Sales Prices: Effective Period of Prices
A price is effective during some period of time. In each price record, you define this period with the effective date and the expiration date; both dates are included in the effective period. The period can be open (no effective date or expiration date is specified) or closed (both dates are specified).
In this topic, you will read about how the system validates a price record (regular and promotional)—both when you add it manually and when you add it by using the worksheet functionality.
Price Record Validation When You Add the Record Manually
When you add a new price record for an inventory item by using the Sales Prices (AR202000) form, the system checks whether the record overlaps in time with existing records that have the same price type, code (if applicable), and currency. If the new record duplicates an existing one, the system flags the record with an error when you attempt to save your changes, until you adjust the date range either of the new record or of an existing one.
Consider the following example: In one record, you define a base price in dollars for an inventory item that is effective on 8/4/2014, with no expiration date specified (see the green-framed record in the following screenshot). Suppose that you add for the same inventory item a record with a new base price in dollars that will be effective on 8/6/2014 (see the red-framed record in the following screenshot). The system warns you (see the X in the red circle) that the new record duplicates the existing one and cannot be saved.
To successfully save your changes, you need to close the open period of the existing price record—that is, specify an expiration date that is before the effective period of the new record. In this example, an expiration date of 8/5/2014 is used to fix the overlap (see the green-framed record in the following screenshot). Then you can save the new record (see the red-framed record in the following screenshot).
The effective periods of both prices from the example are presented on the following diagram.
Price Record Validation When You Add the Record by Worksheet
By using the Sales Price Worksheets (AR202010) form, you can add records in bulk or mass-update records by recalculating prices. When you release a worksheet for which you have added new records or updated existing ones, the system checks whether each record overlaps in time with existing records that have the same price type, code (if applicable), and currency, but the check is done within the records of the selected worksheet. The system does not warn you that price records in the worksheet overlap in time with the sales price records; it solves any overlapping automatically.
The way the system automatically fixes overlap depends on whether the Overwrite Overlapping Prices check box is selected:
- If it is cleared, the system automatically closes the open period of the price record with which a new record overlaps. (That is the same operation that you have to perform manually when you add the price record by using the Sales Prices form.)
- If it is selected, the system removes the price records with which a new record overlaps completely and adjusts the periods of the records with which a new record overlaps partially. For details, see the example that follows.
Suppose that you want to update prices for this inventory item by adding a new price, $23000, which is effective starting on 8/20/2014. The new price record overlaps partially (from 8/20/2014 through 8/25/2014) with the first one shown above and completely (from 8/26/2014 indefinitely into the future) with the second one.
Suppose that you create a worksheet with the new price record and select the Overwrite Overlapping Prices check box. When you release the worksheet, the system adjusts the effective period of the first record (see the green-framed record on the following screenshot) and overwrites the second one with the new record (see the yellow-framed record on the following screenshot).
Validation of Promotional Price Records
Promotional price records may overlap in time with non-promotional price records. When you add records manually by using the Sales Prices form, the system validates promotional price records in the same way as it validates regular prices.
When you update promotional prices by using the Sales Price Worksheets form, the Overwrite Overlapping Prices check box is selected by default and cannot be cleared. That is, the system always removes price records with which a new record overlaps completely and adjusts the periods of the records with which a new record overlaps partially.