Discounting Estimates

You can discount an estimate using a global discount, or discount its individual records in the Builder, such as role requests and tasks. The types of discounting available depends on whether the billing type of your estimate is "Fixed Price" or "Time and Materials". Estimates with a billing type of "Time and Materials" can be discounted at any level, whereas estimates with a billing type of "Fixed Price" can only be discounted globally or at the estimate product level.

When discounting, we recommend that you choose one hierarchical level that best fits your business’ methodology of estimating to discount at. You can discount at multiple levels, though this is not recommended. This is so that your estimating processes are consistent across all levels of your business, and the discounting process is one that is simple, easy to follow, and objective.

Tip:

To see the total discount of a record's value, hover over the Discount (%) cell.

Applying a Global Discount

You can apply a global discount to the estimate by entering a percentage in the Global Discount (Percent) field in the Details tab. The global discount percentage is applied to the estimate's cost contingency if the Apply Discount to Cost Contingency checkbox is selected. On estimates with a billing type of "Time and Materials", it's also applied to every role request, which updates their bill rate on top of any other discounts. On estimates with a billing type of "Fixed Price", the global discount is also applied to the margin of any estimate products, and consequently the net bill amount. The discount is also applied on top of any other discounts to individual estimate products. However, discounting at record level as well as global level is not recommended.

Tip:

You can see the global discount as an amount on the Details tab in the Global Discount (Amount) field.

Applying a Record Discount

Discounts can be applied to any record in the Builder with a billing type of "Time and Materials". Only estimate products can be discounted on estimates with a billing type of "Fixed Price".

Records with a Billing Type of "Time and Materials"

Records with a Billing Type of "Fixed Price"

Estimate products are the only records that can be discounted when their billing type is "Fixed Price". Records independent of estimate products can't be discounted, but they are affected by the global discount. For more information, see Applying a Global Discount.

You can discount estimate products by double-clicking the Discount (%) cell on the row of the estimate product in the Builder. The discount is applied to the margin of the estimate product, and consequently the net bill amount. The margin and net bill amount of any of the estimate product's child records are also discounted, as these are always derived from the estimate product's margin.

A Red down arrow is displayed next to the margin of the estimate product if it's lower than the original margin as a result of the discount. A Green up arrow is displayed if the margin is higher than the original margin.

Applying Both Record Discounts and a Global Discount

You can apply both a global discount to the estimate and discounts to individual records, although this is not recommended. The way the two methods of discounting combine depends on the billing type of the individual record.

Discounting by Adjusting Bill Rate

You can discount role requests by entering the discounted bill rate amount in the Discounted Bill Rate column in the Builder. The Discount (%) cell for the role request will update to reflect the discounted bill rate. Their respective parent records' bill rate, net bill amount, and margin then roll up to include the discounted role request.

A Red down arrow is displayed next to the bill rate of the role request if it's lower than the rate on the related rate card as a result of the discount. A Green up arrow is displayed if the bill rate is higher than the rate on the related rate card.

Note:

Your administrator must enable the Discounted Bill Rate column in Lightning App Builder. For more information, see Estimate Builder Lightning Component Properties.