Category based markup based price recommendations

[Adamscottsmith]

Hello, 

so we are a retail liquor store and have base markups on the category in which an item is placed. Meaning that all items placed in “WINE” are marked up, let’s say 10% for the example. So when a new item comes in and added to that category, it will automatically factor the cost, say $10, it would automatically set the recommend retail price of $11. 

in addition, when receiving new inventory, and you update the cost, it would automatically recommend the new price change based upon the markup. 

this would need to be based upon category, so it would be able to be changed between all of the different markups one store has.

this is something that would benefit all users, especially those in the Resturants side as they have different costs and mark ups for every element of a entree to think of. Id recommend that it would factor the cost of each ingredient, that category markup, and then allow you to add each item to the item creating a total item recommend price based off the price of the ingredients. I dunno if that is something that is functional for a Restaurant or not but in my mind it is.

however, I will say that it should never automatically change the price without an approval, be it a click of okay, or it has a pop up with the recommendation of the new price etc. we have some items that are priced higher than our standard markup because of them being rare, but our prices changes month to month due to distributor sales cycles and to ensure we never miss a price increase this would be a major help. 

@TheRealChipA you or anyone else you’ve talked to in here have any thoughts on this feature? 
   

[TheRealChipA]

@Adamscottsmith I’ve long been an advocate and proponent for a comprehensive restaurant/bar recipe, inventory and costing system.  I have one in spreadsheet form that I have used for over a decade, so I can tell you that the restaurant/bar piece of your request above will be complicated, involved and require lots of testing.  I have no clue if Square is planning or even designing one yet, but if they do I hope I’ll know about it.  It would set Square heads above other players in the market (though not all of them).

Anyway, from the point of view of retailers, I can see this being a great benefit.  Square could allow you to keep your costs updated and then allow you to specify the markup you want — by category, for this item only, etc — resulting in a SRP suggestion you could accept or reject.  This would be a great new feature for Retail Plus!

That part of your request, at least, should be easier and quicker to test and implement.  The restaurant/bar thing is going to take a while — at least if my crazy complex spreadsheet is any indication!

Keep a good thought, though.

[PartyManiaMD]

Like Chef says, I too keep a spreadsheet form that has my cost, case cost, MSRP, and then MY price. 

Literally the only things Square is missing for me to ditch my spreadsheet is case cost/MSRP because currently I check my spreadsheet, if case cost went up that means my cost went up which means my price went up. MSRP is there so that I can compare where I stand to the industry overall (For example a pack of plastic dinner plates currently has a MSRP of $19 LOL, we'e selling them for $12.05.) 

I'm all for an ability to automatically calculate markup, but I really hope it requires an easy to "approve" interface. I once tried Faire's "integration" with Square and it didn't allow me to easily edit PLU's/descriptions.

[MayaP]

Hello,

As always we are super appreciative of you guys providing your expert insight. We will reach out if additional information becomes available. Thanks again for sharing why this feature would be valuable for you. 

[KeepitSimpleSam]

I have often dreamed of a feature that would be this business friendly.  This is not just inventory management, but complex business management tools.  Setting minimum margin levers, on a category or item type.  That's also why you need more than a single category to work with as most business owners will want to drill down the categories to get even more specific. 

[FlightTeam]

I use software called Digital Pour for my draft beer. I enter the cost and size of the keg, and DP calculates the pricing for each size pour. I can then change the prices if I want, or accept them. I think something like this would be perfect in Square. We input the case cost, and number of items per case, and Square populates the price based on our settings. If we want to change it, we can. It would save so much time.