Pricing Periods

Pricing periods allow you to change rates over time by defining different prices that apply during specific date ranges. Instead of creating new rate records, you can use pricing periods to handle rate increases, seasonal pricing, and client-specific rate changes.

Why Pricing Periods Matter

Managing rates effectively requires flexibility:

• Handle rate increases — Raise rates annually without creating duplicate rate records
• Support seasonal pricing — Different prices during peak vs. off-season
• Client-specific pricing — Apply different rates to different clients for the same work
• Historical accuracy — Maintain accurate pricing for each time entry based on when the work was completed
• Audit trail — Track when and why rates changed

How Pricing Periods Work

When a billable item (time entry, expense, travel, product) is recorded with a specific date, Manor automatically applies the pricing period that is active on that date:

1. You set a rate's initial price (the base price)
2. You create pricing periods with start/end dates and new prices
3. When work is logged on a date, the system finds the active pricing period for that date
4. The price from that active period is used for billing

Example: You might have:

• A "Developer rate" with an initial price of 100 kr/hour
• A pricing period starting January 1, 2026 with a new price of 110 kr/hour
• A pricing period starting July 1, 2026 with a new price of 120 kr/hour

Work logged in January 2026 bills at 110 kr/hour, and work logged in July 2026 bills at 120 kr/hour.

Creating a Pricing Period

1. Navigate to Management > Pricing in the left menu.

2. Click the Pricing periods tab.

3. Click the New pricing period button in the top right.

4. Select the Rate this period applies to (required).

   • The dropdown shows all active rates in the selected currency

5. Enter the Start date (required).

   • This is the date when the new price becomes effective
   • Work logged on or after this date will use this period's price

6. Enter the End date (optional).

   • Leave blank if this pricing continues indefinitely
   • If set, work logged after the end date will use the next applicable pricing period

7. Enter the Price (required).

   • This is the new price for this rate during this period
   • Must be in the rate's currency

8. Click Save to create the pricing period.

Managing Pricing Periods

Viewing All Pricing Periods

The Pricing periods page shows all pricing periods for the selected currency, with filters for quick navigation:

• Quick filter — Search by rate name or other details
• Currency selector — View pricing periods for a specific currency

Editing a Pricing Period

1. On the Pricing periods page, click the pricing period you want to edit
2. Update the Start date, End date, or Price
3. Click Save

Important: Editing a pricing period does NOT change prices for work already logged. It only affects future billables recorded after the change.

Deleting a Pricing Period

1. Open the pricing period record
2. Click Delete pricing period
3. Confirm the deletion

Impact: Deleting a pricing period means work logged during that period will fall back to the next available pricing period or the rate's initial price.

Pricing Period Scenarios

Annual Rate Increase

When you increase rates each year, use pricing periods instead of creating new rates:

1. Go to the Developer rate (example)
2. Create a new pricing period starting January 1, 2026 with the new annual price
3. Create another starting January 1, 2027 with the next year's price
4. Continue for each year you plan to use this rate

Benefit: All time entries for "Developer rate" remain linked to the same rate record, making reporting and analysis cleaner.

Seasonal Pricing

For services with seasonal price variations:

1. Create a pricing period starting April 1 with summer pricing
2. Create another starting October 1 with winter pricing
3. This automatically applies the correct price based on the work date

Client-Specific Rate Changes

To change pricing for a specific client at a specific date:

1. Create a framework agreement for the client with the original special price
2. Create a pricing period on the agreement's rate for the date the price changes
3. Both the framework agreement and pricing period work together to determine the final price

Pricing Hierarchy & Precedence

When determining a rate for a billable item, Manor applies prices in this order (most specific wins):

1. Pricing period (effective on the work date) for a client-specific rate
2. Framework agreement price (if the project is covered by an agreement)
3. Pricing period (effective on the work date) for the standard rate
4. Standard rate's initial price

Example: If a framework agreement price exists but a newer pricing period has started, the pricing period takes precedence for that date.

Best Practices

Plan Ahead

Document rate changes in advance. Decide when rates will increase (e.g., always January 1) and set up pricing periods early to avoid manual adjustments.

Use Clear Start Dates

Align pricing period start dates with business cycles:

• January 1 for annual increases
• April 1 and October 1 for seasonal changes
• Client fiscal year starts for client-specific changes

Keep Initial Prices Current

The rate's "initial price" should represent your most common pricing baseline. Use pricing periods for exceptions and future changes, not for corrections to old pricing.

Set End Dates When Appropriate

If you know a special pricing period expires, set an End date. This prevents accidental use of outdated pricing if dates change.

Document Rate Changes

Add notes to your rate records explaining why prices changed. This helps with audits and client communication about rate increases.

Test Before Applying

Before creating a pricing period affecting multiple rates, verify:

• The new price is correct
• The start date aligns with your billing cycle
• Any framework agreements overlap is intentional

Review Pricing History

Regularly check the Pricing history section to ensure pricing periods are applied as expected and no unintended changes occurred.

Troubleshooting

Pricing Period Not Applied

Problem: Work logged on a date isn't using the expected price from a pricing period.

Solutions:

1. Check that the pricing period's start date is on or before the work date
2. Verify the end date (if set) is on or after the work date
3. Confirm you're looking at the correct rate — multiple rates might have similar names
4. Check for framework agreements that might override the pricing period
5. Verify the rate is active (inactive rates don't appear in the system)

Pricing Period Shows Wrong Rate

Problem: The pricing period is assigned to the wrong rate.

Solution: Pricing periods are tied to specific rates and cannot be moved. Delete the incorrect period and create a new one for the correct rate.

Price Changes Not Appearing on Invoices

Problem: You created a pricing period but invoices still show the old price.

Solutions:

1. Check invoice date vs. work date — Invoices use the price based on the work date, not the invoice date
2. Verify the end date — If the pricing period has ended, work logged after the end date won't use this period
3. Check for framework agreements — A framework agreement price might override the pricing period
4. Re-generate the invoice — Some cached pricing might need refresh

Overlapping Pricing Periods

Problem: Multiple pricing periods overlap for the same rate.

Manor's behavior: The system uses the most recently started pricing period (the one with the latest start date that is still active).

Best practice: Avoid overlaps by setting end dates on the previous period when creating a new one, or ensure start dates don't overlap.

Related Topics

• Rates — Create and manage billing rates
• Framework Agreements — Set client-specific pricing
• Pricing Setup — Overview of all pricing configuration
• Pricing History — View historical rate changes
• Understanding Prices — How prices are resolved and applied