Help Centre › Stock & pricing

Price groups

Staff rates, senior discounts, rescue rates — a named alternative markup that whoever is charging can pick, on any item, anywhere in FastVet.

A price group is a named alternative markup. An item's everyday price is your cost plus your usual markup; a price group says “for these clients, use this markup instead”.

Practices use them for:

Staff — buying at cost, or close to it.
Seniors — a standing discount for pensioners.
Rescues and charities — a reduced rate for organisations you support.
Breeders or wholesale — volume rates.

Note

A price group is just a description and a markup percentage. There is no separate price list per group and no per-item override.

How the price is worked out#

A price group prices the item from its cost: cost × (1 + the group's markup) + VAT. It does not discount the normal selling price — it ignores it.

For example, a dental scale and polish with a cost of R326.09 and a normal selling price of R750.00, with VAT added:

Charged as	Markup	Sum	Client pays
Normal	—	the catalogue selling price	R750.00
Seniors	25%	R326.09 × 1.25 = R407.61, + VAT	R468.75
Staff	0%	R326.09 × 1.00 = R326.09, + VAT	R375.00
Custom	—	whatever is typed	anything

So a 0% group sells at cost and a 25% group adds a quarter to cost. You are choosing the margin, not a discount: for “20% off”, work out the markup that gives that price, or use Custom for a one-off.

Careful

An item with no cost price is charged R0.00 by every price group. On a consultation, hospital, boarding, grooming or quote line, an amber warning naming the group appears under the price. Charge the item as Normal or Custom instead, or give it a cost under Update Prices.

A group selected on an item with no cost price: the price falls to zero, with a warning.

Tip

Check that your items have cost prices before you rely on price groups. The No cost price filter on Update Prices lists the ones that do not.

Note

A group with the same markup as your usual one can come out a few cents different from the stored selling price, because the group works the price out afresh at the current VAT rate.

Creating a price group#

Who can do this

Administrators.

Home›Settings›Price Groups

The practice's price groups, each with its markup.

Choose Price Groups on the Settings menu.
Press Add.
Enter a Description — this is the label staff see on the button, so keep it short: “Staff”, “Seniors”, “SPCA”.
Set the Markup %.
Press Save.

A price group is a description and a markup percentage.

Tip

Keep the list short. Every group adds another button beside the price wherever an item is charged. Three or four is plenty for most practices.

Note

Deleting a group removes its button. Items already charged at that rate keep their price.

Charging at a group rate#

The buttons sit beside the price wherever an item is charged.

The buttons on a consultation item: Normal, Custom, and one per price group. Normal is selected, so the price is the catalogue R750.00.

Charge the item as usual.
Tap the button for the rate you want. The price updates immediately.
Press Add.

The same item at the senior rate — R468.75 instead of R750.00.

Button	Does
Normal	The everyday catalogue price. This is the default; tap it again to go back to it.
Custom	Lets you type the price for this one charge.
Each price group	Prices the item from cost at that group's markup.

The buttons appear everywhere FastVet charges an item:

Consultation items, and the Protocol Charge.
Counter sale items.
Hospital and boarding day items.
Grooming items.
Quote lines.

Note

If Prices Read Only is switched on under Billing & Payments, staff cannot change the price when charging: the catalogue price is used, and neither Custom nor the price groups can be chosen. A client's standing rate is not applied either.

Giving a client a standing rate#

To put a client on a rate permanently, open their record and, under Account, set Default Rate to the price group. Every new line on a consultation, a hospital or boarding day, a groom or a quote is then priced at that rate, and the item says “Charged at group, this client’s usual rate.”

Note

The Default Rate box appears once your practice has at least one price group. Leave it on Normal price for clients with no standing rate.

Question	Answer
Does it apply to every line?	Every new line on those screens. Staff can still tap a different button on any line.
Does it change lines already charged?	No. A charged line keeps its price, and reopening it shows the button it was charged at.
What about an item with no cost price?	It is left at its normal price, so it is not charged at R0.00.
Does the client see which rate they got?	No. The invoice shows the amount, not the group.
Can a client be on a rate for some visits and not others?	The rate applies to all of them. For a one-off, change the line.

Tip

Use the client’s notes for anything a rate cannot express. They show on the patient header during a consultation.

Seeing what you gave away#

There is no report of discounts given by price group. To keep an eye on what a rate costs you:

Compare the category summary report month to month.
Compare the stock used report against income, for product-heavy discounting.
Review the group's markup from time to time, as you would any other price.

Note

Because a group prices from cost, a group with a markup above 0% never sells below cost. A 0% group sells at cost.

Before you rely on them#

Cost prices are filled in on the items you expect to discount. No cost means R0.00.
The names are clear on a button.
There are only a few groups.
Clients who always get a rate have it set as their Default Rate.
The markup is reviewed like any other price.