How Pricing Works

How Pricing Works

Overview

Calculator AI uses a multi-stage pricing pipeline to turn customer selections into a final price. Each stage feeds into the next, so you can build pricing as simple or as complex as your product requires — from a flat price to formulas that reference dozens of options, lookup tables, and conditional rules. You configure each stage in Calculator Editor → Options & Pricing.

How It Works

  1. Initial price (base) — You set a fixed dollar amount or Selected Product Variant in Initial Price. That value is always the calculator’s starting point. In formulas it appears as VAR("BASE_PRICE") (dollars). See Initial Price (Base Price).
  2. Option prices — Each option can contribute to the price through per-choice prices or a formula (e.g., INPUT("WIDTH") * INPUT("HEIGHT") * 0.50).
  3. Fixed fees — Flat or conditional fees added on top (e.g., a rush-order surcharge). Fees are never affected by discounts.
  4. Pricing variables — Computed intermediate values you define with formulas. Use them to break complex logic into readable steps.
  5. Price adjustments — Conditional rules that modify the running price when specific conditions are met (e.g., add 15% for premium material).
  6. Unit / total price calculation — The main formula that turns base + options into the line price. If you leave it empty, the app uses initial price base + sum of option prices automatically, then still applies min/max, discount, fees, and quantity rules. See Total Price Formula. You can also set minimum and maximum price caps here.
  7. Quantity discounts — Volume-based discounts (e.g., 10% off when buying 50+) applied automatically at checkout.

Pricing tables are not a separate pipeline stage — they are lookup data referenced inside formulas at any stage.

Key Concepts

Stage Where to configure Uses formulas?
Initial price (base) Initial Price section No — fixed number or variant price; exposed as VAR("BASE_PRICE") elsewhere
Option prices Each option's pricing settings Yes
Fixed fees Fixed Fees section Yes
Pricing variables Variables section Yes
Price adjustments Price Adjustments section Yes
Unit/total price calculation Total Price Formula section Optional — if empty, base + option prices runs automatically
Quantity discounts Quantity Discount Rules section No (tier table)

Examples

  • Custom signage shop — Base price comes from the variant. Width × Height feeds the area into a pricing variable. The total price formula multiplies area by a per-square-foot rate from a pricing table. A rush fee is added as a fixed fee when the customer toggles "Rush Order."
  • Bulk sticker store — A flat base price of $0. Each sticker size has a per-unit price set in a pricing table. A quantity discount gives 20% off orders of 100+.

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