Pricing that runs itself: size bands, special-day rates, multi-pet and long stays

A price nobody expected is nearly always a rule somebody set once and stopped thinking about: a long-stay tier that changed the rate at seven nights, a multi-pet rate charging three dogs less than three times the price, a size band that put a cross-breed in the wrong service. Each one is readable off the screen that set it, which is quicker than working backwards from the invoice.

Size is three services, not three prices

1. Open Services, then Manage on the size's service and Manage Service.
2. On Pricing & Payments, set the Base Price under Service Pricing.
3. On Who Can Book, set Weight Restrictions (kg) for this size's band.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Each size is its own service with its own Base Price. What makes it a size rather than a duplicate is the band on its Who Can Book tab, under Weight Restrictions (kg), and Require pet weight in Settings on Policies & Paperwork so the client has to give you the number. Both ends of a band count, so start each one above the top of the last: 1 to 10, then 10.1 to 20, then 20.1 to 45.

Display as "from" price covers the coat you cannot price off a number. The booking page then reads From $75 rather than a figure you would have to honour. Where even a starting figure would mislead, switch on Display as "Price varies" instead: customers see Price varies and no amount until the review step, and the booking is still charged at the Base Price. A service shows one or the other, never both.

The rate for a Saturday, and the rate for a public holiday

1. Open Holiday & weekend rates on Settings > Pricing & Payments.
2. For a weekday rate, select Days of the week, name it, pick the days under Repeat every week on, enter the Extra charge and select Save Rate.
3. For a public holiday rate, select Public holidays, name it, check the holidays ticked, enter the Extra charge and select Save Rate.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Every rate sits on one card, Holiday & weekend rates, under three tiles. A first public holiday rate covers every upcoming holiday, and Also charge it on new public holidays carries it to next year's. Only one rate applies to a date, and each form says which: a public holiday first, then peak dates, then a day of the week. A peak date range can hold more than one rate, and each service takes the rate that lists it, so boarding and homestay charge different amounts over the same school holidays as two rates on one range, never two ranges on the same dates.

The line under the amount is the one to read. A regular booking is charged per matching service; a stay is charged per night, which is where a long weekend gets away from people. Choose All services under Charge it on and the rate covers everything.

The special date on Business Hours shows the same rate back: its dialog says which rates bookings on those dates add, with Edit rate to come back here, and changing the hours keeps the rate.

Two pets, or two weeks

1. Open Services, then Manage on the service and Manage Service.
2. On Pricing & Payments, switch on Advanced options.
3. Select Add Rate under Multi-Pet Discount Pricing, or Add Tier under Multi-Pet Discounts on a stay service, and set the rate for each pet count.
4. On a stay service, select Try it Out under Pricing Preview, then set Stay Duration and Number of Pets to read the total.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

A multi-pet tier is a rate per pet, not money off the total, and Applies marks the tier a booking lands in.

Stays run the other way round. The length of the whole stay picks the tier, and that rate is then charged per day period: seven nights at the seven-day tier of $75 is $525. A part day on the end is charged at the short-stay rate rather than as another full day, so one day and eight hours comes to $140 and not $170. Both panels run the calculation the booking itself runs, so the total in front of you is the one to quote.

The dog that always costs more

Some pets never fit the menu: the pet that takes an extra half hour every time, the old regular who has paid less for years. Their price is set once on the pet, so nobody reprices them at the counter every visit.

1. Open Customers & Pets, select Manage on the pet, then the Settings & Overrides tab.
2. In <pet name>'s pricing, select Add Item and choose the service.
3. Optional: under Price, enter the pet's own price. Leave it empty to keep the menu price.
4. Optional: under Discount, enter a percentage, or select % to switch to dollars off and enter an amount.
5. Check Total, then select Save pricing.

New bookings, online bookings and new repeat bookings use the pet's price, and the owner sees it on the service when they book online. Only services priced by the visit take it: add-ons, stays, course lessons and services priced by the hour keep the menu price. The discount comes off like a discount on an invoice line, so a member discount replaces it on that line, and a discount your team adds to a booking does too.