Below-cost pricing: how it sneaks through and the warning that stops it

Selling below cost is rarely a decision. It is an accumulation: the cost went up in March, the price did not, and the rep gave another two percent at the counter in July.

The three routes in

Stale costs (supplier moved, your records did not). Compounding discounts (tier price, then an order discount, then a per-line override — each fine alone). Honoured history (price memory faithfully recalling a price from a cheaper era).

The backstop: a margin warning

Whatever the route, the failure is invisible at the moment it happens. The fix is a check where the price is finalised: if a line lands below cost, flag it — visibly, at the counter, before submit. The rep can still proceed when it is deliberate (loss-leaders exist) but it never happens silently again.

Trade Order POS shows a below-cost margin warning on any line, using the costs synced through B2B Price Tiers. Keep your costs current and the backstop does the rest.

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