Formula Pricing

Formula pricing works out each product's price from daily material rates and other costs. Change a rate once, and every product that uses it updates.

Think of it as a price calculator saved inside each product. You tell ShowCato what goes into the price, such as 10 g of 22kt gold plus a making charge. ShowCato does the maths every time the rate changes.

When to use it

Use it when your prices follow raw material rates, such as gold, silver, copper or fabric per metre.

Who uses it

• Jewellers: gold or silver weight × today's rate, plus making charge.
• Textile traders: cotton yarn per kg or fabric per metre.
• Metal and wire products: copper or brass rate × weight.

If your prices stay the same for weeks, use Fixed Price instead. It is simpler.

Set it up

1. Create a category with Price Type: Formula Price.
2. Open Material Rates and enter today's rate for each material.
3. On each product in that category, add cost rows with + Add Cost.
4. Set GST and rounding, then check the Estimated Price (Final).

Material Rates

The Material Rates page (titled Master Rates) holds your rate variables. Each one is a material with a unit and a current rate, such as "Gold 22kt" at ₹6,500 per gram.

Add a rate variable

1. Click + New Rate Variable.
2. Enter the Name, such as "Gold 22kt" or "Cotton Fabric".
3. Enter the Unit, such as gram, carat, metre or kg.
4. Enter the Current Rate per unit and click Save Rate Variable.

The list shows each rate's Unit, Current Rate, how many Products use it and when it was Last Updated. Recent changes appear under each rate, such as "₹6,500 → ₹6,620 · 2 hours ago".

Update today's rate

1. Click Edit Rate next to the material.
2. Type the New Rate Value.
3. Read the warning. It tells you how many products will be recalculated.
4. Click Confirm Update.

Every product whose Material Cost row uses that rate gets a new price straight away. Products on other rates are not touched.

Delete a rate

The Delete button shows only when no products use the rate. If products still use it, remove it from those products first.

Cost types

How each row works

Each row in the cost table has a Cost Type, Details and a row Total. Click Remove to delete a row.

• Material Cost: click Select Materials, pick a rate and enter the Qty in that rate's unit. Row total = rate × quantity.
• Manufacturing Cost: starts as % of Material Cost. Enter 12 for a 12% making charge.
• Fixed Cost and Extra Cost: a fixed rupee amount, such as a hallmark or packing charge.
• Loss: starts as Per Unit Cost.
• Other: type your own cost name, such as "Stone setting".

Most rows also have a Calculation Method: Material, % of Material Cost, Fixed Cost or Per Unit Cost. Change it if a cost works differently in your business.

Worked example: gold necklace

Rate: Gold 22kt at ₹6,500 per gram. Rounding: Round Up to ₹10.

Next day, gold moves to ₹6,600. You change one rate. The material becomes ₹66,000, making becomes ₹7,920, and the price updates to ₹73,970 on its own.

GST

How GST works here depends on your GST setting:

• GST off: the cost table has its own GST dropdown. The final price shows as (Inclusive of GST).
• GST on: use the product's HSN / SAC Code, GST Rate and Pricing Mode fields. The final price shows as (Before product GST).

Rounding

Round the final price to the nearest, up or down, in steps of 1, 5, 10, 50 or 100.

Pick a direction (Round to Nearest, Round Up or Round Down) and a step. New products start at nearest ₹10. Choose None to show the exact amount. Round figures like ₹72,850 look cleaner on a quotation than ₹72,845.37.

Check the price

The Estimated Price (Final) box updates as you type. Click Recalculate to refresh it after big changes. On a saved product, a Last calculated badge shows the current price and when it was last worked out.

Common mistakes

• "No rate variables defined yet." You must add rates in Material Rates before a Material Cost row can use them.
• Wrong unit. If the rate is per gram, enter the quantity in grams, not tolas or kg.
• Product did not change after a rate update. Check that its Material Cost row uses that exact rate variable.
• No cost calculator on the form. The product's category is on Fixed Price. Pick a Formula Price category.