much work actually needs to be done before you display prices online.

Do you already work with a supplier list in Excel? Then you don’t need to retype everything. In the article ‘Creating an online price list in Excel’, you can read how to convert existing prices into pricing rules and then check them.

How do you check whether all price rules are in place?

Filling in a price matrix is only the first step. Next, you check whether every combination has a price, or you define a fallback rule for situations where the same price may be applied intentionally.

Klantly There’s a check for this that shows which combinations don’t yet have a price. This is particularly important when you’re using multiple price-determining options. With 125 price combinations, manual comparison is no longer a reliable check; you’re mainly just checking whether your eyes are still sharp.

Do approach the check logically:

1. First, enter the base prices for the most common combinations.
2. Then check the missing pricing rules and decide for each gap: either fill in a price or use a fallback rule.
3. Test a few variants that differ significantly in terms of size and material.
4. Repeat the check after every change to sizes, materials or options.

Pay particular attention to changes that seem minor. Adding a new colour, for example, is simple, but if that colour becomes part of a pricing rule, it can create a whole range of new combinations. A changed size threshold can also cause a gap between two existing ranges.

What happens if a visitor selects a combination without a price?

A missing price does not necessarily mean you’ve lost the enquiry. In Klantly, the enquiry still comes through as normal. You’ll also receive a notification showing the selected sizes and options, plus a direct link to where you can add the price.

This is useful because you not only know that something is missing, but also exactly which variant a visitor was looking for. If the same combination comes up frequently, that’s a sign that you need to price that variant quickly.

This way, a gap in the price list doesn’t become a hidden error that lingers for months. You can rectify it the very same day. This is important if you show visitors a price whilst they’re putting together their order: the price must match the choices they make.

A configurator with live price calculation uses your pricing rules. So make sure your pricing matrix stays up to date. Not because the system automatically recognises an incorrect price, but because it calculates accurately based on the data you input.

When should you review your pricing matrix?

Schedule a check as soon as anything changes in your product range or pricing structure. Think of a new list of suppliers, different size options, an additional material type or a new product form. It’s also wise to carry out a check after an import, although you can see in advance what’s changing and the previous version of the pricing rules is retained.

The biggest benefit isn’t just fewer errors. It also brings peace of mind to your quotation process. The sales representative no longer has to search for a missing combination or come up with a figure themselves. They simply check the enquiry rather than having to recalculate it.

Would you like to see how Klantly can bring your prices, enquiries and quotations together in a single process? Get started for free and discover, with no obligation, what this could mean for your business.