# Create a Rate List

Name it after who it is for, pick the side of the ledger and the pricing shape before you add anything, then add the rules.

Nothing locks the choice between the two, but the entries you add are built for the shape you picked, so it is worth a minute up front.

## Create it

- **Create the list**

  Name it after who it is for, such as Trade or Distributor Tier 2, not after what it does.
- **Choose sales or purchases**

  A rate list prices one side of the ledger. A sales list changes what you charge; a purchases list changes what you expect to pay.
- **Choose percentage or fixed**

  Nothing stops you changing this afterwards, but the entries you have already added were built for the other shape, so it is far easier to decide before you start.
- **Set the currency**

  A fixed-price list is in one currency and can only be attached to customers in that currency.
- **Add the rules**

  A single percentage, or a price per item. Variants are priced individually, since each is its own item.
- **Choose the rounding**

  A percentage list rarely lands on a tidy number. **Rounding** decides what happens to the remainder: leave it alone with *Never mind*, take it to the *nearest whole number*, or force every price to end in *0.99*, *0.50* or *0.49*.
- **Save and attach it**

  To customers, so it applies without anyone thinking about it.

> **Tip:**
>
> **Price variants explicitly**
>
> Because a variant is a full item, a fixed-price list needs an entry per variant. Adding only the parent prices nothing, since the parent is never transacted.

## Building a fixed-price list

For anything beyond a handful of items, export the item list, add a price column and import it as the rate list. Typing a hundred prices into a form is where errors come from, and the export gives you your SKUs as the match key.

| Situation | Approach |
| --- | --- |
| A dozen negotiated lines | Add them by hand. |
| A whole catalogue at fixed prices | Export items, add prices, import. |
| Everything at ten per cent off | A percentage list. Do not enumerate. |
| Most things off, a few fixed | A percentage list, plus manual overrides on the few. |

## Keeping a list current

A fixed-price list does not cover items added after it was built. New products are sold at standard price to customers on that list, silently, until somebody adds them. A percentage list has no such gap, which is the main practical argument for using one.