Price Calculation Master

Description

A descriptive name for this price calculation (e.g., "Summer Sale 20% Off", "Buy 3 Get For $10", "Cost Plus 30%"). This name appears in the Price Calc List and in audit trails.

Start Date

The date this calculation becomes active. Leave blank for no start date restriction. Transactions before this date use the item's base price.

Stop Date

The date this calculation expires. Leave blank for no end date. Transactions after this date use the item's base price. Set only a Stop Date for "until" pricing.

Start Time

Optional start of a daily time window. Use with Stop Time for time-limited promotions (e.g., "Happy Hour starts 4:00 PM").

Stop Time

Optional end of a daily time window. Sales outside the Start Time / Stop Time window use the item's base price.

Day of Week

Restrict the calculation to specific days of the week. Click Set Days to open a dialog with checkboxes for Sunday through Saturday. The field displays a 7-character string (e.g., "NYNNNYN" for Monday and Saturday only). Leave all days checked (YYYYYYY) for every day.

Set Days

Opens the day-of-week selection dialog.

Size Method

Controls which item sizes the calculation applies to:
• Default Selling Size — Applies only to the item's default sell size. Use this for most standard pricing.
• All Selling Sizes — Applies to every size defined on the item (e.g., SM, MD, LG all get the same calculation).
• Custom Size — Applies to a specific size you type in (e.g., only "LG"). A size entry field appears when this option is selected.

Custom Size

The custom size entry field that appears when Custom Size is selected.

Discountable?

When checked, the calculated price can be further reduced by discounts at point of sale. When unchecked, the calculated price is the final price and no additional discounts are applied on top of it.

Count Items Affected on Save?

When checked, Quasar counts how many items match the current limits before saving. If more than 20 items are affected, a warning is displayed with the count, giving you the option to add more limits to narrow the scope or proceed. Useful for preventing accidental broad price changes.

The limits table shows all Include and Exclude rules:

Limit Type

Whether this rule is Include (the calculation applies to these records) or Exclude (the calculation does not apply to these records). Use Include to define what the calculation targets, then Exclude to carve out exceptions.

Data Type

The kind of record this limit targets. Supported data types are:

Number

The number (code) of the specific record targeted by this limit rule.

Name

The name of the specific record targeted by this limit rule.

Include limits define what the calculation applies to. Exclude limits carve out exceptions. For example, you can include an entire department but exclude a specific brand within it.

Note: For the Multi-Deal method, only Item and Item Group limits are valid. Department, subdepartment, brand, and vendor limits are ignored.

Add / Edit / Delete / Clear

Manage the limits list. Add opens the limit dialog to create a new include or exclude rule. Edit modifies the selected limit. Delete removes the selected limit (with confirmation). Clear removes all limits (with confirmation).

Price

Field: Price
Formula: Selling Price = the entered price (ignores cost and base price)
Use when: You want to set an exact flat price on specific items, regardless of what they currently cost or sell for.

Example: "All clearance T-shirts $9.99" — set Price to $9.99, add a limit for the "Clearance T-Shirts" item group. Every item in that group sells at exactly $9.99 regardless of its original price.

Example: "Customer ABC always gets Widget X at $25.00" — set Price to $25.00, add limits for Customer "ABC Corp" and Item "Widget X". When ABC Corp buys Widget X, they always pay $25.00.

Field: % Amount
Formula: Selling Price = Cost + (Cost × % Amount / 100)
Use when: You want pricing that automatically adjusts when costs change, maintaining a consistent markup.

Example: "Sell all items from vendor ProSupply at cost + 30%" — set % Amount to 30, add a limit for Vendor "ProSupply". An item costing $10.00 sells at $13.00. If the cost rises to $12.00, the sell price automatically becomes $15.60.

Example: "Employee pricing at cost + 5%" — set % Amount to 5, add a limit for Customer Group "Employees". All employees buy at just above cost.

Note: Requires items to have a valid cost on file. Items without a cost are skipped.

Field: % Amount
Formula: Selling Price = Base Price − (Base Price × % Amount / 100)
Use when: You want a standard sale percentage off the regular price.

Example: "Summer Sale — 20% off all Clothing" — set % Amount to 20, add a limit for Department "Clothing" with Start Date June 1 and Stop Date Aug 31. A $50.00 jacket sells at $40.00 during summer, then reverts to $50.00 on September 1.

Example: "Loyalty members get 10% off everything" — set % Amount to 10, add a limit for Customer Group "Loyalty". No date limits needed (permanent).

Field: $ Amount
Formula: Selling Price = Base Price − $ Amount
Use when: You want a flat dollar amount off, common in "Save $5" style promotions.

Example: "Save $5 on any Premium Dog Food" — set $ Amount to $5.00, add limits for Subdepartment "Premium Dog Food". A $29.99 bag sells at $24.99; a $44.99 bag sells at $39.99.

Example: "This weekend only — $2 off all beverages" — set $ Amount to $2.00, add Department "Beverages", set Day of Week to Friday/Saturday/Sunday only.

At/For Qty

Fields:
• At/For Price — The total price for the deal (e.g., $10.00)
• At/For Qty — The quantity required (e.g., 3)

Unit Price

Example: "3 for $10.00 on all canned soup" — set At/For Price $10.00, At/For Qty 3. Unit Price auto-calculates to $3.33. Add a limit for Subdepartment "Canned Soup". Each can rings at $3.33; buying 1 or 2 cans still uses $3.33 each.

Example: "Buy 2 for $5 on energy drinks, limit 4" — set At/For Price $5.00, At/For Qty 2 (Unit Price = $2.50), set Qty Limit to 4. The first 4 energy drinks ring at $2.50; the 5th and beyond revert to the regular price.

Field: Multi-Deal Price
Behavior: A complex deal that applies across multiple different items. Requires at least two limits (typically two or more specific items or item groups). When all required items are present in the transaction, the deal price is applied.

Example: "Burger + Fries + Drink for $8.99" — set Multi-Deal Price $8.99, add limits: Include Item "Burger", Include Item "Fries", Include Item "Drink". When all three items are scanned, the combined price becomes $8.99 instead of the sum of individual prices.

Example: "Buy any 2 items from the Party Pack group for $15" — set Multi-Deal Price $15.00, add limits: Include Item Group "Party Pack" (twice, or with the group containing at least 2 qualifying items).

Restrictions: Only Item and Item Group limits are valid for Multi-Deal. When you switch to Multi-Deal, a warning reminds you that Department, Subdepartment, Brand, and Vendor limits are ignored. The system enforces a minimum of 2 limits on save.

Behavior: Automatically adds a free gift item to the transaction when the qualifying conditions are met. The gift is awarded at a price of $0.00. If the customer no longer meets the requirements (e.g., by voiding items or reducing quantities below the threshold), the gift is automatically removed from the transaction in real time.

Fields:

Reward Item

Reward Group

Example: "Free travel mug with any $50 coffee purchase" — set Reward Item to "Travel Mug", set Required Min Amt to $50.00, add a limit for Department "Coffee". When a customer's qualifying coffee items total $50.00 or more, the travel mug is automatically added to the transaction at $0.00. If the customer voids a coffee item and drops below $50.00, the travel mug is automatically removed.

Example: "Free accessory with any $100 electronics purchase" — set Reward Group to "Free Accessories" (containing multiple choices), set Required Min Amt to $100.00, add a limit for Department "Electronics". The cashier picks from available accessories when the threshold is reached.

Reward Item Description

Read-only description of the selected reward item. Updated automatically when a reward item is chosen.

Note: Gift/Reward operates in real time on both the POS and the Quasar GUI Invoice screen. Gifts are added and removed dynamically as the transaction total fluctuates around the threshold. The Min. Qty and Qty Limit fields are hidden for this method.

Day Selection

Use the checkboxes to choose which days of the week the calculation is active.

Sunday

Include Sunday.

Monday

Include Monday.

Tuesday

Include Tuesday.

Wednesday

Include Wednesday.

Thursday

Include Thursday.

Friday

Include Friday.

Saturday

Include Saturday.

OK

Save the selected days and close the dialog.

Cancel

Close the dialog without saving changes.

Min. Qty

The minimum quantity that must be purchased before this calculation takes effect. For example, set to 6 to create a "buy 6 or more" deal. Quantities below this threshold use the item's regular price. Combine with Cost+ to offer volume discounts: "buy 12+ at cost + 15%".

Qty Limit

The maximum quantity that can be sold at the calculated price per transaction. Once the limit is reached, additional units revert to the item's regular price. Set to 0 for no limit. Useful for restricting promotional pricing (e.g., "limit 2 per customer" or preventing staff from buying unlimited stock at cost).

Required Min Amt

The Required Min Amt field sets a minimum dollar threshold that must be reached by qualifying items in the transaction before the price calculation takes effect. This field is available for all pricing methods, but it is most commonly used with Gift/Reward.

The threshold is evaluated against the sum of extended prices of all non-voided items in the transaction that match the price calculation's limits. Only items that pass the include/exclude limit rules are counted toward the threshold.

How it works:
• If the qualifying items total is at or above the threshold, the price calculation is active.
• If the qualifying items total drops below the threshold (e.g., after voiding a line or changing a price), the calculation is automatically deactivated. For Gift/Reward, this means the free gift is removed from the transaction.
• If no Required Min Amt is set (left at $0.00), the price calculation is always active when its other conditions (dates, times, days of week, quantity) are met.

Example: A "10% off when you spend $75 or more on clothing" promotion — set Method to % Off at 10%, Required Min Amt to $75.00, add Department limit "Clothing". The discount applies only when the customer's clothing subtotal reaches $75.00.

Scenario 1: Vendor-funded promotion
A vendor offers a 15% markdown on their brand for two weeks. Create a % Off calc at 15%, add Vendor limit for the brand, set Start/Stop dates. POS automatically prices items at 15% off during the promo window. No price batch needed — prices revert automatically.

Scenario 2: Tiered customer pricing
Wholesale customers get cost + 20%, retail loyalty members get 10% off. Create two calcs: (1) Cost+ at 20% with Customer Group "Wholesale", (2) % Off at 10% with Customer Group "Loyalty". Each customer type gets their pricing automatically at the register.

Scenario 3: Happy Hour
All draft beverages half-price from 4 PM to 6 PM on weekdays. Create a % Off calc at 50%, add Item Group "Draft Beverages", set Start Time 4:00 PM, Stop Time 6:00 PM, set Day of Week to Mon–Fri only. POS applies the discount only during the window.

Scenario 4: Qty deal with limit
"Buy 2 get the 3rd at 50% off" on snack bars — create an At/For calc: 3 bars for $7.50 (if regular price is $3.00 each = $9.00, saving $1.50), limit 3 per transaction. Set Min. Qty to 3 so it only kicks in when buying 3+.

The layers are applied in strict sequence — each layer builds on the result of the previous one:

Step 1 — Price Calculations (Base Price). When an item is added to a transaction, Quasar evaluates all active price calculations. The item’s regular price, customer level price, quantity level price, and promotional price are all candidates. Price calculations (this screen) add additional candidates. The lowest qualifying price becomes the item’s base price. If a multi-deal produces a lower combined total than individual calculated prices, the multi-deal wins. The price calculation’s Discountable? checkbox determines whether further discounts (Layers 2 and 3) can reduce this price further.

Step 2 — Line Discounts (Per-Item Reduction). After the base price is determined, line discounts are applied — but only to items whose price calculation marked them as discountable. By default, a discount’s Allow discount on other discounts checkbox is unchecked (exclusive). This means that once a line discount is applied to an item, no further discounts — including transaction discounts — can be applied to that line. To permit stacking, the user must explicitly check Allow discount on other discounts on the Discount Master.

Step 3 — Transaction Discounts (Whole-Sale Reduction). Transaction discounts are applied last. They only affect lines where the price calculation allows discounts (Discountable? = checked) and any existing line discount also allows further discounts (Allow Other = checked). The system calculates the discountable remainder for each qualifying line (base price minus line discounts) and applies the transaction discount proportionally. When multiple transaction discounts compete, the Best-Deal Tournament (see below) determines which one wins.

Default Behavior: Because discounts default to exclusive (Allow Other = unchecked), a line discount will block all transaction discounts on that line unless the user explicitly enables stacking. Similarly, a price calculation with Discountable? unchecked blocks all discounts entirely. This “off by default” approach prevents accidental discount stacking that could erode margins.

The Discountable? checkbox on this screen controls whether items priced by this calculation can receive further discounts in Layers 2 and 3.

• Checked (default): The calculated price can be reduced by line and transaction discounts. Use this for most promotions (e.g., “20% Off Summer Sale” items can still receive a loyalty discount on top).

• Unchecked: The calculated price is final. No line or transaction discounts will reduce it further. Use this for cost-plus pricing strategies (e.g., employee pricing at cost + 5%) where further discounts would erode the margin below acceptable levels.

Example: A contractor gets “Cost + 10%” pricing. You create a Price Calculation with Cost+ at 10% and uncheck Discountable?. Now, even if a storewide 20% transaction discount is active, the contractor’s items stay at cost + 10% because the discountable flag protects them.

When multiple transaction discounts compete for the same items, Quasar runs a Best-Deal Tournament to ensure the customer always receives the lowest price. This applies to both the back-office Invoice screen and the POS.

How the tournament works:

• Phase 1 — Dry Run: Each transaction discount is evaluated independently, as if it were the only discount on the transaction. Quasar calculates the theoretical savings (total_amt) for each discount without actually applying any of them.

• Phase 2 — Compare: The discount with the highest savings wins. Specifically:
  – The best exclusive discount (highest savings among all Allow Other = No discounts) is identified.
  – The stackable sum (combined savings of all Allow Other = Yes discounts) is calculated.
  – If the best exclusive discount saves more than all stackable discounts combined, the exclusive discount wins alone. Otherwise, all stackable discounts are applied together.

• Phase 3 — Apply: Only the winning discount(s) are distributed across the transaction lines.

Example: A store has two exclusive transaction discounts — a 10% Auto-Apply Sale and a 20% VIP Discount linked to a customer. With the tournament engine, the 20% VIP discount wins because it produces higher savings, regardless of which discount was added first. The customer always gets the best deal.

Tiebreaker: When two discounts produce identical savings, the one evaluated later takes precedence.

When a price calculation (e.g., “20% Off Fridays”) and a multi-deal (e.g., “Burger + Fries for $8.99”) both apply to the same items, Quasar compares the resulting totals:

• If the multi-deal produces a lower combined total than the individual calculated prices, the multi-deal wins and replaces the calculated prices.

• If the calculated prices are already lower, the multi-deal is skipped.

This ensures that the customer always receives the best price, whether it comes from a percentage-off promotion or a combo deal.

If an item has a Low Price set on its Prices tab, no combination of price calculations, line discounts, or transaction discounts can reduce the effective price below that floor. The discount amount is automatically capped so the final price equals the Low Price. This protects against selling below cost or below a regulatory minimum price.