Building Pricing Calculators

A pricing calculator is an interactive quoting tool. You build it once with input fields, pricing rules, and a product list, then use it to generate quotes on leads and deals, and to let partners quote themselves in portal rooms. As you build, a live preview shows exactly what the customer will see.

Where to find it: In the main navigation, click CPQ, then open the Calculators view. Click Add Calculator to create one. This requires the Products module to be enabled.

How a calculator is put together

Each calculator is edited across a set of tabs:

Details: The calculator's name, description, and billing settings.
Fields: The inputs a customer or sales rep fills in (like quantities or options).
Products: The products the calculator can add to a quote.
Rules: Discounts, taxes, and surcharges that adjust the price.
Preview: A live quote you can test as you build.

Calculator settings

On the Details tab, set:

Name and Description.
Billing Mode: Fixed Period means every quote uses one billing period. Customer Can Choose lets the customer switch between the periods you allow.
Billing Period: Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly.

When Billing Mode is Customer Can Choose, you also pick the Available Periods and a Default Period, and you can set a discount for a period (for example, a percentage off for paying yearly). The discount shows in the quote as "% off".

Fields

Fields are the inputs that shape a quote. Add fields on the Fields tab. There are three types:

Checkbox: An on/off choice.
Number: A numeric value, such as a quantity or number of users.
Dropdown: A list of options to choose from.

Each field has a Label (what the customer sees), a Variable name (used by products and rules), and a Default value. Number fields can also have an optional Min, Max, and Step. Dropdown fields have a list of Options.

Products

On the Products tab, add products from your catalogue and control when each one appears:

Use Include this product when to add a product only when a field condition is met (for example, include a setup fee only when a certain option is selected).
Mark a product as Optional to let the customer toggle it on or off. Optional products appear in the quote under Optional Add-ons. Use Included by default to have an optional product start switched on.

All products in a single calculator must use the same currency. If you try to add a product in a different currency, you will be asked to remove it or choose a matching product.

Rules

Rules adjust the price after the products are added. On the Rules tab, click Add Rule. Every rule has a Name, a Type, and a Calculation.

There are three rule types, each shown in its own colour in the quote:

Discount (green): Reduces the total.
Tax (blue): Adds to the total.
Surcharge (orange): Adds an extra charge to the total.

Each rule then has one of three calculation methods.

Fixed Amount

A flat amount. Enter the value in the Amount field. Set Billing to:

One-off: A single, one-time charge or discount.
Recurring: Applies to the recurring part of the quote and appears in the recurring total, so it repeats each billing period.

Percentage

A percentage of the price. Enter the value in the Percentage field, then choose a Percentage base:

Subtotal: Always calculated from the price before any rules are applied.
Running total: Calculated from the total after earlier rules have already applied. This is how you tax an already-discounted price.

Percentage rules automatically split their one-off and recurring share based on the products in the quote, so they have no Billing setting.

Formula

A tiered or conditional amount. A formula rule lets you charge a different amount when a number field crosses a threshold you set:

Set the Threshold (for example, when quantity is 100 or more). Leave it blank to charge one amount for any quantity.
Set the amount to charge when the condition is met, and an Otherwise amount for when it is not. Otherwise can be set to None — charge nothing.

Each amount is either a Flat amount or a Per unit rate multiplied by a number field. Like Fixed Amount rules, formula rules also have a Billing setting of One-off or Recurring.

Applying a rule only in certain cases

Fixed Amount and Percentage rules have an optional Only apply this rule when… condition. Leave the condition blank to always apply the rule. (Formula rules use their Threshold instead.)

Rule order matters

Rules run in order, from top to bottom. Drag the handle on the left of a rule to reorder it. Order changes the result whenever a rule uses the Running total percentage base, because that rule is calculated from the total left by the rules above it.

Preview

The Preview tab shows a live quote that updates as you type. Use it to check your fields, products, and rules before sharing the calculator.

Enter values in the fields and toggle optional add-ons to watch the subtotal, adjustments, and total update in real time.
If the calculator lets the customer choose their billing period, a period switcher appears so you can compare prices.
Each adjustment shows a coloured dot — green for a discount, blue for tax, orange for a surcharge — and an information icon. Hover the icon to see why the adjustment applies and the exact maths behind it.
Adjustments that are purely recurring appear in their own section next to the recurring total, so one-time and repeating charges stay clear.

You can let partners quote themselves by adding a Pricing Calculator block to a portal room. Partners configure the fields, see live pricing, and generate a quote from the portal. You choose how the block behaves:

Preview Only: Partners can see pricing but cannot submit.
Lead + Products: Submitting creates a lead with the selected products attached.
Lead + Quote: Submitting creates a lead with a full quote attached.

See the Custom Portal Rooms article for how to add and configure blocks in a room.

Good to know

A calculator's currency comes from its products, and every product in a calculator must use the same currency.
Rule order matters when a percentage rule uses the Running total base — reorder rules to change how they stack.
Recurring rules and recurring products appear in the recurring total, separate from one-time charges.
Set a calculator to Live before it can be used to create quotes or added to a portal room.

Products: Create and manage the product catalogue your calculators draw from.
Quotes on Leads and Deals: Turn a calculator into a quote on a lead or deal and download a quote PDF.
Custom Portal Rooms: Add a Pricing Calculator block so partners can quote themselves.

Building Pricing Calculators