---
title: "Add discounts and annual price increases"
description: "Give a client an ongoing discount on a line or a whole agreement, and schedule price increases that are emailed to the client before they take effect."
url: "https://support.outpostplatform.com/msp/discounts-and-price-increases/"
product: "depot"
type: "how-to"
status: "draft"
ai_summary: "MSP plan. Discounts and price increases card on a saved agreement. A discount is a percentage or amount off one line or the whole agreement, its own invoice line, capped at what it discounts. A price increase steps prices every N months (12) after a notice email N days ahead (60). A price never rises before its notice; a late notice moves the step later."
availability:
  plans: ["msp"]
  permission: "psa:write"
  preview: false
source: "https://gitlab.com/outpostplatform/docs/-/edit/main/src/content/docs/msp/discounts-and-price-increases.md"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Add discounts and annual price increases

Discounts and price increases change what an agreement charges without
editing its lines. A discount shows on every invoice as its own line, so the
client sees the full price and what you take off it. A price increase raises a
price on a schedule, and Outpost emails the client before each step. This page
shows how to add both and how to check what they did.

## Before you begin

- The agreement is saved. The card appears under a saved agreement only.
- Editing discounts and price increases needs `psa:write`.
- Price increase notices go to the client's billing contact. A client with no
  billing contact email gets no notice, and a step does not take effect until
  its notice has gone out. See
  [Set a client's billing profile](/msp/client-invoicing/#set-a-clients-billing-profile).

## Add a discount

1. Open the agreement and find the **Discounts and price increases** card.
2. Select **Add a discount**.
3. In **Applies to**, choose one line, or **The whole agreement**.
4. In **By**, choose **A percentage** or **A fixed amount**, then enter the
   **Percent** or the **Amount**.
5. In **Starts on**, enter the first day it applies. Leave **Ends on** empty
   to run it for the life of the agreement.
6. In **Description**, enter what the invoice line calls it, such as
   `Loyalty discount`.
7. Select **Save discounts and increases**.

A discount is checked against the start date of each billing period: it
applies to a period that starts on or after **Starts on**, and before **Ends
on** when one is set.

What a discount takes off:

- A discount on one line applies to that line's charge, including its per
  seat overage and its usage true-up. It is capped at that amount, so a line
  discount never turns into a credit, and it never discounts a credit.
- A discount on the whole agreement applies to the recurring lines and their
  true-ups together. It never discounts hourly work or adjustments you add to
  a draft by hand.

## Schedule a price increase

1. Open the agreement and find the **Discounts and price increases** card.
2. Select **Add a price increase**.
3. In **Applies to**, choose one line, or **The whole agreement**. A fixed
   amount increase needs one line.
4. In **By**, choose **A percentage** or **A fixed amount**, then enter the
   **Percent** or the **Amount** each step adds.
5. In **Starts on**, enter the date of the first step.
6. In **Every**, enter the months between steps. The default is `12`.
7. In **Notice**, enter how many days before each step the client is emailed.
   The default is `60`.
8. In **Description**, enter the name the notice email uses.
9. Select **Save discounts and increases**.

The card then shows **Next step on** with its date, and the date the client
is told.

How steps are applied:

- Percent steps compound. A 3% increase on $100.00 makes $103.00, then
  $106.09, then $109.27. Amounts are rounded half up to the cent.
- The price in force on the first day of a period applies to the whole
  period.
- **A price never rises before its notice has gone out.** If the notice is
  sent late, for example because the client had no billing contact, the step
  moves to the notice date plus the notice days. Nothing is backdated, and
  later steps keep their anniversary.
- One email covers every line an agreement-wide increase moves. It names each
  line with its old and new price, and says that nothing is due because of the
  notice.

To stop future steps, clear **Active** on the row, or select **Remove**, then
select **Save discounts and increases**. Steps already in force stay in force.

## Check the price history

The **Price history** card under the agreement lists every step a price
increase has made:

| Column | Shows |
| --- | --- |
| **Line** | The line the step changed. |
| **New price** | The new unit price, and the new overage price on a per seat line. |
| **Scheduled for** | The date the step was planned for. |
| **Takes effect** | The date it applies from. **Moved later: the notice went out late** shows when it differs from the scheduled date. |
| **Notice sent** | When the notice email was queued, or **Not yet**. |
| **State** | **Notice not sent yet**, **Scheduled**, or **In force**. |

A step in **Notice not sent yet** does not bill. Most often the client has no
billing contact email.

## Verify

- The agreement's **Next bill** card shows each discount as its own line with
  a negative amount. See [Check a client's next bill](/msp/next-bill-estimate/).
- After a step's notice goes out, **Price history** shows it as
  **Scheduled**, then **In force** from its **Takes effect** date.

## Next steps

- [Check a client's next bill](/msp/next-bill-estimate/)
- [Invoice clients](/msp/client-invoicing/)