Price lists or price list

This is Part 5 of a 5 Part series on the Dynamics 365 for Sales Product Catalog. Read the Introduction here.

This blog about the Product Catalog in Dynamics 365 will cover Price Lists and Price List Items. In Part 4 Understanding the Product Catalog | Products, we observed how the Product entity tied together Unit Group, Unit, and Price List. The Price List Item ties together, either directly or indirectly, the entire set of Product Catalog entities: Unit Group, Unit, Discount List, Discount, Product, and Price List.

As you can imagine, this is an important entity. You could say that the Price List Item is command central as it dictates in what quantities the Product may be sold [Unit Group and Unit], what Price Lists will contain the Product [Price List and Price List Item], what Discounts may be available for the Product [Discount List and Discount], and the Product itself. Setting up a useful Product Catalog hinges on the development of Price List Items.

When you add Products to an Opportunity or QOI, the lookup view on the Opportunity Product record is pulling from the Price List Item associated to the designated Opportunity Default Price List back on the Opportunity record. Remember, Price List Item ties Product to Price List.

Notice the default Products in Parent Price List view to find Products. Here is where you will find all Products that are part of the selected Price List.

If I choose a different view, lets say the Product Lookup View and find a Product and attempt to add it, there is a good chance I will get this error:

We would get this error because the Product selected is not on the Price List for the selected Opportunity Default Price List.

Price List

Price List is the container for all Price List Items. Opportunity and the QOI records have a lookup to this entity to set the stage for what Products may be added.

Context

Cost = Products or services that are resources that cost your organization. For example, a delivery truck is needed to carry all items to an all-day party you are providing, or a handful of assistants you need to pay to put on the party.

Purchase = Products are services that your organization purchases.

Sales = Products you are selling to your customers.

Currency

This is the first entity in the Product Catalog that requires the Currency field! Unit Group, Unit, Discount List, Discount, and even Product did not have Currency, or Currency was an optional field.

What is the impact? You can add whatever Product you want to a Price List, but you cannot add any Product assigned to a Price List [through the Price List Item] to any Opportunity or QOI where there is a default price list set. Remember this?

Price List Item

Quantity Selling Option

No Control

Really, this means no control over in what quantities you sell a Product or Service.

While adding Products to an Opportunity [on the Opportunity Product record], the Quantity field will default to five decimal places.

You can order 1.00000, 1.10000, 1.00001, or whatever combination you like.

Whole

Only whole amounts may be sold. You most likely wouldnt want to sell half a vehicle, right?

If I set the Price List Item Quantity Selling Option to Whole, but try to set the Quantity to any fractional amount [like 1.10000], I will receive the following error:

Changing the Quantity to 1.00000 will save just fine.

Whole and Fractional

This will allow Products and Services to be sold in whole or partial quantities up to the value on the Product Decimals Supported field.

If the Product Decimals Supported value equals two, then the Product or Service can only be sold to the hundredth decimal place. 1.00000, 1.10000, and 1.11000 will all work; 1.11100 will not.

Pricing Method and Rounding Policy

There are three fields that do not display in the Sales Hub version of the Product record: List Price, Standard Cost, and Current Cost. If, however, you have Project Service, you would see these fields on the Project Information form for Product.

You do have the option to add these fields to the Sales Hub Product form. Why would you want to do that?

You would want to add these fields to open up your available options for Pricing Method. If these three fields are not filled out, your only option when adding a Price List Item for Pricing Method is Currency Amount. If you select any other option, you will receive the following error:

Please contact to your Administrator to customize the product form for adding standard cost, List Price and Current cost fields for PricePerUnit calculation.

Lets look at an example. Here are the Product amounts for Cheese, Block, Pepperjack:

Price List Item Pricing Method is set to Percent of List.

10.50 % [Price List Item Percentage] of $1,000.00 [Product List Price] = $105.00 [Price List Item Amount]. I have a Rounding UP Policy, but $105.00 is already rounded. Then I have a Rounding Option to end in $0.15, so the final Amount becomes $105.15.

Price List Item Pricing Method is set to Percent Markup Current Cost.

10.50 % [Price List Item Percentage] of $910.00 [Product Current Cost] = $95.55. But this is a markup, so we add that amount to the original Product Current Cost which then totals $1005.55. But I have a Rounding UP Policy that brings the Amount to $1006.00. Then I have the Rounding Option to end in $0.15, so the final Amount becomes $1006.15.

Whether Pricing Method is Markup or Margin, Current Cost or Standard Cost, the process is the same. You can view the Pricing Method option definitions and Rounding Policy definitions here.

Business Scenario

Remember the business scenario list of how I will sell my products and services?

My customers:

• In-store customers
• Online customers
• Corporate members [Hotels, Restaurants, Vacation Cruises, etc.]
• Government
• Platinum members [they get one free party a year, marketing, special deals, etc.]
• I do not sell to resellers

We want to create separate Price Lists for the following situations:

• Certain customer types
• Customers that reside in a specified region
• Customers that may purchase in a different Currency

Price Lists and Price List Items in Action

Price Lists and Price List Items.xlsx will provide a general idea on how Price Lists and Price List Items may be orchestrated to provide Products at different amounts.

As you can imagine, the Price List could contain hundreds if not thousands of Price List Items:

For this reason, its a good idea to plan thoroughly before building your complete Product Catalog. One great idea would be to create all the needed Price Lists in D365, and then build out your Price List Items with Excel and then import, associating the Price List Items to the Price Lists.

Gotchas

You can delete a Price List Item already associated to an Opportunity

The system will not prevent a user from deleting a Price List Item that is already added to an Opportunity.

Here is a Product that is added to an Opportunity.

The system will allow a Price List Item to be deleted, only with the following warning:

When attempting to open the previously associated Price List Item on the Opportunity, the following error message displays:

Product Catalog Settings

To avoid numerous potential Product Catalog pitfalls, it is recommended to keep the following setting as is.

If this is not set accordingly, it opens up possibilities of incorrect Opportunities and QOI. The Account may have a default Price List that doesnt match the list of Products for their Opportunity, which could inadvertently apply the incorrect amount or discount.

Key Learnings

What can we derive from reviewing the above information?

Price Lists determine the Currency

Unit Group, Unit, Discount List, Discount, and Product did not contain Currency or did not require Currency. Price List is the key entity to determine in what Currency the Product will be sold.

Price List Item binds the Product, Price List, Unit, Discount List, and Amount or Percentage

Price List Item is all-important entity that ties the entire Product Catalog together. Through the Price List, Price List Items are added to Opportunities and QOI.

Price List Item inherits the Price List Currency

Since Price List Item is a child to Price List, it inherits the Currency which is used to match Opportunity and QOI Currency.

List Price, Current Cost, and Standard Cost are available

There is a difference in the fields used by Sales Hub, Field Service, and Project Service Automation [PSA] for the Product form. These three fields will need to be displayed on your Sales Hub Product form in order to utilize.

Carefully consider if this is the best route to travel and ask if Discount Lists will meet all business requirements surrounding price changes.

All Unit options must be added to the desired Price List

You have to add all Unit choices to the correct Price List as Price List Items in order for those Units to display in the Unit field on the Opportunity Line record.

For example, if I didnt add a separate Price List Item for Cracker, Golden Butter AND Pallet, it would not be an option in the Unit list on the Opportunity Line record.

Throughout the Understanding the Product Catalog blog series, we have delved into Unit Groups, Units, Discount Lists, Discounts, Products, Price Lists, and Price List Items and how they relate to each other and how they are consumed with Opportunities, Quotes, Orders, and Invoices.If you have any questions about the Product Catalog or Dynamics 365 for Sales, please connect with us.