Pricing Strategies: #1 Nuances in Pricing

When Clara first opened her digital printing shop, pricing was simple. She sold handmade greeting cards, planners, business cards, and other physical items at fixed label prices, individually and in bulk. One SKU, one price, one bill, and that's all it took.

But as business grew, people started using digital signage and boards, and customers wanted more than just a one-time product from Clara. They needed event invites designed, corporate gift packages, annual print subscriptions, and even on-demand branding services for special occasions.

Suddenly, pricing wasn't simple anymore.

A business card might cost $2, but designing a wedding card set is a one-time creative service. Corporate print delivery repeats monthly, with many customisations. Branding projects take multiple stages before they're finalised. For Bulk orders, it requires a tiered or usage-based pricing slab. Clara had transformed into a mixed-model business that offers products, services, and subscriptions based on vendors and projects.

Clara realised that the pricing is no longer just numbers but a strategy to be well-crafted and executed.

Challenge with Evolving Business Models 

Most businesses eventually reach a point like Clara.

• They sell physical/commercial goods at fixed pricing.

• They offer one-time services with one-time service pricing.

• They move to subscription revenue, where it is recurring or usage-based pricing.

• They handle custom work under milestone or project-based pricing.

​Every model has its own billing rhythm, revenue pattern, taxation logic, discount rules, and contract structure. And managing each manually in a spreadsheet or with individual tools for each invoicing model will be nothing but chaotic.

​
You need to be flexible with structure. You need a system that lets your pricing evolve without friction.

Zoho Billing is built for businesses that change, grow, experiment, and scale without burning time restructuring pricing.

Product/Physical Goods Pricing

For businesses that sell tangible items, pricing needs to be predefined and easily accessible at the point of sale. In Zoho Billing, you can configure each product as an item with its rate, unit, and tax preference, making invoicing a two-click process. Whether someone buys one note or 200, you don't need to remember pricing manually it;s already available and accurate. The convenience lies in setting it up once and using it multiple times across different invoices.

Tips: Turn pricing into a system that instantly recalls. The faster the invoice is generated, the faster the payment flows. Predefined product pricing reduces negotiation time, improves customer confidence, and supports sales growth without operational hiccups.

One-Time Service Pricing

When your service is delivered once, for instance, design work, installation, gardening, etc, you need a smooth way to charge for it without building a new billing structure every time. With Zoho Billing, one-time services can be created as items with fixed or variable billing units, making invoicing as simple as adding the service line. Instead of calculating cost per job repeatedly, pricing becomes standardised, repeatable and instant. You deliver value once, and billing follows instantly with clarity.

Tips: Productise service. When pricing is packaged, it becomes easier to pitch, scale and repeat. Billing isn't an afterthought; it becomes a part of your service proposition itself.

Subscription Ongoing Services Pricing

As a business scales, recurring revenue often becomes a significant source of income—through monthly retainers, annual supply contracts, maintenance services, SaaS offerings, etc. Zoho Billing allows you to convert services into subscription plans with predefined billing cycles, renewal trial options, and add-ons. Once configured, the system automates invoicing at scheduled intervals. All you need to do is define pricing once, and Zoho Billing bills on your behalf.

Tips: Build predictability. A subscription model isn't just about charging periodically. It's about removing effort from revenue collection. Once pricing is defined, the system manages recurring invoices while your focus shifts to delivery, retention, and scaling.

Project Pricing

Projects are dynamic, and the pricing varies based on time, milestones, and additional expenses. Zoho Billing helps manage these complexities by letting you bill based on hours worked, tasks completed, or pre-agreed stages. You can even link costs and convert them directly into a claimable invoice item. Instead of manually tracking across documents, everything feeds into one billing workflow. Project process, expense add-up, and invoice are reflected transparently, with pricing already defined and ready to deploy.

Tips: Balance freedom with financial clarity. When pricing models adapt to project scope without backtracking into manual recalculation, you win two battles at once: delivery agility and revenue accuracy. Every hour, every task, and every expense converts into billable value without delay or data loss.

What Pricing Flexibility Offers to Businesses 

Business growth introduces multiple revenue models, but with Zoho Billing, each can be priced, pre-configured, and billed effortlessly. Whether you're selling goods, delivering services, managing subscription contracts, or long-term projects, pricing remains consistent, organised, and, on top of it all, completely scalable.

As a business, pricing is not just what you charge; it's how effectively and smoothly you present it to the customer. 

Up Next: Plan your service offering with Plans. 

• Topic Participants

• Hari Hara Sudhan. S

  

• Sticky Posts

• Community Learning Series | Digest #5 — September 2020

  Dear customers, We're happy to bring you the September edition of our #CommunityDigest! Keep track of your subscription KPIs right from your smartphone: Last month, we enhanced our Android mobile app to help our customers get daily updates on their business health. We got to know from a lot of customers that this has made their job much more easier because they no longer have to keep a reminder to manually check on the previous day's revenue or activations. If you have not downloaded it yet, here's

• Community Learning Series | Digest #4 - August 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. I'm happy to bring you the fourth edition of our #CommunityDigest with some brand-new updates from us. 1. Daily Business Updates (for Android users) The Zoho Subscriptions Android app has got a cool new update: You can now get a push notification to your smartphone that lets you know how many activations and cancellations have taken place, and what's the net revenue for the previous day. The best part is, you can tell the app when exactly you

• Community Learning Series | Digest #3 - July 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. We're glad to bring you the July edition of our #CommunityDigest. New community members can view our previous newsletters here. This time, we have two major updates and three interesting topics for you: 1. Zoho Subscriptions Developer Community Since the inception of Zoho Subscriptions, our team believed that the recurring billing platform we provide should be able to offer an extensive API library that empowers businesses to automate most

• Introducing: Community Learning Series | Digest #1 - May 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you are staying safe and healthy. Helping businesses manage their customer subscriptions more efficiently has always been, and always will be, our goal at Zoho Subscriptions. We strongly believe this is possible if we grow together as a community and share what we know with each other. To nurture this shared learning experience, here is our brand-new Community Learning Series! ​ Welcome to the first edition of our digest! Each edition of our community digest includes guides

• Recent Topics

• WHEN UPDATE ORGANIZATION INFO OLD INVOICES ALSO CHANGE INVOICING DATA

  Hi We have updated our tax information because we have become a company, up until now we were an individual. The problem is that when updating the data in the zoho books profile all the old invoices change their tax information as well. Is there a way

• Invoice import error - duplicate customer name column - there are no duplicates

  It is not allowing the importing of any rows because of a duplicate customer name problem, but there are no duplicates in the custoemr name row. Has anyone dealt with this issue before?

• [WEBINAR][Feb 2025] Automate your entire financial operations from receipts to reconciliation with Zoho Books & Zoho Expense integration

  Hello there, We are hosting a free, live webinar on the importance of travel and expense management solutions for businesses, and how Zoho Expense automatically syncs with Zoho Books to simplify your accounting even further. The webinar is on February

• Customize Layout

  I am using "Customize Layot" for customize Quotation template but I try to add logo into the header by "%ScaledLogoImage%" code but dont add logo into header. what is problem?

• Problem - cant add Users (i.e. Zoho one / CRM Users) to BCC or CC in email, i.e. Sales orders or Retainers

  I can go to zoho books email templates, and select any email template, and automatically include any Zoho One user, i.e. member of staff. However in the context of sending an email, it will not let us add a member of staff from the user list, instead

• UK MTD ITSA

  UK Making Tax Digital for Income Tax I have had notice this is to apply from April 2026. What is Zoho doing about this? I will need to start planning to implement this in the next months so need an update as to what I will and will not be able to do in

• Zoho Books Roadshows are back in the UAE!

  Hello there, Business owners and accounting professionals of the UAE, we’re coming to your cities! FTA accredited Zoho Books is now officially one of the Digital Tax Integrators in the UAE. With the newly launched direct VAT filing capabilities, we're

• New user After moving over from QBO

  New user observations/suggestions. QBO took away a lot of features I was used to with the desktop version. Chaos ensued. Zoho Books has a lot of what I was used to and a bit more. Good deal Some things I have run into and suggest some upgrades. 1: The

• Sole Trader - Financial Advisor (Appointed Representative) - Paid via Capital Account but no Invoicing...

  Hi. I'm about to venture into a new business after 12 months of intensive learning/exams. A little chuffed if I may say so especially at 52! I really like the look of ZoHo Books for my modest enterprise but I'm in need of some guidance, please. My services

• Multi-Unit Inventory with Flexible Unit Selection (Purchase in One Unit, Sell in Another)

  We need multi-unit inventory management in Zoho Books with the flexibility to choose units (e.g., Box or Piece) at the time of purchase or sale. For example, if 1 Box = 10 Pieces, we should be able to record purchases in Boxes but sell either in Boxes

• Disputed Purchase Invoices

  We have recently moved to Zoho Books from Sage. In Sage we were able to post a purchase/vendor invoice but mark it as on dispute. This would usually be a pricing query or if something was damaged. It would show in their ledger, so we could agree their

• No TDS Deduction

  In some of our case, where we are reselling items at the same rate we purchased. In this scenario, Indian IT Law has a provision to request customer not to deduct TDS if the transaction value is same. TDS is paid by us (intermediary reseller) before we

• CBSA - GST CHARGES on imports

  Hi there, We have a questions about landed cost categorization. We received a shipment from overseas. CBSA invoiced us for the GST on the items. Now we entered the CBSA-GST as a separate bill and attached it as landed cost to the main invoice based on

• Zoho Books

  How do I manually insert opening balance?

• Sales order & purchase order item links for item details

  This is fantastic for checking lots of things, I use it a lot. It would be great to see it extended to invoices & bills On another note, may as well throw in my favourite whinge ..... Wish you guys would get the PO receive differences sorted urgently,

• Bank charges are applied. Please select a bank account.

  Hello, I'm trying to add bank charges to a customer payment, but I get the error message "Bank charges are applied. Please select a bank account." I found this old thread, where it says that I need to "select a Bank account for the 'Deposit To' dropdown

• How to add receipts

  How to add receipts

• Support for auto-upgrade in TrueSync (for Windows)

  WorkDrive TrueSync app now supports auto-upgrading to the latest version for Windows OS. You must manually download and install the TrueSync app version 3.4.0 to avail this feature. Download the latest TrueSync app for Windows (version 3.4.0) Supported

• WorkDrive API Documentation

  WorkDrive provides users and developers an extensive set of APIs to help integrate functionalities of Zoho WorkDrive with other Zoho applications and third-party tools. We have published the official WorkDrive API Documentation page for all external users.

• March 15, 2023: Zoho Docs is discontinued

  As of today (March 15, 2023) Zoho Docs is discontinued for all users. We would like to thank our customers for trusting us for so many years! Going forward, we're confident you'll enjoy using Zoho WorkDrive for all your advanced file management and collaboration

• Introducing WorkDrive 4.0: Enhanced productivity. Advanced data administration. (Phase 1)

  Hello All, We're excited to share the release of WorkDrive 4.0, which includes important new features and enhancements focused primarily on productivity, secure collaboration, data administration, integrations, and user experience. Read the official announcement

• External download link limit

  Can You please help us to understand this For Zoho WorkDrive external users, the download limit is a maximum of 5 GB total download size and a maximum of 50 first-level files and folders What is the meaning of first level? We are using these files in

• Dynamically catching new file creations

  I have a team folder with many subfolders, and in those folders we add new documents all the time. I'd like to have a workflow or script to notify me (and then take other actions) when a file is added anywhere in that structure that ends in "summary.txt".

• Rotate an Image in Workdrive Image Editor

  I don't know if I'm just missing something, but my team needs a way to rotate images in Workdrive and save them at that new orientation. For example one of our ground crew members will take photos of job sites vertically (9:16) on his phone and upload

• Workflow workdrive rollout

  Hi! When will workflow be rolled out to all users? Thanks.

• Creating and managing a Team Folder using WorkDrive TrueSync

  Hello everyone, Are you tired of constantly switching between your Desktop TrueSync app and the WorkDrive web app to create and manage Team Folders? We’ve made things easier for you. You can now create and manage Team Folders directly within the TrueSync

• Edit images seamlessly with WorkDrive's built-in Image Editor

  Are you tired of switching between multiple tools just to make simple edits to your images? We understand the hassle, which is why Zoho WorkDrive now comes with a built-in image editing tool, powered by Zoho Annotator. This tool allows you to edit images

• Supercharge your email workflow with WorkDrive's add-in for Microsoft Outlook

  Consider this: You’re handling a critical project, and your inbox is packed with important attachments, email threads, and client communications. The back-and-forth routine of downloading files to your computer, uploading them to WorkDrive, and manually

• Secure and promote your content with Custom Watermarking

  Imagine this: You’re a professional photographer who regularly shares your work online with potential clients and collaborators. Recently, you notice that some of your images have been reposted without any credit or permission. This not only impacts your

• Join us in Singapore for the Zoho WorkDrive User Group meetup!

  Hello, everyone! Exciting news! We'll be hosting an upcoming Zoho WorkDrive user group meetup in the beautiful city of Singapore this November. At this Zoho User Group meetup, we'll guide you through ways to use WorkDrive as a platform and build custom

• WorkDrive TrueSync now supports ARM64-based Windows devices!

  We’re excited to announce that the Zoho WorkDrive TrueSync app now fully supports Windows devices with ARM64 architecture! Whether you're working on an ARM-based device or an x64 processor, you can now enjoy the same seamless file synchronization experience

• Option to Disable Download for Documents Shared via Permalink

  Dear Zoho Writer Team, Currently, when sharing a Writer document using the regular permalink (Collaborators with external users), there is no option to restrict the ability to download the document. While the external share link allows such restrictions,

• How to Download a File from Zoho WorkDrive Using a Public Link

  How to Download a File from Zoho WorkDrive Using a Public Link If you're working with Zoho WorkDrive and want to download a file using a public link, here's a simple method to do so using API or a basic script. This approach helps developers or teams

• domain not verified error

  Hi when i try to upload a video from zoho creator widget to zoho work drive iam getting domain not verified error.I don't know what to do .In zoho api console this is my home page url https://creatorapp.zoho.com/ and this is my redirect url:www.google.com.Iam

• Live Webinar: Getting Started with Zoho WorkDrive - A Complete Overview

  Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar! Discover how to set up your team, bring in your data, and make the most of WorkDrive’s collaboration, organization, AI, and security capabilities. This session is perfect for anyone

• Calendly One-way sync- Beta Access

  Hello Community, Many of our Zoho Calendar users have expressed their interests in Zoho Calendar and Calendly integration. We've been tightly working on with Calendly team to provide a two-way sync between Calendly and Zoho Calendar. However, there have

• The year that was at Zoho Calendar 2023- Part 2

  In continuation with our previous post on all the exciting updates and improvements that have shaped Zoho Calendar over the past 12 months, Lets delve into more: Bring your calendars together- Introducing Zoho Calendar and Outlook calendar synchronisation

• Tip of the week #18: Change the event organizer in Zoho Calendar.

  We cannot always be available to conduct an event when we organise one. In these circumstances, you can use Zoho Calendar to change the event organizer at any moment before the event begins. This way, you can avoid cancelling the event while still taking

• Tip of the week #20: Create and manage multiple personal calendars.

  Zoho Calendar provides users with the facility to create and manage as many calendars as required. All these calendars can be managed and edited as per user requirements. You can alter the calendar view, make changes to the calendar theme, share the calendar

• Tip of the week #24: Subscribe to the calendars of a Zoho Calendar user.

  Calendars that are created by Zoho Calendar users can also be added to your Zoho calendar. All public calendars listed by the users will be available when you enter the email address. You can choose the calendar you need to subscribe to. Once the email

• Next Page