Price rules and happy hour

How price rules work

Every item has a base price. A price rule changes that price for a target group, a time period and optionally only for certain items – either as a discount in percent or as a fixed price.

Rules apply per list. The server calculates at the moment of booking, using its clock in the list's time zone. Anything already booked keeps its price and the rule's label, even if you change or delete the rule later.

The types

• "Happy hour": applies to everyone, including cash sales and guests without an account. A happy hour always needs a time window.
• "Member price": applies to bookings on a member account.
• "Guest price": applies to guest accounts, the guest list and sales without an account. A guest price may also be above the base price.
• "Youth price": applies to members younger than the age limit you set (1 to 99 years, 18 if left empty). The account needs a date of birth for this.
• "Quantity discount": applies to everyone, including cash sales and guests without an account – per transaction from a certain quantity, such as "10 for 8" or "from 10: 15 %". Member, guest and youth price and happy hour can carry a quantity too; the quantity discount then applies only to that group or in that time window.

Create a rule

1. Open /admin, choose the list on the left and go to "Products & stock" → "Price rules". The same works in the WebApp or app under "Settings" → "Admin area" → "Price rules" (group "Products & stock"; on the computer the "Admin area" menu item).
2. Click "Add rule". Choose the "Type" and enter a "Label", for example "Friday happy hour". Everyone will see this label on the booking later.
3. Leave "Active" ticked and mark the weekdays on which the rule should apply.
4. If needed, enter the time window under "From" and "To" (format HH:mm). Empty means: all day.
5. Under "Effect" choose either "Discount in %" (0.01 to 100) or "Fixed price" and enter the value. For a quantity discount choose "x for y" and enter "Items (x)" and "charged (y)" – or set "From quantity (per transaction, optional)" for a discount or fixed price.
6. Under "Applies to" choose "All items", a single item or a "Category". For the youth price also set "Younger than (years)". Then "Save".

Time windows and weekdays

• Times are the list's local time; daylight saving time is taken into account.
• If the end is before the start, the window runs past midnight: "22:00" to "02:00" lasts until 2 a.m. the next morning.
• Past midnight, the weekday on which the window starts counts: a Friday rule from 22:00 to 02:00 applies on Saturday at 1 a.m., but not on Friday at 1 a.m.
• At least one weekday must be marked. To pause a rule, untick "Active" – then you do not have to create it again later.

Which price applies

• If several rules match at the same time, the cheapest price always applies. You do not need to set an order or priority.
• If no rule matches, the item's base price applies.
• A discount is rounded commercially; a price never becomes negative.
• Price rules do not change items with a negative price, such as a deposit return.

Quantity discount: "10 for 8" and "from 10"

• "x for y": for every full x items only y are charged. With "10 for 8", 10 beers cost as much as 8; with 25 beers 2 × 8 + 5 = 21 are charged; 9 beers still cost the normal price.
• "From quantity" with a discount in % (or a fixed price): from that quantity on, the discount applies to all items of the transaction – "from 10: 15 %" makes each of 12 shots 15 % cheaper.
• It counts per transaction: a cart in the app or WebApp, a cash sale at the till or kiosk, a QR order, a shared round (its total quantity) or a booking at the bar for one account. Several bookings over the evening are not added up.
• If the rule applies to a category or all items, the items count together, mixed. With "x for y" the cheapest items are free; the discount is spread proportionally over all items of the rule.
• No stacking: a quantity discount is calculated from the base price and never comes on top of happy hour, member or percentage prices. Per transaction the cheapest total applies – if the happy hour is cheaper, it applies.
• Booking, statement and receipt show the price actually paid per item with the label – without your own label "10 for 8" or "from 10: -15 %". If the average does not come out even, there are two lines one cent apart. The receipt also shows the base price ("instead of") and the discount.
• A cancellation refunds exactly the price paid for the cancelled line; the other items keep their price. Credit limit and daily limit check the discounted amount.
• In the cart, the app, WebApp, kiosk and till show "10 for 8 applied – 2 free" or "3 more for 10 for 8"; the total shown is already discounted.

Where the rule shows

• Every booking made at a rule price shows the rule's label – in the account in the WebApp or app, on the statement and at the till next to the price.
• On the TV display ("Products & stock" → "TV displays") a notice with a countdown appears during a happy hour, otherwise the start of the next happy hour.
• On the receipt printer's receipt the rule label appears below the line, followed by the base price it replaces and the discount on the right – or the surcharge for a guest price above the base price. Keep the label short and clear for that reason.

Price rules for events

• An event is a list of its own. When you create it under "Organization" → "Events", the items and prices are copied, but the price rules only if "Copy price rules" is ticked.
• It is a one-off copy: if you later change a rule on the parent list, the event's rule stays as it is.
• If nothing was copied, the event has no rules and no happy hour. Choose the event list on the left and create the rules there under "Price rules".
• The "Copy price rules" checkbox appears in the "Create event" dialog as soon as a parent list is chosen. Rules for a single item then apply to that item's copy in the event.

If it does not work

• The happy hour does not apply: is the rule "Active", today's weekday marked and the list's time zone correct?
• The member or youth price does not apply: was the booking made on an account? The youth price needs a date of birth on the account.
• A different price than expected: check whether a second rule makes the same item cheaper – the cheapest always applies.
• An error about the time window or weekdays when saving: a happy hour needs "From" and "To", and at least one day must be marked.
• The quantity discount does not apply: was everything booked in one transaction (one cart, one sale)? If another rule is cheaper, it applies – a quantity discount is never added on top.