Step 1

Company Profile

Set up your shop identity once so every quote and report looks consistent and professional.

  • Company and owner name
  • Mailing address, phone, and website
  • Footer notes for printed or exported reports

Why it matters

Your pricing is only part of the customer experience. PPS keeps your shop details in one place so every quote looks like it came from a real, established business.

Step 2

Fixed Costs & Overhead

Enter your monthly business expenses so PPS can spread your overhead into every product price automatically.

  • Rent or mortgage
  • Utilities, internet, and phone
  • Insurance and accounting
  • Software, advertising, and platform fees
  • Custom “other” categories for your unique costs

See the real numbers

PPS shows monthly and yearly totals so you can see what it really costs to keep the doors open. Those numbers flow into your pricing, so you’re not guessing at “shop overhead” anymore.

Step 3

Machine Costs

Turn each machine in your shop into a clear hourly and per‑minute cost, instead of “what feels fair”.

  • Purchase price and estimated salvage value
  • Expected useful life in years
  • Estimated hours of use per year
  • Automatic cost per hour and cost per minute

Use it everywhere

Once you set your machine rates, PPS uses them automatically when you assign machine time to products. Every quote includes the true cost of running your CNC, table saw, or other equipment.

Step 4

Raw Materials

Define your sheet goods and hardwoods once so material cost per product is always based on real usage, not rough guesses.

Sheet goods

Enter plywood, MDF, and other sheet materials with length, width, thickness, and sheet cost. PPS calculates cost per square inch, square foot, and cubic inch automatically.

Hardwoods

Define hardwoods by board‑foot price, typical board dimensions, and cost. PPS computes cost per cubic inch and per board so you can quote accurately.

Feeds into product pricing

Your material definitions feed directly into Products and Pricing, so every product pulls from the same material database instead of ad‑hoc notes and calculators.

Step 5

Product Catalog

Build a catalog of everything you sell — from simple cutting boards to complex CNC signs and multi‑piece projects — all tied back to real costs.

Core product details

  • Name & SKU
  • Finished dimensions
  • Current base price
  • Quantity per pack
  • Other Materials / Consumables (per unit): save “small stuff” costs (hardware, glue, sandpaper, finish) on the product so Pricing → Other ($) can auto‑fill.

Production & shipping

  • Production time (minutes)
  • Shipping price
  • Status (Active / Inactive / Archived)

Materials & machines

  • Primary & secondary materials with usage dimensions
  • Machine time for one or more machines
  • Optional product image (stored in a dedicated AppData folder)
Step 6

Product Pricing Calculator

Bring everything together and see exactly what each product costs you — and what you should charge to make a real profit.

Cost breakdown

  • Material cost (sheet goods & hardwoods)
  • Machine cost (using your machine rates)
  • Labor cost (based on your time)
  • Packaging, platform fees, and custom “other” costs

Pricing controls

  • Set your target margin or profit
  • View suggested selling price and margin %
  • See total profit amount per unit

Key actions

  • Reload From Product Inventory – pull the latest product details
  • Recalculate Pricing – recompute after any change
  • Update Product Base Price – push the new price back into your catalog

When you’re ready to see how this translates into the actual purchase, visit the Pricing page for the current license details.

v1.3.0 Feature

Sales Outlets & Channel‑Based Pricing New v1.3.0

Most shops lose margin by using one price everywhere. Sales Outlets lets you model real channel economics before you commit to a price.

Define your channels

Create outlets for Website, Etsy, Amazon, Wholesale, Retail, or any channel you sell through — then choose which outlets are Active for pricing.

Defaults that save time

Store default Packaging and Target Margin per outlet. Selecting an outlet auto‑fills those fields using passive defaults (you can still override).

Outlet fees (advanced)

Model percent + flat fees (marketplace + processing + extras) with shipping‑strategy support, and let PPS estimate Store / Platform Fees automatically.

Why it matters

  • Same product, correct price per channel: Website pricing rarely survives marketplace fees without adjustment.
  • Instant comparison: switch outlets on the pricing page and PPS updates fees, margin impact, recommended price, and break‑even.
  • Consistency: save outlet assumptions once and reuse them across every product you price.
Comparison

Why not just use a spreadsheet?

Spreadsheets can work for a while. The problem is they depend on memory, manual updates, and a lot of “I think I changed that everywhere.” PPS is built to keep your pricing clean and consistent as your shop grows.

All your numbers in one place

PPS ties your fixed costs, machines, materials, and products together. Update a machine rate or material cost once, and it flows through to every product that uses it. No hunting through multiple sheets and tabs.

Less room for silent errors

One broken formula in a spreadsheet can quietly underprice everything you sell. PPS handles the math for you and keeps the structure consistent, so you can spend more time building and less time debugging cells.

Built for quoting, not just storing data

PPS isn’t a general spreadsheet. It’s a dedicated pricing tool that guides you from real shop costs to a clear suggested price and profit per product, so you’re not starting from a blank grid every time.

If you’d like to see how the one‑time license works and what’s included with your purchase, head over to the Pricing page.

Licensing

Offline desktop license, one machine per license.

One-time purchase

No subscription. You purchase once and can use the current v1.x series on your activated Windows machine for as long as it runs.

Offline activation

Each install generates an Activation Code. You email the code and computer name, and receive a License Key in return.

Runs fully offline

Once activated, PPS runs entirely offline. You only need internet for the initial download and activation email.

Roadmap

Updates & future features.

Minor fixes and quality‑of‑life improvements are included as free updates within the current v1.x series. Larger new capabilities will arrive in future paid major versions and optional add‑on modules.

Planned additions include optional desktop modules for inventory tracking, job costing & batch planning, tool management, and marketing exports — all built on top of the PPS pricing engine you’re using today.

You can track what’s new on the Changelog page, and see current license details on the Pricing page.