Skip to main content

​
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
  • Choose how hours are counted: shift hours (full crew shift — packing, unloading, on-site setup, service, and teardown) or service hours (the customer-facing service window only)
  • Both modes exclude travel — bill drive time separately via travel fees
  • Automatically multiplies by hours and staff count
Example: $75/hour per bartender. A 4-hour service with 1 hour packing/unloading and 30 min setup + 30 min teardown bills 6 shift hours ($450) or 4 service hours ($300) per bartender.
Use shift hours to charge for your crew’s full on-the-clock time. Use service hours when you only want to bill the customer-facing portion of the event.
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): $15 per guest for appetizer service — 50 guests = $750Example (Per guest per hour): $3/guest/hr for bar service — 50 guests × 4 hours = $600
Offer volume discounts as guest counts grow. Replaces a flat per-guest rate with rate bands.
  • Set per-guest tiers (e.g. $20/guest for 1–49, $15/guest for 50–99, $12/guest for 100+)
  • Only works with the Per guest mode (not Per guest per hour)
  • Optional minimum hourly guests floor — bill against a minimum guest count for short, low-attendance events
Example: $20/guest under 50, $15/guest at 50+ — a 75-guest event bills $15 × 75 = $1,125
Resource-based pricing. Choose how the resource rate is applied:
  • Per resource: Flat rate multiplied by resource count. Great for setup, delivery, or unit-based equipment fees.
  • Per resource per hour: Rate multiplied by resource count and event duration. Useful for equipment that bills by run-time (machines, generators, espresso bars).
Example (Per resource): $50 per espresso machine — 2 machines = $100Example (Per resource per hour): $25/machine/hr — 2 machines × 4 hours = $200
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 + Resource Component + (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
The Resource Component depends on the resource pricing mode:
  • Per resource: Resources × Per Resource Rate
  • Per resource per hour: Resources × Hours × Per Resource 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: $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: $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

​
Dynamic Pricing

Adjust prices automatically based on demand, lead time, and event type. Dynamic modifiers stack on top of your base pricing.
Automatically charge more when resource availability is low for a service — high demand triggers a price uplift, no manual adjustment required.
  • Percentage modifier added to the service price when availability dips
  • Service-aware — references only the resources linked to that service, so demand is measured per service rather than across all your resources
  • Auto-applies on any quote for dates where the linked resources are scarce
Modify the service price based on event lead time — how far out the event is from the booking date. Use it to upcharge rush jobs, charge a premium for far-out reservations that lock up your calendar, or both.
  • Set tiers by days between the booking and the event
  • Short lead time — e.g. +30% within 7 days to cover the cost of rush jobs
  • Long lead time — e.g. +10% beyond 12 months to price in the opportunity cost of holding the date
Charge differently for the same service depending on event type — wedding, corporate, festival, and more:
  • Set the price modifier for each event type on a service
  • Bump or discount specific event types
  • Captured from the Event Type form question on your lead intake form

​
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: Yes — use Pricing by Event Type to apply different rates for weddings, corporate events, festivals, and more, all within a single service. See Structuring Your Services for best practices. Q: How do I handle peak season pricing? A: Use Surge Pricing to set premium rates on high-demand dates. Modifiers apply automatically on matching quotes. 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