Setup Checklist
This section is a comprehensive and high level summary of all tasks and prerequisites required for this feature to function properly. This section is purposed for use after an administrator is familiar with configuring this feature as an “audit” checklist. For detailed set-up instructions, jump down to “Prerequisite Tasks” and “Detailed Setup Guide” and then follow up with this checklist to ensure all steps are completed.
1. POS TASKS | |
|---|---|
POS Task 1 REQUIRED | PREREQUISITE |
2. INFRASTRUCTURE TASKS | |
Infrastructure Task 2 - REQUIRED | PREREQUISITE |
3. COMMERCE TASKS | |
Create Pricing Seasons REQUIRED Configure Seasons Types REQUIRED Ensure Products are Set Up for Dynamic Pricing REQUIRED | PREREQUISITE |
Language String, Setting, HTML widget, etc. Task 4 - OPTIONAL | PREREQUISITE |
| DETAILED SETUP |
Prerequisite Tasks
This section describes all requirements that must be completed before you can begin setting up this feature. Once these tasks are complete continue to the next section.
POS Tasks
POS Task that must be completed first
Infrastructure Tasks
Infrastructure Task that must be completed first. Remove section if not required
Commerce Tasks
Create Pricing Seasons
Pricing seasons are created so that dates can be blocked together when updating pricing for a product in the dynamic pricing tool. These should be set up prior to pricing the product. Pricing seasons are added to pricing season types that can be assigned to products.
Go to Aspenware Commerce Plugins > Dynamic Pricing
Click Seasons (button in the upper right corner) and specify:
Name: Enter the name for the season.
Display Order: Enter the display order for the season.
Season Type: Leave blank unless season types are already set up.
Click Add.
Select Set Dates beside the newly created season (table is organized by display order).
Navigate to the first month and year with dates included in this season. Highlight the appropriate dates in the left column.
Select multiple dates in a row using the Shift key; select multiple non-consecutive dates using the Command key on a Mac and Control on a PC. When all the desired dates in the month are selected, select the > arrow key in the center of the modal.
Continue for each month within the season and when complete, select Save.
Season names, display orders, season types can be edited and de-activated/activated by selecting Edit. To edit dates, select Set Dates.
Configure Seasons Types
Season Types group seasons together to assign to products (e.g. a Lift Ticket season type may be assigned to lift ticket products and include a Lift Ticket Weekdays season and a Lift Ticket Weekends season).
Go to Aspenware Commerce > Dynamic Pricing>Seasons)
Click Seasons (button in the upper right corner)
Click Season Types (button in the upper right corner)
Specify the Season Type Name and click Add.
Once the Season Type is created, return to the Seasons page and assign the appropriate seasons to the season type. This can be done by editing each Season and assigning the type using the drop-down.
NOTE: Currently, each season can only be assigned to one season type. If product A and product B both use the Saver Season, but product A’s seasons are Saver, Off-Peak, and Holiday, and product B’s seasons are Saver and Regular, then create a different season type to assign to product A and B. Two Saver seasons will also need to be created, one for the season type that will be assigned to Product A, and another for the season type that will be assigned to Product B.
Ensure Products Are Set Up for Dynamic Pricing
The following types of products should be set up for dynamic pricing:
Products where price changes depending on the reservation date (e.g. during a certain season, a product is sold at a higher price).
Products that are not available every day of the season but do not use inventory pools to narrow available dates.
Products that you wish to display the pricing calendar in order to display how much inventory is left throughout the season.
Before dynamically pricing a product, ensure the following is true:
The product is fully set up and prepared for dynamic pricing:
All attributes and values are configured on the product, and the product attribute combination table is built out fully. Ensure the attribute combination table has the absolutely correct attribute combinations before proceeding.
If the attribute is required to book the core product, such as Age and Number of Days, it is a Required attribute.
If the attribute is an add-on attribute and does not impact the price or SKU (RTP product header) of the core product, it should not be Required. (e.g. An add-on rental to a ticket or lesson should not be required or included in the product attribute combination table.)
The SKUs have been entered in the product attribute combination table.
Only combinations that require dynamic show in the combination table. Add-ons should not be included in the combinations.
Pricing seasons for this product have been set up (e.g. Early season, holiday weeks, Weekends, every Thursday, etc.) See the Creating Pricing Seasons section above for instructions.
All of the pricing seasons required for the product are assigned to a single season type. (e.g. If a product needs early, regular, and holiday pricing seasons, then all of these seasons should be assigned to a single pricing season type, which will be assigned to this product during configuration).
Settings, Language Strings and/or HTML Widgets for this Feature
This feature may require updates to the following settings, language strings and/or HTML Widgets. Learn more about how to update and create Settings, Language Strings, and HTML widgets follow the links to the respective section.
Settings
AW Commerce Settings that must first be completed
Language Strings
AW Commerce Language Strings that must first be completed
HTML Widgets
AW Commerce HTML Widgets that must first be completed
Detailed Setup Guide
Configure Products for Dynamic Pricing
Step 2 Header
1. Configure Products for Dynamic Pricing
To dynamically price a product, first enable it to be dynamically priced using the Product Classifications plugin, and then complete the pricing setup in the Dynamic Pricing plugin.
Go to Aspenware Commerce >Product Classifications
Click Add Assignment.
Select the Category containing the product requiring assignment from the drop-down.
Select the desired product from the Product drop-down.
NOTE: The Dynamic Pricing classification MUST be made at the product level, not the attribute level or category level.
In the Classification table, click the Assign checkbox for ‘Dynamic Pricing Days To Arrival.'
Click Add.
NOTE: Assignments to the Dynamic Pricing Days To Arrival classification can be removed by clicking Delete.
Go to Aspenware Commerce >Dynamic Pricing
Click Seasons, then Season Types (upper right corner.)
Click Assign Products to Season Types and select the desired product from the Product drop-down. (Product drop down is in alphabetical order.)
Assign the desired Season Type. (See above for season and season type configuration details.)
On the Seasons page, click Dynamic Pricing product search and search for the desired product.
Select Edit Override Windows within the desired product’s row.
Days to arrival windows are defined here (e.g. rules like unique pricing for day-of purchasers, within 48 hour purchasers, outside of 48 hours, etc.).
Override Window setup depends on pricing window rules. Specify the following for all of the days to arrival windows for the product:
Window Title: Enter a descriptive name for the window.
Display order: Set to 101 for the window that is closest to the start date, 102 for the next furthest window out and so on. For example, 101 for Day of Pricing, then 102 for the 7 days out until the day before pricing, 103 for the 14 days to 8 days before pricing, etc.
Days out start: The number of days from the arrival date when the pricing will apply
For example, if setting up an ‘outside of 48 hours’ window, set this to 2 and it will apply two days out from the arrival date if there isn’t a more specific (closer to arrival date) level set that applies to the reservation date.
Days out end: Set to 100000. Do not set this to a value higher than 100000
Track Quantity: Check this for all override windows. Checking this will cause a Type drop-down to appear, select Price rather than percent.
Click Add.
Once all Override Windows are added, and if you are not using tiered pricing, the product can be priced.
The order for override windows is very important. When all of your override windows have been added, they should be ordered from closest to arrival date to furthest from the arrival date and should look something like the example below if using multiple override windows. Notice Base is first, then the closest window to the arrival date is second, and so on.
2. Assign Dynamic Pricing to Product Attribute Combinations
Go to Aspenware Commerce > Dynamic Pricing in Admin.
Search for the product using the Product name field (e.g. Type “ticket” to find lift tickets).
Find the desired product’s row and click Edit Pricing.
Select the following:
All desired attributes (these can be multi-selected by dragging or using the Command key on a Mac or Control on a PC). Avoid selecting more than 50 combinations at once. Something must be selected for each variant (or box of options) for dates to load below. If you have conditional attributes on your product and a selection is not needed for a variant, select something for that variant anyway and the correct combinations, that do not include the unnecessary variant, will be loaded below in the date selection area.
Season: Select from the Base/Season drop-down
Override Windows: These can be multi-selected by dragging or using the Command key on a Mac or Control on a PC.
Select either Show Grid or Show Schedule (The Show Grid option display is a grid view of product attribute combinations shown in rows and pricing seasons across the columns.)
To update a product attribute combination price for every date in a specific season, click where the desired product attribute combination and season intersect (click the -- area or the current price).
Update the price in the modal. This will update every date in the pricing season for that product attribute combination.
If the Override window is set up to have tiered pricing, then enter both a price and quantity for each tier. Once the quantity sold is reached it will go to the next tier, and so on, until the tiers sell out.
If the tiers sell out, it will sell the price defined at the top that is simply called price: set the top price quantity to 10000, so that it doesn’t sell out.
If the Override window is not set up to have tiered pricing, then enter 100000 in the quantity field always. Do not set this to a value higher than 100000
To update a more specific range of dates rather than the entire season, follow steps to update pricing using the Show Schedule option.
If there is already a price in the quadrant, that is the lowest price that is set up in the range but doesn’t necessarily mean the entire season is priced.
To verify which dates in a season are updated, select Show Schedule next to Show Grid and filter the schedule by the recently priced season to see updated pricing by date.
Show Schedule: Should be used for updating specific days, weeks, or months that may not align with associated pricing seasons.
The Show Schedule option display is a calendar view with rows for all of the product attribute combinations that have been selected. There are options for week or month calendar view.
In the Schedule view, to edit the pricing for a larger date range, referred to here as a Season, select which season to edit in the Select Season drop-down.
Then select the product attribute combinations and click the [Season Name] button. This presents the season editor with the dates of the season listed on the right and the product attribute combinations with a price field for each. Make desired changes and click Update to save.
To select the product attribute combinations (rows in the table), select the titles in the far left column. One or more attribute combinations may be edited at once.
NOTE: Seasons are preconfigured and tied to a season type, which is assigned to the product. If seasons don’t appear, assign a season type to the product.
If editing specific dates in a narrower date range (within a month or week), choose desired dates from the calendar and select the appropriate product attribute combinations (see steps below). Click the Edit Date(s) button. Update pricing in the Day’s Editor window and click Update to save.
To select multiple non-consecutive dates, use the top row in the calendar pricing table and select each desired date. Do not select the cells directly within the product attribute combination rows.
To deselect dates, use the top row and click the selected date deselect it. Do not select cells directly within a product attribute combination row.
To select multiple consecutive dates, select and drag across the dates desired within the product attribute combination row.
To select multiple product attribute combinations, check the combinations in the far left column that need to be updated.
To deselect product attribute combinations, click the product attribute combination name of the desired row to deselect.
Summary Terms:
Season: collection of dates that share the same pricing.
Season Type: Only one season type can be assigned to a product, but a season type can have many seasons assigned to it. All seasons within a season type are assigned to the product
Override window: Based on the customers days to arrival. Based on how far out the customer is booking their trip from the start date of that trip
Common override window examples:
48 hour + pricing -
Within 48 hours - charge window rate
One override window is required *
Window rate - base price *
Tiers: A tier is defined as a price level in which there are defined quantities for a set price. Once that set price has sold out, the next tier (with a higher price) will take into effect.
Tier 1 - $50 - 5 people
Tier 2 - $60 - 5 people
Tier 3 - $70 - 5 people
Tier 4 - $80 - Unlimited
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