# Create a Rate List

Name it after the agreement, choose which side it applies to, and set either one percentage or every rate.

A rate list needs three decisions before any prices go into it: which side of the business it applies to, whether it is a blanket adjustment or a list of exact rates, and what it is called.

## Create one

- **Go to Rate Lists and start a new one**

  Rate lists only appear once they are enabled under item preferences. If the module is missing, that switch is the first place to look.

  ![The New Rate List form. Basic Information holds a required Name field, a Transaction Type toggle with Sales selected over Purchase, and a Description field. A Rate List Type section offers two cards: All Items, described as mark up or mark down the rates of all items, which is selected, and Individual Items, described as customize the rate of each item. A Rate Configuration section below holds a required Percentage row with a Markup dropdown and a value field ending in a per cent sign, a required Round Off To field reading Never mind, and a How is a rate calculated link.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/inventory/rate-lists/rate-list-form.png)
- **Name it, and set the Transaction Type**

  **Sales** fills the rate on orders and invoices; **Purchase** fills it on purchase orders and bills. One list does one side.
- **Choose All Items or Individual Items**

  **All Items** marks the whole catalogue up or down by one figure. **Individual Items** names the items and their exact rates, and shows on the list screen as Unit Pricing.
- **Set the percentage and the rounding**

  For an All Items list, choose **Markup** or **Markdown** and enter the figure. **Round Off To** decides how the resulting rate is tidied; leave it alone unless your pricing has a convention.
- **Save**

  Nothing is priced differently until the list is attached to a contact or chosen on a document.

> **Tip:**
>
> **Name it after the agreement, not the number**
>
> "Trade 15%" ages badly the moment the agreement becomes twelve. **Trade Tier 3 - UK (National Accounts)** still means something after the rate changes.

## Markup against markdown

Both are a percentage away from the item's own rate, in opposite directions, and the list screen shows which in its Details column.

| Direction | What it does | Typical use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Markdown | Reduces the rate by the percentage | A trade discount, a framework agreement, a collection discount |
| Markup | Increases the rate by the percentage | A carriage uplift for a distant region, a small-order surcharge |

> **Note:**
>
> **Rounding applies after the percentage**
>
> The rate is worked out first and rounded second, which is why a 12.5 per cent markdown on an odd price can still land on a round number. **How is a rate calculated?** on the form expands to show the order.