Cost templates

Introduction

Each sale can have one or more cost templates attached. This will automatically add costs to the sale (when the product sold matches a cost on the templates).

Cost templates may also be ticked as Apply to all sales. This enables global costs to set up such as commission.

By default, this is a live connection. Any changes to the cost template will automatically update the costs on all attached sales. This provides a convenient method to maintain your costs as the season progresses.

Conditions that will suspend live updating sales:

  • A cost on an individual sale can be overridden. In this case the template will stop updating that cost.
  • Once a final grower payment is processed for any product on a sale the sale's costs are locked.
Note

Shipping costs do not need to be included in cost templates (although they can be). snapSales offers a special feature for setting up SETUP -> Shipping rates that works in a similar way.

Tip

You may only need a single cost template. The filtering capabilities of costs is very powerful. Additional templates give you flexibility, but also adds complexity as you have more than one source for a particular cost. For example, you may allow $1 per carton for a packaging cost. If the price changes, and the same cost appears on multiple templates, then you need to update that cost in multiple places.

What about actual costs?

Cost templates allow you to set up your expected costs and then easily refine those expectations as the season progresses. This allows snapSales to update your financials with those expected costs (accruals) and also predict grower returns.

In fact, grower returns are always based on these expectations. However, snapSales also provides the ability to enter your real costs in FINANCIAL -> Payables and split those costs against the product they relate to. This enables a reconciliation of expectations versus actuals so you can refine these expectations more easily and with confidence in their accuracy.

Setting up

Adding a cost template

SETUP -> Cost templates

  • Description - Describe the cost template.
  • Type - select Sale cost or Load in cost
  • Apply to all sales? - see explanation above.
  • Active? - Controls whether this item will appear in lookups.

Once you've saved your cost template you can then start adding costs to it...

Adding a cost

  • Description - Describe the cost.
  • Group - A way to group costs together, eg Packaging. This is a list of previously entered values.
  • Cost type - Controls how this cost will be handled in financial calculations. Options include:
    • Commission - while still reducing the sale return, this cost is a source of your income and contributes to your margin;
    • FOB cost (freight, insurance) - the cost will be deducted prior to calculating FOB return (eg shipping);
    • Other cost - a normal cost that reduces the sale's post-FOB return;
    • Recovery (post-return) - a cost that will show on the grower invoice after their return (in the Adjustments section).
  • GL Account - Select the general ledger account for this cost when posting through to financials.
  • Rate - The rate to allow for this cost.
  • Currency - Currency this cost is charged in.
  • Per - The amount of the cost will be calculated by applying the Rate by the units selected here. Options include:
    • Kgs, TCEs, Units - as described;
    • % FOB - allows for the cost to be a percentage of the sale's FOB return in local currency (NZD);
    • % Income - allows for the cost to be a percentage of the sale's return from the customer (often considered to be CIF) in local currency (NZD);
    • % Return
    • Container - cost per shipping container (eg temperature recorders);
    • Equipment
    • Sale - cost per sale (eg documentation).
  • Split cost by - Once the total amount of the cost has been determined (rate * per unit) then that cost needs to be apportioned across all of the products on the sale using the unit selected here. Most common choice is Kgs (assuming you have accurate product weights set up).
  • Override with actual freight
  • Applies to (filters) - provide a means to filter the product that this cost will apply to. This provides a very powerful way to target costs at the appropriate product.
Note

Leaving an "Applies to" filter blank means that no filtering will occur on that attribute. For example if you leave the Brand filter blank then any brands will match.

Tip

In addition to the general product filters, there are a some very powerful options here that are worth calling out:

  • Destination country and Customer filters can be used to automatically add costs to sales based on the destination of the produce.
  • Supply contract, Packer, and Coolstore filters allow costs to be added based on the source of the produce. Note that Coolstore refers to the last coolstore the product was located at prior to shipping.