Why Integrating QuickBooks' Custom Pricing is Necessary for an Order Management System

order_management_system-1Many manufacturers and distributors have discovered the benefits of implementing an order management system which allows their customers to directly place orders online. This saves the time consuming process of using the inefficient QuickBooks sales order and invoice screens for order entry.

Using an order management system can be convenient for your customers and can save you substantial time and money. However, some businesses wonder how a system like this will work for customers who have custom or special pricing. Fortunately, that issue can be resolved by using a system that integrates your order management with QuickBooks' custom pricing feature (price levels).

QuickBooks allows you to set custom pricing based on unique deals you've established with specific customers. For example, you may give a customer a 10 percent discount on all items across the board. The QuickBooks price level feature automatically reduces that customer’s prices by 10% at the time of order entry.

Another way to utilize custom pricing is to apply discounts only to specific products. You may run a special on a product for a limited period and mark its price down by a certain percentage. Or you may offer a product at a reduced price to a particular customer. You can use QuickBooks custom pricing feature to automatically calculate those discounts.

You can also establish special prices for groups of customers, such as new customers, high volume or preferred customers, or customers from certain geographical regions. Any customer who is assigned that price level in QuickBooks automatically receives that special pricing.

Custom pricing resolves the issue in QuickBooks, but how does that impact your ordering? The order system will integrate with QuickBooks, pulling over all information about client and product pricing. That means the prices shown in the online ordering system will reflect whatever prices exist in QuickBooks.

When a client logs into the online ordering system, they will only see their specific pricing. Any negotiated discounts will be automatically displayed. When they place an order, the information is populated into QuickBooks so all the necessary information is available for the invoice.

Integrating your order management system with QuickBooks serves a few benefits. First, it builds your credibility with your clients. If a customer is accidentally invoiced at an incorrect rate, your credibility takes a hit. The first time it happens may be understood. Subsequent mistakes may force the customer to view you in a different light. Integration with QuickBooks eliminates that possibility because the entire process is automated.

Integrating QuickBooks with an online ordering system also makes you easier to work with. Customers can simply log in and submit a new order in a matter of seconds. That means they no longer have to fill out an awkward and cumbersome spreadsheet or manually fill out a paper form and fax it in.

On your end, the orders come through without any additional effort or resources. You don't need a customer service person to take the order over the phone. You don't need to exchange emails with the client. You also don't have to reenter the information into QuickBooks. That's all done for you.

You can likely find a very effective order management system for a relatively inexpensive monthly fee. The order system may also have other options, such as those that communicate order information with your third-party warehouse or with your sales team.

Have you ever considered how integrating your QuickBooks custom pricing with an order system could improve your business efficiency? It's an investment that would likely pay off for both you and your customers. Tell us about any problems you may have had with customer's orders previously. We love hearing from our blog readers!  

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