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How Service Pricing Works

In Flashquotes, pricing is configured directly on each service. You can combine multiple pricing components to create the perfect pricing structure for your business.
Pricing rules let you handle variations like duration, guest count, and event type within a single service—no need to create separate services for each scenario. See Structuring Your Services to learn more.

Pricing Components

Each service can use any combination of these pricing elements:
The foundation of your pricing:
  • Fixed amount added to every quote
  • Use for setup fees, minimum charges, or equipment costs
  • Can be the entire price for simple flat-rate services
Example: $500 base for photo booth rental
Labor-based pricing:
  • Charged per hour, per staff member
  • Automatically multiplies by hours and staff count
  • Perfect for services requiring skilled labor
Example: $75/hour per bartender
Scale with event size. Choose how the guest rate is applied:
  • Per guest: Flat rate multiplied by guest count. Great for per-person food, favors, or fixed per-head costs.
  • Per guest per hour: Rate multiplied by guest count and event duration. Ideal when consumption or service scales with both attendance and time.
Example (Per guest): 15perguestforappetizerservice50guests=15 per guest for appetizer service — 50 guests = 750 Example (Per guest per hour): 3/guest/hrforbarservice50guests×4hours=3/guest/hr for bar service — 50 guests × 4 hours = 600
Resource-based pricing:
  • Charged for each resource (equipment, machine, station) needed
  • Automatically multiplies by number of resources on the quote
  • Perfect for equipment rentals and multi-unit setups
Example: $50 per espresso machine
Charge per individual item your customer selects:
  • Set a unit name (e.g., “churro”, “paleta”, “espresso shot”)
  • Configure a price per unit and optional min/max quantity constraints
  • Customers choose their quantity on the lead intake form
Example: $3 per espresso shot, min 50, max 200 — a customer who enters 75 shots adds $225 to their quote
Protect your profitability:
  • Sets the absolute minimum you’ll accept
  • Overrides calculated price if it’s too low
  • Ensures every booking meets your minimum requirements
Example: $800 minimum for any event

Pricing Formula

Your service price is calculated as:
Final Price = MAX(
  Base Price + (Staff × Hours × Hourly Rate) + Guest Component + (Resources × Per Resource Rate) + (Units × Per Unit Rate),
  Minimum Price
)
The Guest Component depends on the guest pricing mode set on the service:
  • Per guest: Guests × Per Guest Rate
  • Per guest per hour: Guests × Hours × Per Guest Rate
This ensures you’re always paid at least your minimum while allowing flexible pricing based on event specifics.

Common Pricing Strategies

Flat Rate Services

Setup: High base price, no hourly or per-guest charges Example:
  • DJ Service: $1,500 base price
  • Covers up to 5 hours
  • Simple, predictable pricing

Hourly Services

Setup: Low/no base price, strong hourly component Example:
  • Bartending: 100base+100 base + 75/hour per bartender
  • Scales with event duration
  • Fair for both short and long events

Per-Person Services

Setup: Base price for minimums, per-guest for scaling Example:
  • Catering: 500base+500 base + 25 per guest
  • Covers fixed costs + variable food costs
  • Profitable at any event size

Per-Person Per-Hour Services

Setup: Per-guest rate that also scales with event duration (use “Per guest per hour” mode on the service) Example:
  • Bar or beverage service: $4/guest/hr
  • 75 guests × 5 hours = $1,500 from the guest component alone
  • Ideal when consumption or service intensity scales with both attendance and time

Per-Resource Services

Setup: Base price for labor/setup, per-resource for equipment Example:
  • Photo Booth Rental:
    • $200 base (delivery/setup)
    • $150 per booth
    • Scales with equipment count

Per-Unit Services

Setup: Base price for setup/travel, per-unit for item count the customer selects Example:
  • Balloon Twisting:
    • $150 base (setup/travel)
    • $3 per balloon, min 50, max 300
    • Ideal when consumption doesn’t scale with attendance and you’d rather have the customer order a specific quantity

Hybrid Pricing

Setup: Combine all elements for sophisticated pricing Example:
  • Full Bar Service:
    • $300 base (equipment/setup)
    • $75/hour per bartender (labor)
    • $12 per guest (supplies)
    • $5 per signature cocktail kit (per unit, min 10)
    • $1,000 minimum

Setting Your Prices

1

Navigate to Services

Go to Services in the main menu
2

Select or Create Service

Click on an existing service or create a new one
3

Configure Pricing Fields

Set your base price, hourly rates, per-guest pricing, and minimum
4

Test with Sample Quotes

Create test quotes to verify pricing calculations

Pricing Tips

Cover All Costs

Include setup time, travel, supplies, and overhead in your pricing

Use Minimums Wisely

Set minimums that ensure profitability even for small events

Keep It Simple

Don’t use every pricing component unless necessary

Test Your Math

Create sample quotes for different scenarios before going live

Add-On Pricing

In addition to service pricing, you can create add-ons with their own pricing models:
  • Flat rate: Fixed price add-ons
  • Per unit: Quantity-based pricing
  • Per guest: Scales with attendance
  • Per hour: Time-based add-ons
  • Per resource: Resource-dependent pricing
  • Per unit per hour: Combined unit and hourly pricing
  • Per unit per guest: Quantity-based pricing scaled by guest count (and number of days)
  • Per guest per hour: Price based on guest count multiplied by service duration in hours
  • Minimum price: Optional floor for variable-rate add-ons (Per guest, Per hour, Per resource, Per unit per hour, Per unit per guest, Per guest per hour); if the calculated price is below the minimum, the minimum is used
Learn more about add-on pricing →

Service Charges

You can also apply automatic service charges (like gratuity or delivery fees) that calculate as a percentage or flat fee on top of your service pricing. Navigate to Settings → Service Charges to configure these additional fees.

Common Questions

Q: Can I have different prices for different event types? A: Use event type conditional pricing (Pro feature) to apply different rates for weddings, corporate events, etc.—all within a single service. See Structuring Your Services for best practices. Q: How do I handle peak season pricing? A: Adjust quotes manually for peak season, or use conditional pricing rules when available. Q: What if my costs vary by location? A: Use the minimum price to ensure you cover base costs, and configure travel fees as an add-on or manual adjustment.

Next Steps