Price book item fields: 6 entries to record before saving

• Housecall Pro's item setup treats item type and display name as required, according to Housecall Pro , so fill both in before you save an item.
• the amount field in Square's Money object is read in the base unit of the currency, according to Square Developer , so check that unit before you compare a price with payment records.
• decimal places change the written amount, since Stripe Documentation writes 10 USD as 1000 in its two-decimal example, according to Stripe Documentation , and 10 JPY as 10 in its zero-decimal example.
• the minimum payment amount varies by payment source, according to Square Developer , so check it for each source before you set a floor.

This section takes the two required fields one at a time, and each one is tied to the sentence from its source that names it. Compare those labels with the ones in your own tool, so the names match when you enter an item. The required fields come from a Housecall Pro help article, according to Housecall Pro , so read that wording as the article's own rule rather than as the rule for every price-book app. Work through the list in order when you audit your existing items.

Item type

Housecall Pro's property profile help article gives item type with examples such as A/C, heater and water heater, according to Housecall Pro . The examples name equipment, so the words your technicians already use on a job are a good starting point. Write each item type the way your crew says it, and keep that wording the same for the same kind of work across the list. For tracking individual units, see Equipment serial numbers: 8 tracking examples .

Treat the required item type as a rule for your own list, so an item without a type counts as incomplete. Your older entries may include items saved before this check, so review them one at a time and find any item with a blank type. Fill each blank with the type you would name on a new quote, then compare the list with the jobs you already price.

Display name

Housecall Pro's note places display name beside item type among the required fields, according to Housecall Pro . A plain service description is easier to check against the job it describes, so write the name the way a customer would recognise the service.

Give each display name a plain service description that matches the item type you chose. Keep the spelling and word order the same across items, so a search of your list finds the same service each time. Before you quote a job, read the display name aloud and confirm it describes the work you expect to bill. If a name covers more than one service, split it into separate items.

Multiple items can be added to each customer address, according to Housecall Pro . That means a single address can carry several items, so every item a job needs should be entered against that address. Before you quote the job, check the customer address and confirm each item on it matches the work. Keep the items for each address together in one place so you can review them as a group.

The same Housecall Pro article has a section titled "Add Property Profile Items to a Job (Web)", according to Housecall Pro . Read that section before you quote your first job, so the item you saved and the item you attach to the job use the same type and display name. Note both entries on your worksheet, so the job and the price book match.

When you review an item, read the type and the display name together rather than one at a time. Both entries should describe the same equipment or service.

The fields below come from payment-software documentation rather than from a price-book setup. Read them as a reference for how amounts and currencies are written in those tools, and check any figure against the tool you actually use. Each field's paragraph cites the page that supports it.

Base-unit amount

The base unit is the unit the amount field counts in, according to Square Developer . The same page lists USD as "USD | Cent (amount 100 in the Money object indicates $1.00)," which points to cents for that currency. You can check which unit your payment tool expects by comparing one price you already know with the amount the tool shows for it. Write that unit beside each item so a later check against payment records has a clear reference.

Keep the amount in the base unit of its own currency for every item, and note that unit beside each line, so each line reads the same way when you compare it with another line. Write the currency symbol in a separate column rather than inside the amount, so the figures stay in one form that you can check against a payment record.

ISO 4217 currency code

In Square, a Money object pairs an amount with a specific currency in ISO 4217 format, and the amount can be positive or negative, according to Square Developer . The Stripe Documentation page on supported currencies states, according to Stripe Documentation , that "You can charge customers in over 135 currencies and receive funds in your preferred currency." Your currency code should match the currency you bill in. Record a code for each item rather than assuming one currency for the whole list.

Compare each code with the amount beside it, so the pair reads as one price in one currency. Check the code for every currency on your list before you save the item, not after. A different currency needs its own line with its own code, amount and decimal count, and the existing line stays unchanged.

Decimal places for each currency

On the Stripe page, according to Stripe Documentation , the two-decimal case is written as "1000 to charge 10 USD (or any other two-decimal currency)." The quoted example applies to currencies that are two-decimal, so the rule follows the currency rather than the shop. The same source writes a zero-decimal currency differently, with "10 to charge 10 JPY (or any other zero-decimal currency)." The Square Developer page also says that currencies such as the Japanese Yen are known as zero-decimal currencies, according to Square Developer . Keep one decimal setting for each currency, so a zero-decimal currency never inherits the two-decimal form. Look up each new currency on its source page before you enter its amount, so the decimal count matches that currency. For more on amounts, see Price book amounts: 5 checks before you save a price .

Minimum payment amount

The minimum payment amount you can specify in CreatePayment or UpdatePayment requests varies depending on the payment source, according to Square Developer . Because of that variation, one floor figure should not stand in for every payment. Check the minimum for each payment source before you set a floor on any item, and write each figure beside its source. If your shop imports prices from a payment tool, record the minimum next to each import so the floor matches the source it came from.

Keep each source's figure in its own row, so a change for one source is easy to separate from another. Before you change a floor, look at the payment source it applies to, and confirm the figure on that source's current page. If a price sits below the minimum for its source, note that item and review the price before you quote the job.

Suppose one item is $1 in USD and another is 10 JPY. In a tool that counts USD in cents, the first is entered as 100. JPY is zero-decimal, so the second is entered as 10, with no decimal places. Each line carries its own currency code, so the two prices never share a unit.

The table below pairs each publisher with a quoted sentence from its page and the point that sentence covers.

Read the full page behind each quote before you copy any of its wording into your own records, since each quote covers the point named in its row.

Copy the worksheet below into your price-book tool or a spreadsheet, and enter a value for each line before the price of that item changes. Each line matches one entry named in the sections above. Work down the list in order, so no line is skipped. For the wider set of inputs, see Set 8 price book inputs across 4 apps for steady quotes .

• item type: the type your crew names on a quote
• display name: the plain service description a customer would recognise
• amount in base unit: the amount, with its unit written beside it
• ISO 4217 currency code: the code for the currency you bill in
• decimal places for that currency: the count from that currency's source page
• minimum payment amount, for each payment source: the figure from that source's page

You can copy each line as a column heading in a spreadsheet, then enter the value for each item under its heading.

If your shop bills in USD, confirm whether your amount field counts cents for USD. The example on Square Developer lists that unit as "USD | Cent (amount 100 in the Money object indicates $1.00)," so write the unit on the amount line of the worksheet.

If prices come into your list from a payment tool, record the minimum payment amount beside each import. The Square page says the minimum varies by payment source, according to Square Developer , so each import needs its own floor. Check the figure for that source before you set the floor, and write the date you checked it next to the figure.

Keep the cost figures for each item in a separate cost record, and have the worksheet point to that record instead of holding the cost itself.

Your next step is to open your price-book item list and check that each item has an item type and a display name filled in before you change any price.

What fields does a price book item need?

The item type and display name are the entries that Housecall Pro's property profile help article calls required, according to Housecall Pro . The amount sits in the base unit of the currency, and the currency is an ISO 4217 code, according to Square Developer . Those amount rules come from payment software, so check your own tool's setup before you assume the same list applies there.

Which fields does Housecall Pro require for an item?

Housecall Pro's property profile help article requires item type and display name, according to Housecall Pro . The same article gives A/C, heater and water heater as examples of item type. Confirm those requirements in your own version of the software before you rely on them, since the article describes one setup.

Does the two-decimal rule apply if my shop bills only in USD?

Yes, according to Stripe Documentation , which writes 10 USD as 1000 in its two-decimal example. That example describes Stripe's amount format, so it is not a rule for your price book on its own. If your shop bills only in USD, confirm whether your tool counts cents for USD, as the example on Square Developer does.

How does a zero-decimal currency change the amount field?

Stripe Documentation's zero-decimal example charges 10 JPY with the amount 10, according to Stripe Documentation . That is the figure to enter for that currency, not the 1000 used for the two-decimal case. Check the decimal places for each currency before you enter its price, since the two examples do not write the amount the same way.

Does the minimum payment amount stay the same for every payment?

No. The Square page ties the minimum payment amount to the payment source, according to Square Developer . So the figure depends on which payment source you use for a given payment. Check the minimum for each payment source before you set a floor on your items.