Pricing Models
Brother POS supports several pricing models to accommodate different product types and business strategies. This page explains each model, when to use it, and how to configure it.
Overview of Pricing Models
| Model | Best For | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Pricing | Most products | You set a fixed price per unit. |
| Tiered Pricing | Weight-based products (cannabis) | Different prices per weight tier (1g, 3.5g, 7g, etc.) with optional quality grades. |
| Bulk / Multi-Buy Pricing | Unit products sold in volume | A lower per-unit price when the customer buys a set quantity or more (e.g. "Buy 5+ for $5 each"). |
All prices in Brother POS are entered pre-tax. Tax is calculated at the time of sale based on your store's tax configuration. See Tax Configuration for details.
Standard Pricing
Standard pricing is the default and most straightforward model. You set a single selling price for the product, and that price is charged at the register.
Setting a Standard Price
- Go to Admin > Products and open the product you want to price.
- In the Pricing section, enter the Price (pre-tax selling price).
- Optionally enter the Cost (your wholesale or acquisition cost). This is used for margin reporting but is never shown to customers.
- Click Save.
Example
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Product | Rolling Papers (King Size) |
| Price | $3.99 |
| Cost | $1.50 |
| Margin | $2.49 (62.4%) |
At the register, the product sells for $3.99 plus applicable tax.
When to Use Standard Pricing
- Products sold as individual units (papers, accessories, beverages, merchandise).
- Products where the price does not vary by weight or quantity.
- Products with fixed retail pricing (manufacturer's suggested retail price).
Tiered Pricing
Tiered pricing is designed for weight-based products, most commonly cannabis. Instead of a single price, you set different prices for different weight tiers.
How It Works
Each product can have prices for multiple weight tiers:
| Weight | Price |
|---|---|
| 1g | $10.00 |
| 3.5g | $30.00 |
| 7g | $55.00 |
| 14g | $100.00 |
| 28g | $180.00 |
At the POS register, when a cashier selects this product, they choose a weight tier, and the corresponding price is applied.
Enabling Tiered Pricing on a Product
To use tiered pricing, a product must have tiered pricing enabled and be assigned to a quality tier. The product also uses the store's configured weight presets to determine which weight options are available.
- Go to Admin > Products and open a weight-based product.
- In the Pricing section, enable Uses Tiered Pricing.
- Assign the product to a Quality Tier (e.g., AA, AAA, AAAA).
- The product will use the pricing matrix from its assigned quality tier combined with the store's weight presets.
- Click Save.
The available weight tiers (1g, 3.5g, 7g, etc.) are configured in your store's weight presets. See Weight Presets to add or modify the available tiers.
Quality Tier Pricing
If your store uses quality tiers, tiered pricing can be further broken down by grade. This creates a pricing matrix where each cell represents a specific weight and quality combination.
| 1g | 3.5g | 7g | 14g | 28g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | $6 | $18 | $32 | $58 | $100 |
| AAA | $8 | $25 | $45 | $82 | $150 |
| AAAA | $10 | $32 | $58 | $105 | $190 |
| AAAA+ | $12 | $38 | $70 | $130 | $240 |
For detailed information on quality tier pricing, see Tier Pricing.
When to Use Tiered Pricing
- Cannabis flower and concentrates sold by weight.
- Any product where the per-unit price varies by quantity purchased.
- Products where bulk purchasing provides a volume discount.
Bulk / Multi-Buy Pricing
Bulk pricing (also called multi-buy or quantity pricing) gives the customer a lower per-unit price when they buy a set quantity or more. It is for products sold as individual units — for example, "Buy 5 or more pre-rolls for $5 each."
This is a permanent part of the product's regular price, not a temporary promotion. As soon as the cashier rings up enough units, the lower price kicks in automatically.
How It Differs From Tiered Pricing
These two models sound similar but are used for different products:
- Tiered pricing is for weight-based products (cannabis flower). The price changes based on the weight the customer selects (1g vs. 3.5g vs. 7g).
- Bulk / multi-buy pricing is for unit products. The price changes based on how many units the customer buys (1 vs. 5 vs. 10).
A product uses one or the other, not both.
How It Differs From a Sale Discount
Bulk pricing is a permanent lower price at higher quantities — it is part of the product's everyday price. A Sale Discount is a temporary markdown shown to customers as "on sale."
Bulk pricing and a Sale Discount on the same product will stack (the customer gets both reductions), which is almost never what you want. Pick one. Use bulk pricing for an always-on volume deal; use a Sale Discount for a limited-time markdown.
Setting Up Bulk Pricing
You set bulk pricing on the product's edit page, in the Bulk / Multi-Buy Pricing section. This section only appears for unit-based products (not weight-based and not products with variations).
- Go to Admin > Products and open the product.
- Find the Bulk / Multi-Buy Pricing section.
- Check Enable bulk pricing tiers.
- Choose how the deal applies (see the two modes below).
- For each tier, fill in Buy (the quantity at which the deal starts) and Price each (the per-unit price at that quantity).
- Click + Add tier to add more break points, or the X beside a tier to remove it.
- Click Save.
Two Ways the Deal Can Apply
When bulk pricing is on, you pick one of two modes with the How does the deal apply? radio buttons:
| Mode | What it does | Example (deal: buy 5 for $5 each, regular $7) |
|---|---|---|
| Every unit gets the deal (threshold) | Once the customer reaches the quantity, all their units drop to the deal price. | Buy 6 → all 6 at $5.00 = $30.00 |
| Only complete packs get the deal (pack / bundle) | Only whole packs get the deal price. Leftover units that don't complete a pack stay at the regular price. | Buy 6 → 5 at $5.00 + 1 at $7.00 = $32.00 |
- Use threshold for a straightforward "hit this many and everything's cheaper" volume deal.
- Use pack / bundle for a true multipack -- "5 for $25" where a 6th loose unit rings up at full price.
A live preview under the tiers shows exactly what the customer pays at a sample quantity as you type, so you can confirm the mode behaves the way you expect.
Example
To offer "Buy 5 for $5 each" on a product whose regular price is $7:
| Buy | Price each |
|---|---|
| 5 | $5.00 |
You can add several break points for deeper discounts at higher counts:
| Buy | Price each |
|---|---|
| 5 | $5.00 |
| 10 | $4.50 |
A customer buying 1-4 units pays the regular $7 each. At 5-9 units they pay $5.00 each, and at 10+ they pay $4.50 each.
Unchecking Enable bulk pricing tiers and saving clears the deal — the product returns to its regular price for all quantities.
Excluding a Product from Promotions
Some products should always sell at their regular price -- a loss-leader, a consignment item, a low-margin SKU, or something you're contractually not allowed to discount. Rather than remember to leave it out of every campaign, you can lock it to full price on the product itself.
On the product edit page, in the Promotion Exclusions section, you have two checkboxes:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Exclude from automatic promotions | No sale campaigns, BOGO, freebies, or loyalty bonuses ever apply to this product. It stays at its regular price no matter what store-wide deals are running. |
| Also block manual discounts at the register | On top of the above, clerks can't apply a line-item discount to this product on the POS. |
- Turn on the first box to shield the product from every automatic deal while still letting a manager discount it by hand if needed.
- Turn on the second box as well to fully lock the price -- no automatic deals and no manual line discounts.
Promotion exclusions cover sale campaigns, BOGO, freebies, loyalty bonuses, and manual discounts. They do not turn off a product's own Bulk / Multi-Buy Pricing -- that's part of the product's regular price, not a promotion. Clear the bulk tiers if you want a single flat price at every quantity.
Comparing Pricing Models
| Feature | Standard | Tiered | Bulk / Multi-Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed price per unit | Yes | Per weight | Lower at higher quantity |
| Margin tracking | Manual | Per tier | Manual |
| Weight-based selling | No | Yes | No |
| Quality grades | No | Optional | No |
| Price changes based on | -- | Weight chosen | Quantity bought |
| Best for | General retail | Cannabis/weight products | Unit products sold in volume |
| Requires cannabis features | No | Yes (for quality tiers) | No |
Price Display at the POS
Regardless of the pricing model, the POS register always shows the customer-facing price:
- Standard pricing -- The price appears on the product card.
- Tiered pricing -- The product card shows "From $X.XX" (the lowest tier price). The full price is shown after the cashier selects a weight.
Product costs and markup percentages are visible only in the admin panel. Clerks at the POS register never see cost data, regardless of the pricing model. Only Admins and Managers can view cost information.
Tax and Pricing
All prices in Brother POS are pre-tax:
- You enter the price without tax.
- Tax is calculated automatically at checkout based on your store's tax rate.
- The receipt shows the subtotal, tax amount, and total.
This means if you set a product price to $10.00 and your tax rate is 13% HST, the customer pays $11.30 at the register.
Brother POS does not support tax-inclusive pricing directly. If you want your shelf price to include tax, work backwards: if your desired shelf price is $11.30 with 13% HST, set the product price to $10.00 ($11.30 / 1.13).
Changing a Product's Pricing Model
You can switch a product between pricing models at any time:
- Open the product in Admin > Products.
- In the Pricing section, change the pricing mode.
- Enter the new pricing data.
- Click Save.
Historical sales are not affected -- they retain the price that was in effect at the time of sale.
Common Workflows
Setting up pricing for a new product category
- Decide which pricing model fits the category (standard for accessories, tiered for cannabis flower).
- Set the default pricing model for new products in that category.
- Create products and enter prices according to the chosen model.
- Review prices at the POS to verify they display correctly.
Reviewing margins across products
- Go to Admin > Reports > Margin Analysis.
- Filter by category or brand.
- Review margin percentages for each product.
- Adjust costs or prices for products where margins are too low or too high.
Adjusting for a supplier price increase
- Update the Cost for affected products.
- For standard-priced products, manually adjust the selling price if needed.
- For tiered products, update each tier's price as needed.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Price shows $0.00 at the POS | The product may not have a price set. Open the product in admin and enter a price. |
| Tiered pricing grid not showing | Tiered pricing requires the product to have tiered pricing enabled and a quality tier assigned. Verify the product has a quality tier set and that weight presets are configured. |
| Quality tiers not appearing | Quality tier pricing requires the Enable Quality Tiers setting to be enabled. Check Admin > Settings > Edit Settings > Products & Inventory tab. |
What's Next?
- Sale Campaigns -- Create date-range promotions with percentage or dollar discounts.
- Freebie Campaigns -- Set up spend-threshold campaigns that auto-add free items.
- Tier Pricing -- Deep dive into quality tier pricing matrices.
- Tax Configuration -- Set up your store's tax rates.