Estimate Pricing Method Overview

Estimate Pricing Methods provide a flexible and transparent way to price your estimate products. They function as selectable pricing engines that determine how costs, rates, and margins are calculated for an estimate.

Each pricing method is powered by an Apex plugin created using the ConfigurablePricingPlugin API. This framework surfaces your custom pricing logic as a selectable option in the user interface. This enables you to immediately see the impact of your custom code on values directly in the Estimate Builder, offering a clear view of how pricing is determined. For more information, see Plugins Overview.

There are two default methods: Cost Plus and Time and Materials. You can apply either of them to your estimate products, or you can create your own custom-built pricing rules for greater control over your estimates.

If you do not select an estimate pricing method, a default method is automatically assigned based on the estimate product's billing type:

  • Fixed Price: Defaults to the Cost Plus pricing method.
  • Time and Materials: Defaults to the Time and Materials pricing method.
Field Edit Permissions by Estimate Pricing Method
Estimate Pricing Method Net Bill Amount Margin (%) Bill Rate Discount (%)
Cost Plus Editable on estimate product level Editable on estimate product level Read only Editable on estimate product level
Time and Materials Read only Read only Editable on role request level Editable
Custom Read only Read only Read only Editable
Notes:
  • Estimate pricing methods are exclusively available for estimate products and cannot be applied to independent records.
  • For estimate products that use the Cost Plus pricing method, discounts can only be applied at the estimate product level.
  • When a project is created from an estimate, the selected pricing method will be reflected. However, any subsequent changes to the estimate pricing method or related Apex logic after the project has been created will not be reflected in the project.
  • Dated resource bill rates can only be used with the default Time and Materials pricing method. They are not compatible with Cost Plus or custom pricing methods. Dated resource cost rates can be used with any estimate pricing method.