Pricing Strategies: #5 Stay local, Price & Sell Global

Pricing Strategies: #5 Stay local, Price & Sell Global

Arun had always dreamed of taking his handmade craft business beyond his hometown. For years, he sold locally. Most of his customers are familiar faces, in our usual currency and with the exact expectations.


But one day, a traveller visited his workshop and said, "These pieces are beautiful. You should sell them online. People abroad would love this!"

Arun took a minute to process those lines and laughed at first,"Online? Abroad? I wouldn't even know how to set pricing!"

But over the next few weeks, he continued to meet people from different cities, even other countries, who wanted to buy his products. Each conversation ended in the very same way:
Alert

"Can you tell me the price in Euros?"

"Do you ship to the US? How much would this cost?"

"Do you have a price catalog for our currency?"

He pulled out his phone, typed numbers into a calculator, hesitated, then stated a price. The visitor nodded politely but didn't look confident.


He clearly sees an opportunity to take his craft worldwide. But he felt that selling globally isn't hard; pricing it globally is where the real challenge lies.
Alert

He couldn't keep manually converting currencies.

He couldn't maintain separate price versions for each region.

He couldn't risk inconsistent pricing across online and offline channels.

Arun needs a system that lets him stay local but sell confidently anywhere in the world.


That's when he discovered Pricelist in Zoho Billing, a feature designed precisely for this.

Pricelist in Zoho Billing 

Pricelist lets you adjust how your product, plan, or add-on is priced for specific customers or markets. Prices can be tailored to different markets, currencies, and customer types, without changing the item's base price or subscription rate. Let's unpack different options we have in setting up Pricelist in Zoho Billing.


Markup & Markdown Pricelist 

Markup/Markdown pricelist lets you apply a percentage adjustment across your entire item catalogue.

You can apply:

  • Markup to increase all item rates.

  • Markdown to decrease all item rates.

 Best Fit for,

  • Corporate distributors

  • Wholesale partners

  • Regional segment

  • Festival or promotional pricing

Idea

 Strategic Advantage:

Businesses save hours of manual rate updates and can rapidly adapt pricing for promotions, market shifts or channel-specific strategies.

 

 Individual Item Pricelist 

Unlike markup/markdown, an individual-item pricelist allows

  • Custom rates per item.

  • Pricelist in different currencies.

  • Discount within the pricelist.

Best fit for businesses that,

  • Sell globally in different currencies

  • Offer varied pricing for different customer segments/groups

  • Manage extensive catalogs with diverse margins.

Idea

Strategic Advantage:

It lets you tailor prices for region, currency, and customer type without duplicating items or plans. This significantly increases competitiveness and conversion in the global market.

 

Pricelist for Subscription Items 

Pricelists allow you to maintain multiple selling rates for subscription items, plans and addons. You can price them in different currencies, and the pricelist can be associated with various customer categories during sales.


Best fit for businesses that,
  • Sells products/services worldwide.

  • Have wholesale vs retail differences.

  • Offering a region-based subscription discount/price

Idea

Strategic Advantage:

Provides control over product pricing across markets, ensuring no customer gets an incorrect rate or currency. This keeps the subscription system clean while still supporting global expansion and segmented pricing.

Pricing Schemes  in Pricelist

Individual-item pricelist supports two pricing schemes.

  1. Unit Pricing: Single flat rate per item/unit.
  2. Volume Pricing: Pricing varies based on order quantity.
Idea

Strategic Advantage:

A unit-based pricelist is ideal for transparent, standardised pricing, while volume pricing encourages bulk purchases and builds strong B2B relationships.


 Importing Pricelist 

Zoho Billing supports CSV import to update custom pricing. This helps in managing extensive catalogs and for businesses that revise prices frequently.

Idea

Strategic Advantage:

Bulk import ensures accurate, consistent management of pricing changes while eliminating repetitive manual entry.


 Associating Pricelist to Customers 

In Zoho Billing, in addition to selecting the pricelist when creating a transaction, you can assign the pricelist directly to customers. This helps in preconfiguring customers with negotiated pricing. By associating a pricelist with the customer, you can clearly segment distributors, wholesalers, and retail buyers and automate transactions rather than process them manually.

Idea

Strategic Advantage:

Every transaction automatically reflects the correct prices; no manual edits are required, and the configured pricelist is applied.

 

Pricelist in Pricing Widget 

In Zoho Billing, customers can choose their preferred currency during checkout when you create and associate pricelist for the products on offer.  Customers can switch currencies using a simple dropdown or toggle and complete checkout with ease.

Idea

Strategic Advantage:

Local pricing reduces friction, increases trust and encourages customers to complete checkout confidently.

 

 What Pricelist Does to Business 

Pricelist enhances your ability to scale globally while keeping pricing consistent, competitive and customer-friendly. Pricelist turns a single business into a multi-market, multi-currency enterprise without operational complexity.

With a pricelist, you can speak to each customer in their language, starting with currency, region, and expectations.

You stay exactly where you are. Your pricing & product travel the world. 


Notes
Up Next: Common Mistakes in Pricing

      • 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

        • Emails Failing with “Relaying Issues – Mail Sending Blocked” in ZeptoMail

          Hello ZeptoMail Support Team, We are facing an email delivery issue in our ZeptoMail account where emails are failing with the status “Process failed” and the reason “Relaying issues – Mail sending blocked.” Issue Details Agent Name: mail_agent_iwwa From
        • How does Zoho handle support operations for our EU users?

          Dear Zoho users, We have some news and reminders about how we handle support operations for Zoho users in the EU Data Center. This is part of our broader commitment to ensuring GDPR compliance and providing secure data handling for all users. We'd like
        • Sender Email Configuration Error.

          Hello Team, Hope you are all doing well. We are in the process of creating the Zoho FSM environment in the UAE. When we try to add the sender email address “techsupportuae@stryker.com”, we receive the error message: “Error occurred while sending mail
        • Layout Adjustment.

          Hello Latha, Hope you are doing well. I wanted to check with you about adjusting the layout columns in the Service Report from the backend, as currently there is no capability for us to customize the layout from our end. Below is the output that I am
        • Anyone in Australia using Zoho Books AND has their account with NAB?

          Hi I have an account with both NAB and Suncorp. Suncorp transaction come in the next day however NAB transactions take 4-5 business days to appear. eg: A deposit made today in my Suncorp will be imported into Zoho tomorrow. A deposit made today to the NAB account will be imported maybe Saturday (Friday overnight). I have contacted both Zoho and NAB but noone seems to know why. I was just wondering if anyone else in Australia uses NAB and has this issue (or doesn't) maybe we could compare notes and
        • Zoho Often Lag

          Desk Team, We've noticed that Desk, Creator & other apps seems to lag more these days. We often refresh multiple times.
        • Offer already made- but I withdrew it

          I made an offer letter, but made a mistake on it. I withdrew the offer but now I can't recreate the correct offer. Zoho keeps saying that "A same offer has already been made". I look in the "offers" and there are NO offers (this is the first time I've
        • Importing into the 'file upload' field

          Can you import attachments into the file upload field. I would expect it to work the same way as attachments do, But can't seem to get it to work. Moderation Update: The option to import into File Upload and Image Upload fields has been supported. Read
        • Layout Rules Don't Apply To Blueprints

          Hi Zoho the conditional layout rules for fields and making fields required don't work well with with Blueprints if those same fields are called DURING a Blueprint. Example. I have field A that is used in layout rule. If value of field A is "1" it is supposed to show and make required field B. If the value to field A is "2" it is supposed to show and make required field C. Now I have a Blueprint that says when last stage moves to "Closed," during the transition, the agent must fill out field A. Now
        • Why is the ability Customize Calls module so limited?

          Why can't I add additional sections? why can't I add other field types than the very limited subset that zoho allows? Why can I only add fields to the outbound/inbound call sections and not to the Call Information section?
        • Zoho Desk blank screen

          opened a ticket from my email, zoho desk comes up blank, nothing loads. our receptionist also gets the same thing under her login on her computer. our sales rep also gets same thing on zoho desk at his home on a different computer. I tried clearing cache/history/cookies,
        • Optimum CRM setup for new B2B business

          Can some advise the most common way to setup Zoho CRM to handle sales for a B2B company? Specifically in how to handle inbound/outbound emails. I have spent hours researching online and can't seem to find an accepted approach, or even a tutorial. I have
        • filter on sheets mobile (iOS, iPadOS) does not work

          I have this issue on every spreadsheet, whether imported or created natively in Zoho Sheets. I can use on desktop without issue: desktop screenshot on iOS the filter dropdowns are not there and there is no way to add them mobile iPadOS looks the same
        • 【Zoho CRM】商談タブへのデータインポート

          Zoho使用前にエクセルで管理していた商談情報を、Zoho一括管理のため、商談タブにインポートしたいのですが、お客さまの氏名だけが紐づけられませんでした。 「Zoho CRMにインポートする項目を関連付ける」のところが画像のようになっています。 (弊社では、「姓」を「★個人データ名」という項目名に変更し、フルネームを入れて使用しています。) どのようにしたら氏名をインポートできるかご存じの方がいらっしゃいましたら、ご教示いただきたく、よろしくお願いいたします。 (投稿先が間違っていましたらご指
        • Add Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab

          Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! Chad
        • Canva Integration

          Hello! As many marketing departments are streamlining their teams, many have begun utilizing Canva for all design mockups and approvals prior to its integration into Marketing automation software. While Zoho Social has this integration already accomplished,
        • Can't edit Segments

          Happening with 2 different Zoho One environments, in different browsers. Please fix.
        • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

          Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
        • Transfer ownership of files and folders in My Folders

          People work together as a team to achieve organizational goals and objectives. In an organization, there may be situations when someone leaves unexpectedly or is no longer available. This can put their team in a difficult position, especially if there
        • Consumer Financing

          Does Zoho currently have a payment gateway (such as Stripe, Square, etc) which offers financing for customers? So, let's say the estimate we give the customer is greater than what they can afford at the time, but we can sell the service now, letting them
        • Subform edits don't appear in parent record timeline?

          Is it possible to have subform edits (like add row/delete row) appear in the Timeline for parent records? A user can edit a record, only edit the subform, and it doesn't appear in the timeline. Is there a workaround or way that we can show when a user
        • Zoho CRM - Option to create Follow-Up Task

          When completing a Zoho CRM Task, it would be very helpful if there was an option to "Complete and Create Follow-Up Task" in the pop-up which appears. It could clone the task you are closing and then show it on the screen in edit mode, all the user would
        • Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

          Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything
        • Deluge function to copy parent record file upload field to child record file upload field

          I'm stuck trying to write a deluge function that is triggered via automation in child record "Appointments," confirms if a file is in file upload "Report" field of parent "Contacts" record via Contacts lookup field "Contact_Name". If no file is in parent
        • Zoho Books Sandbox environment

          Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a
        • Make panel configuration interface wider

          Hi there, The same way you changed the custom function editor's interface wider, it would be nice to be able to edit panels in pages using the full width of the screen rather than the currently max-width: 1368px. Is there a reason for having the configuration panel not taking the full width? Its impossible at this width to edit panels that have a lot of elements. Please change it to 100% so we can better edit the layouts. Thanks! B.
        • Image Compression Options

          Much better if we have level of options to compress the image [20%, 40%...] We are dealing with service reports daily that has before and after photos (image field)- the file size too large and one thing, the current limit is 10mb or 15mb for report
        • Cannot get code to work with v2.mergeAndStore!

          Please can someone help me pass subform items into a repeating mail merge table row using v2.mergeAndStore? I have a mail merge template created in Writer and stored in Workdrive. This template is referenced by a custom CRM function which merges all of
        • How to hide or archive a blog post temporarily in Zoho commerce website builder?

          I would like to temporarily hide or archive a blog post in zoho commerce website builder so that it doesnt appear on my website till I enable it again. I tried to look for this option but could not find it.  It only allows me to permanently delete a blog
        • Founders using Zoho — are you leveraging Zoho Campaigns + Zoho Social for thought leadership… or just sending emails?

          I’ve noticed something interesting in the Zoho ecosystem. Many founders use Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Social for basic marketing—newsletters, scheduled posts, and announcements. But very few are using these tools strategically to: • Position themselves
        • WATERFALL CHART IN ZOHO ANALYTICS

          Hi Team, I would like to know whether Zoho Analytics currently supports a Waterfall Chart as a built-in visualization type. If yes, could you please share the steps to create one? If not, is there any workaround or recommended method to build a Waterfall
        • How to mix different types of inputs (such as dropdown list and textbox)

          Hi, I'm creating a form called "Room Reservations" for a company. I created a "table" using "Matrix Choice". I created "Room 1", "Room 2" and "Room 3" with the "Questions". I would then like to create two columns with the "Answers", one called "Department"
        • Reply to Email for SO/PO

          Hello, We are new to Zoho Books and running into an issue. Our support@ email is our integration user. When our team is sending out PO/SO's we are updating the sender email, but for some reason many of our responses are coming back to our support@ email
        • How to Convert NSF to PST Format Effortlessly? - SYSessential

          It is highly recommended to obtain the error-free solution of the SYSessential NSF to PST converter to convert NSF files from Lotus Notes. Using this professional software, it becomes easier to convert all NSF database items, including emails, journals,
        • Zoho Commerce - Poor Features Set for Blogging

          Hi Zoho Commerce team, I'm sure you will have noticed that I have been asking many questions about the Blogs feature in Commerce. I thought that it would be useful if I share my feedback in a constructive way, to highlight the areas which I feel need
        • Pass shipping info to payment gateway Zoho Books to Authorize.net

          For some reason the integration from Zoho books to Authorize.net does not pass the shipping address. Authorize.net is ready to receive it, but zoho books does not send it
        • Massive Zoho Books failure

          We have not received any communication or notification from Zoho, but we have detected that Zoho Books is not working for all our users. We cannot access or use Zoho Books. This is critical. We are trying to contact Zoho on the Spain telephone number,
        • Does the Customer “Company Name” field appear anywhere in the Zoho Books UI outside of PDFs?

          Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand how the Company Name field is actually used in Zoho Books. There is a Company Name field on the customer record, but when viewing transactions like a Sales Order in the normal UI (non-PDF view), that field doesn’t
        • Email outbox is now available in the sandbox

          Hello all! Testing emails without visibility has always been a blind spot in the sandbox. With the new Outbox, that gap is closed. You can now view and verify every email triggered from your sandbox, whether it’s through workflows, approvals, or mass
        • Looking For Recruit Developer

          Hi everyone, I am looking for a Zoho Certified Developer to assist with a development project for MetalXpert. We are building a software system designed to bridge the gap between a candidate mobile app and an employer web portal using Zoho Recruit as
        • Next Page