How to manage customer-specific aggregate price lists

Keep product identity separate from the price agreement

A product code should identify the material even when its price changes. Keep a master record for the code, name, density and availability. Use stable codes when importing spreadsheet updates so you update an existing product rather than create near-duplicates.

Customer-facing selling rates belong in this catalogue and its price lists. Your own purchase costs, rebates and internal margins do not. Where density converts cubic metres into tonnes, make sure customers understand the value is a quoting assumption to review.

Make the price precedence explicit

Customers may have shared trade terms or an individually negotiated agreement. A clear order prevents a general update from unexpectedly replacing a specific deal.

1. Customer override: use the product rate agreed for this customer, when present.
2. Assigned price list: otherwise use the customer’s assigned list for that product.
3. Permitted standard rate: fall back to standard pricing only when you explicitly allow it.

A missing price is not zero. Show “Request a price” when no permitted rate is available. An explicitly withheld price should stop the fallback rather than reveal a rate you did not intend the customer to receive.

A shared Trade list might cover most products. A contractor’s negotiated GAP 40 rate overrides only that product; the rest follows their assigned list. Updating that list must not expose the contractor’s agreement to other customers.

Review once, then publish deliberately

Assign a customer’s list and overrides before they accept their invitation. Preview the resolved prices from their perspective. Check currency, units, availability and blank rates before publishing.

When prices change, update the relevant standard rates, lists or overrides rather than emailing a new spreadsheet to everyone. Publish immediately or set an effective time. Customers can use the current checked rates for new selections.

Do not silently reprice work in progress. A draft should keep its figures until the customer reviews and applies an update; saved quotes should retain their original price snapshot. Keep publication history and identify the version used in each quote.

Publishing in CartageHQ makes prices available inside the app. It does not automatically email every customer or change your contractual notice obligations. Handle any required notice separately.

Offer a useful tool, not just another login

A contractor usually needs to add cartage, handling and margin before quoting their own client. A supplier-branded portal puts the agreed material rates at the start of that workflow, reducing retyping and requests for the same information.

Keep the brands clear: your supplier identity appears in the portal; the contractor’s outgoing quote uses their company identity. They should not have to reveal their client list or profit margin to use your catalogue.

Explain the separation during onboarding. The supplier manages products, published prices and sponsored access. Customers manage their own vehicles, clients and quotes. A branded page link is not permission to view another company’s records.

A practical rollout checklist

• Clean up product codes, names, density and units before importing.
• Choose a price currency and review amounts; relabelling is not conversion.
• Document standard, list and override rules for each customer.
• Preview missing and withdrawn products as well as normal rates.
• Check an invited customer’s view and explain draft updates.
• Be clear about who pays, company allowances and usage limits.

Start with a small group and ask whether the portal helps them prepare a real job quote. Useful feedback is more valuable than promising an unmeasured increase in orders or loyalty.