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Quantity, Price, Discounts, and Markups

Define service quantity, price, discounts, and markups to shape invoiced amounts, manage costs, and track profitability in Productive.

Updated this week

When setting up services in a budget or deal, you can define quantity, price, apply discounts, and add markups. These inputs determine both client-facing amounts and internal profitability.

Important: Productive is rolling out a new Services overview, currently in Beta. If your services don’t look like the examples in this article, you might still be using the old services overview. Some fields and layouts described here may not yet appear in your account, but the functionality remains the same.

Quantity and Price

You always define a quantity (of hours, days, or pieces) and a price per unit. How these values impact invoicing depends on the billing type:

Fixed Services

  • Quantity × price = budget total (the agreed fixed amount).

  • The invoiced amount does not change, even if more or fewer hours/expenses are logged.

  • Example: You sell 100 hours of design work at €120/hour → budget total €12,000. Even if 150 hours are logged, the client is still invoiced €12,000.

Time and Materials Services

  • Quantity × price = budget total.

  • The client is invoiced based on actual time and expenses logged.

  • Example: You sell consulting at €120/hour with a quantity of 25 hours → budget total €3,000. If only 10 hours are logged, the invoice is €1,200 (10 × €120).

Non-Billable Services

  • Quantity and price are not used, since these services don’t generate revenue.

  • Example: An internal training session may still have an estimate for planning, but no invoiced amount is created.

Discounts

  • Discounts are applied per service line item.

  • They reduce the service’s total amount.

  • Example: You sell 50 hours of development at €100/hour = €5,000. Applying a 10% discount lowers the total to €4,500.

Markups

  • Markups are often used when reselling third-party costs (e.g., media buying, subcontracting).

  • They increase the unit price for the client, while maintaining visibility of the cost for profitability tracking.

  • Example: You purchase stock photos for €500 and apply a 20% markup. The client is billed €600, and your margin is €100.

Related Setup Options

When configuring quantity, price, discounts, and markups, you may also want to check:

  • Billing Types
    Define whether a service is billed at a fixed price, by time and materials, or tracked as non-billable.
    👉 Learn more here.

  • Tracking Units: Hours, Days, or Pieces
    Choose how you want to measure service delivery and capacity planning.
    👉 Learn more here.

  • Expenses and Reselling
    Learn how to track expenses, apply markups, and invoice clients for third-party services.
    👉 Learn more here.

  • What Are Services in Productive?
    Understand how services connect budgeting, time tracking, scheduling, and invoicing.
    👉 Learn more here.

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