Negotiated prices and per-client discounts: how to invoice without mistakes

Almost all your best clients have particular terms: a usual discount, a special price on the items they buy most, sometimes a standard quantity. As long as these terms live in the salesperson's head or in an Excel file, every quote is a chance for error: catalogue price forgotten, discount applied twice, gap between the quote and the invoice.

The three terms to save per client

1. The default discount (in %): the global discount you usually grant this client on the whole document.
2. The special price per item: a negotiated price for a specific product or service, different from the catalogue price.
3. The default quantity: the usual quantity, to save time when entering.

A line discount can also accompany the special price (for example −10% on a given item).

What should happen automatically

When you create a quote or an invoice for this client:

• the default discount is already filled in (you can change it on the document);
• when you search for an item, the one with a client price is flagged, with the negotiated price, discount and quantity;
• the catalogue price is never touched: other clients keep theirs.

This is what Billora's per-client pricing does: it is set in the client record, Pricing tab, and found again in quotes and invoices. See the guide Per-client pricing.

Good practice

• Date your negotiations: note in the client record the date and author of the agreement, to know when to renegotiate.
• Do not multiply exceptions: ten clients with ten different prices on a hundred items become unmanageable. Reserve special prices for real key accounts.
• Align quote and invoice: the price applied on the quote must be the one on the invoice. A price that changes between the two must be justified in writing.
• Watch your margin: a discount on a discount (line discount + global discount) can push an item below its cost. Check the margin-by-item report.
• Have large discounts reviewed by a second person.

And VAT?

The discount applies before VAT: the taxable base is the net amount after discount, broken down by rate (20%, 14%, 10%, 7%, 0%). A document mixing several VAT rates must always show the breakdown by rate, as invoicing in Morocco requires.

In summary

• Save discount, special prices and quantities per client, not in a separate file.
• Let the tool pre-fill quotes and invoices.
• Limit exceptions to the clients that justify them.
• Watch margins.