You have your products imported and PryceScan has found competitors. Now it is time to tell the system how you want to be priced. This walkthrough covers creating your first rule, from strategy to live SmartPrice.
Before you start
Make sure at least one product has competitor data. Go to Products, click on any product, and confirm you see competitor prices in the table. If the "Competitors" count shows 0, your first monitoring cycle has not completed yet - wait 24 hours or trigger a manual scan from the product page.
Step 1: Choose your strategy
Before touching any settings, decide what you want to achieve. The three most common starting strategies:
Match the market leader. Set your price to match the cheapest competitor. Best for commodity products where being the cheapest wins the sale.
Slight undercut. Match the cheapest minus a small percentage (2-5%). Wins on price while protecting some margin. Best for products where price is the primary decision factor.
Premium position. Match the average or a specific percentile. Best for brands with strong recognition where you can justify a slightly higher price through service, warranty, or reputation.
Do not overthink this. You can change your strategy at any time, and you can have different rules for different product categories.
Step 2: Create the rule
Go to Pricing Rules and click New Rule. Give it a clear name that describes the strategy - "Match Cheapest Competitor" or "5% Below Market Average" - not something generic like "Rule 1".
Step 3: Configure the position
For your first rule, start simple:
- Position type: Match
- Reference: Cheapest competitor
- Adjustment: -5% (or whatever margin of undercut you want)
This creates a rule that says: "Find the cheapest competitor for each product and set my price 5% below that."
Step 4: Set your margin floor
This is the most important safety setting. The margin floor prevents your SmartPrice from ever dropping below a profitable level, no matter what competitors do.
Set the minimum bound to: Cost + [your target margin]%
For example, if you need at least 15% gross margin to be profitable:
- Product cost: $100
- Minimum price: $100 x 1.15 = $115
If the cheapest competitor is $105 and your rule calculates $99.75 (5% below $105), the SmartPrice snaps up to $115 instead. Your margin is protected.
If you do not know your target margin, start with Cost + 20%. You can adjust later once you see how SmartPrices look across your catalogue.
Step 5: Choose which products to apply the rule to
You have four scope options:
- All products: applies to everything in your catalogue
- Brand: applies to products from a specific brand
- Category: applies to a product category
- Individual products: hand-pick specific products
For your first rule, start with All products. You can create more targeted rules later. When multiple rules apply to the same product, the highest-priority rule wins.
Step 6: Preview and activate
Before activating, the rule editor shows a live preview of how the rule would affect your current products. You see:
- How many products would get a new SmartPrice
- The average price change
- Which products would hit the margin floor (bounded)
- Which products have no competitor data (skipped)
Review this carefully. If the preview looks reasonable, click Activate. SmartPrices are calculated on the next monitoring cycle (usually within 24 hours) and appear in Price Approvals for your review.
Step 7: Review in Price Approvals
Once SmartPrices are calculated, go to Price Approvals. Each product shows:
- Current price
- Recommended SmartPrice
- Price change (amount and percentage)
- Which rule produced it
You can approve individually, approve in bulk, or reject and adjust. Approved prices are pushed to your ERP via webhook if configured.
Common first-rule mistakes to avoid
Setting no minimum bound. Without a margin floor, a price war between competitors can push your SmartPrice below cost. Always set a minimum.
Starting too aggressive. A 15% undercut on your first rule is risky. Start with 2-5% and observe the results for a week before adjusting.
Applying one rule to everything. Different categories have different competitive dynamics. A premium kitchen appliance should not use the same pricing strategy as a commodity cleaning product. Start broad, then create category-specific rules as you learn.
Next steps
Once your first rule is running, read how SmartPrice works for a deeper understanding of the calculation engine. If you are not sure whether automation is right for your business, check the 5 signs your pricing needs automation.