The three rates
| Rate | What it is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Buy rate | What you usually pay for the product | You type it on the product, or a purchase updates it |
| Sales rate | What you usually sell it for | You type it on the product |
| Stock rate | What the goods in the warehouse cost you now | Worked out from the stock: the value of the warehouse's stock divided by its quantity |
Buy rate and sales rate are prices that documents start with. You can type over them on a line. Stock rate is not a price: it is the cost, and it changes whenever a purchase, an adjustment or a sale changes the stock (How stock is valued and what a sale costs).
When the warehouse has no stock, the Stock rate falls back to the Buy rate.
Where each is used
- A sales line starts with the Sales rate. The profit reports compare it with the cost, not with the buy rate (Profitability Report: sales against cost).
- A purchase line starts with the Buy rate.
- A stock transfer line starts with the Stock rate, or the sales rate if there is none (Move stock between warehouses with a stock transfer).
- A sales return line takes the Stock rate as the value of the goods coming back (Take goods back with a sales return).
- Bundling values the finished bundle at its Buy rate (Bundling and unbundling products).
Other rates a product can have
| Rate | Where you set it |
|---|---|
| MRP (maximum retail price) | On the product |
| Reseller sales rate, Wholesaler sales rate | On the product |
| Rates from a date | On the product's page: Rate Applicable from date, Buy rate, Sales rate, MRP |
| Rates for a customer | The Customer Wise Product Rate button of the product list |
| Rates for a batch | The batch details of a batch-wise product, or the Batch Product Bulk Rate button (Add batch wise product sales and MRP rate) (Batch, expiry date and serial number tracking) |
| Many products at once | The Bulk Rate button of the product list (Set product sales and purchase rate) |
A new product's sales rate can start from the category's Default profit (%) (Product categories and sub categories).
Common questions
Why does the invoice show a different rate from the product?
A rate from a date or for the customer applies before the product's own Sales rate.
The profit report shows a cost I did not type anywhere.
The cost is the Stock rate, worked out by first in, first out from your purchases (How stock is valued and what a sale costs).
Can I stop a sale below cost?
There is a warning when a batch's sales rate is below its purchase rate ("The batch sales rate is lower than the purchase rate for this product. Do you want to save this rate?"). No other check compares the sales rate with cost.