pricing-calculator

Pricing Calculator Skill

Pricing decisions are usually made on gut and defended with a spreadsheet built under deadline. This

skill does the math cleanly: the margin on each tier, the break-even volume, and the revenue impact of

a price change under an explicit elasticity assumption — so a pricing proposal rests on numbers, with

the assumptions visible. (For the strategy — model, packaging, positioning — pair with

[pricing-strategy](../pricing-strategy/SKILL.md); this runs the numbers.)

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• The scenario — set a tier price to a margin target, find break-even, or model a price change.
• Costs — variable cost per unit/seat, and fixed costs if you want break-even.
• Current price & volume (for a price-change model).
• Elasticity assumption — expected % volume change per % price change (state it; it's the key lever and it's an estimate).

Output Format

Pricing Model: [product / scenario]

1. The numbers (via the helper):

• Per tier: price, variable cost, gross margin %, contribution per unit.
• Break-even: units (or MRR) to cover fixed costs at this price/margin.
• Price-change impact: at +X% price with an assumed Y% volume change → net revenue and margin effect, vs. status quo.

| Scenario | Price | Volume | Revenue | Margin |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| Today | | | | |

| Proposed | | | | |

2. The recommendation — what the math supports, and the volume drop you could absorb before the change loses money (the break-even elasticity — the most decision-useful number).

3. Assumptions — elasticity is an estimate; state it, and how sensitive the conclusion is to it.

Programmatic Helper

scripts/pricing.py (stdlib only) runs the margin / break-even / price-change math:

# in.json: {"current_price":50,"variable_cost":10,"current_volume":1000,"price_change_pct":0.2,"volume_change_pct":-0.1,"fixed_costs":20000}
python3 scripts/pricing.py in.json
python3 scripts/pricing.py in.json --json

Quality Checks

• [ ] Margins are computed on price minus variable cost, shown as % and absolute
• [ ] The elasticity assumption is stated explicitly (not hidden in the result)
• [ ] The price-change model reports the break-even volume drop you can absorb
• [ ] Break-even uses fixed costs and contribution margin correctly
• [ ] The conclusion notes how sensitive it is to the elasticity guess

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not model a price rise assuming volume holds — always state an elasticity, even a conservative one
• [ ] Do not compute margin on revenue — use contribution (price − variable cost)
• [ ] Do not present one elasticity as fact — show the break-even elasticity so the reader judges the risk
• [ ] Do not ignore fixed costs in break-even — contribution must cover them before profit
• [ ] Do not confuse this with strategy — the number doesn't decide the model/packaging; pair with pricing-strategy

Based On

Pricing & break-even analysis — contribution margin, break-even volume, price-elasticity sensitivity.