How to change prices on many orders at once
Bulk price changes let you change the price on many orders at once from the order list, from a date you choose. This article explains how to run a change and follow up on the result.
Before you start
- Price changes turned on: The bulk action is only shown when price changes are turned on for your installation. To turn it on, please contact COS support.
-
Plan your batches: If you want each change to start cleanly at the beginning of a billing period, filter the order list on Next billing date with a date range. The column is shown in the order list when price changes are turned on. Orders that are not billed yet have no next billing date, and are not included when you filter on it.
How to run a bulk price change
- Go to Search Orders and filter the list to the orders you want to change, for example by service and next billing date.
- Select the orders, or select all matching orders.
- Click Bulk Actions and choose Change service price.
- Fill in the fields on the Change price page. Check Number of orders to make sure it matches your selection.
- Click Apply.
The change runs in the background. When it is finished, you get a notification with the result.
The fields
|
Field |
What it does |
|---|---|
|
Price type |
The price on the order to change, for example the monthly service price. |
|
New price |
The amount to use. With Increase by amount it is added to the current price; with Set new price it replaces it. |
|
Mode |
Increase by amount raises each order's current price by the same amount, so orders keep their individual differences. Set new price gives every selected order the same price. |
|
Effective date |
The date the new price applies from. See below. |
|
Respect binding time |
When checked, the new price starts when the customer's binding time ends, if that is later than the effective date. |
|
Number of orders |
How many orders the change will run on. |
|
Note on contract |
Optional note saved on the new price, visible to integrations. |
Effective date
- A date after the period that is already invoiced is used as given.
- A date within a period that is already invoiced is moved to the start of the next billing period, so invoiced periods are never changed.
- A date on or before the start of the order's current price is not allowed, and the order is listed as failed.
Following up on the result
When the change is finished, the notification shows how many of the selected orders were changed, skipped or failed, for example "Changed price on 229 of 230 order(s), 0 skipped, 1 failed". Each skipped or failed order is listed with its order number and the reason. For large batches, the notification shows the first orders and a link to see all of them.
The link opens the order list filtered to the orders whose latest price change was skipped or failed, with the reason in its own column. When you fix an order and change its price successfully, it no longer shows up in that filter. The reason is also saved in each order's history.
|
Result |
Common reasons |
|---|---|
|
Skipped |
The order is not active, the price type is not on the order, the new price equals the current price, or a price change or promotion is already scheduled. |
|
Failed |
The effective date is on or before the start of the order's current price, or another validation error. |
How it shows on invoices
From the effective date, invoices show the service at its new price on a single row. There is no separate row for the increase, so the end customer simply sees the current price.
Invoices created before the change are not affected and keep the price that applied at the time.
Good to know
- One price change at a time per order: An order that already has a price change scheduled is skipped. Wait until it has taken effect, or adjust it first.
- Customers are not notified automatically: No email is sent to end customers, so let them know about the change in your usual way before it takes effect.
- Single orders: You can also change the price on one order from the order page with Change price. There you can also cancel a scheduled price change that has not taken effect yet.
- Promotions keep their discount: If an order has a running promotion, the customer's price changes by the same amount and the promotion discount stays the same.
- Lower prices work too: Use Set new price to lower the price on the selected orders.
- Through the API: Price changes can also be made and cancelled through the API.
- Customer portal: A scheduled price change is not shown to the customer in the portal before it takes effect.
- Service versions: To move orders to a new version of a service and its prices, see How to upgrade orders to a newer service version.