Pricing models
Flat, per seat, usage, base plus usage, packages, one time, per outcome and credits: each as one Offer file and the invoice it produces.
A pricing model is how an Offer's Price grows with what the customer gets. Pick the one whose unit the customer already counts, and add a second Offer later, never a second model inside one.
Pick by what grows with value
Three models cover most first Startups: flat, per seat and usage. The rest earn their place once a customer asks for them.
| Model | The customer pays | Pick it when | What sets it | interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | One amount each period | Value does not grow with size | price | month or year |
| Per seat | An amount per person | Each extra person gets the full value | seats | month or year |
| Usage | An amount per unit used | Each call, lookup or task costs you to serve | a Meter | month |
| Base plus usage | A flat amount with units included, then per unit | Usage varies widely, and you want predictable revenue | a Limit and atBound: | month |
| Package | A flat amount for a block of units, then the next block | Buyers budget in round numbers | atBound: | month |
| One time | Once | A thing delivered, not a relationship | price | once |
| Per outcome | An amount per accepted result | You can prove the result, and you warrant it | an Outcome Contract | once or month |
| Credits | Up front, drawn down by usage | Agents or teams buy ahead, and you want the cash first | credit | once |
A model is never the business's earning model. That says how the business earns overall, such as by subscription or marketplace take, and one earning model holds Offers of several pricing models.
Flat and per seat
Flat is the default. Leaseline charges $29 a month for up to 200 units, and a property manager knows the bill before they buy.
---
price: { amount: 29, currency: USD }
interval: month
---Per seat adds seats:, which counts the people in the customer's account, or seats:, where the buyer picks the number. The Subscription holds the quantity. Subscription.resize changes it and prorates the current month.
Leaseline Team,Charge per seat only when every seat gets the full value. If one admin does the work and nine people read reports, charge flat and give readers free.
Usage and base plus usage
Usage bills each unit a Meter counts. The Meter turns each counted Event into one billed unit, exactly once, and the Invoice closes at the end of the month.
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price: { amount: 0.01, currency: USD }
interval: month
terms: One cent per renewal lookup,The Meter names the unit (unit:) and the Event it counts. Charge per use creates both.
Base plus usage is a flat Offer with a Limit and atBound:. The base buys the included units, and each unit past the Limit bills through the Meter at the usage Price.
Renewal dates API,Usage alone scares buyers who cannot predict their bill. Base plus usage gives them a number to approve and gives you revenue that does not swing month to month.
Packages and tiers
A package is a block: $99 for 25,000 lookups, $399 for 150,000. Each block is its own Offer, and atBound: moves a customer to the next block when they run out.
Tiers change the unit price as volume grows. Volume tiers price every unit at the band the total reaches. Graduated tiers price each band at its own rate, so the first 10,000 units cost more than the next 40,000.
Skip tiers until a buyer asks for a volume price. Two or three packages do the same job, and a buyer reads them in one glance on the pricing page.
One time and per outcome
One time bills once, at checkout. A setup fee, a report or a physical order is one time.
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price: { amount: 500, currency: USD }
interval: once
---Per outcome bills on the result, not the effort, and the Offer prices one accepted result. The Service it sells holds an Outcome Contract: what counts as done, who accepts it and by when, and the remedy for a miss. Its earns names the Event that recognizes the revenue.
---
price: { amount: 40, currency: USD }
interval: month
terms: Billed monthly for each renewal confirmed. A missed notice is redone free.
---Charge per outcome when you can prove the outcome. Charge per task when you cannot.
Credits
Credits are paid up front and drawn down by usage. The Offer sets credit, and each purchase issues a Credit Grant that metered calls spend before anything is invoiced.
---
price: { amount: 50, currency: USD }
interval: once
credit: { amount: 50, currency: USD }
---Agents buying for a person suit credits: the person approves $50 once, and the agent spends within it. A promotional grant, given rather than bought, is never cash and never refunds.
Changing a price
A new Price is a new Offer. Existing customers keep the Version they accepted until you move them. Moving them to a higher Price waits out the notice period first.
Raise my price is the ask.
A Price is never tested by showing two people two Prices for the same Offer in the same market. Test a sibling Offer, a second market, or a switchback week by week, as Offers and pricing explains.
Next
- Anatomy of an Offer: the five parts of every Offer.
- Credits and Recurring billing: how each model is billed.