Overview

This article explains how to test and troubleshoot services in Printer's Plan. Whether you're updating costs, adjusting labor rates, modifying pricing structures, or investigating unexpected pricing, a structured testing process helps ensure your changes produce the expected results before they affect live estimates and production work.

Why Service Testing Matters

Services drive nearly every pricing calculation in Printer's Plan.

Whenever you make changes to:

• Labor rates
• Material costs
• Production speeds
• Waste settings
• Markup tables
• Pricing models

You should test those changes before relying on them in day-to-day estimating.

The goal isn't simply to verify service settings.

The goal is to verify the final pricing result.

💡 Remember: Customers don't see your service setup. They see the final price.

Two Ways to Test Services

There are two common methods for testing services.

Review the Service Directly

Open the service from the Services area and inspect its settings.

This allows you to review:

• Cost models
• Pricing methods
• Production rates
• Markups
• Waste settings

Test Through a Quote (Recommended)

Build a realistic quote and evaluate the resulting pricing.

This approach is typically preferred because it allows you to:

• See real-world calculations
• Review actual pricing results
• Verify production assumptions
• Test services under realistic job conditions

Services do not operate independently. Their calculations depend on specifications such as quantity, size, color count, finishing requirements, waste, and production methods.

Testing through a quote allows you to see all those relationships in action.

Building a Test Quote

The most effective testing environment is a quote that simulates real production.

A typical testing process might include:

1. Create a new quote.
2. Select a customer.
3. Choose a product.
4. Enter a realistic quantity.
5. Add the services you wish to test.

For example:

• Preflight
• Digital printing
• Paper stock
• Cutting
• Folding

The specific product is less important than creating an estimate that uses the services being evaluated.

Verify Production Specifications

As services are added, verify the production specifications that drive calculations.

Common examples include:

• Run size
• Finished size
• Color specifications
• Bleeds
• Folding requirements
• Cutting configurations

These values directly affect:

• Material requirements
• Production time
• Waste calculations
• Final pricing

Review the Cutting Diagram

The cutting diagram is one of the first areas worth reviewing during testing.

The cutting layout determines:

• Sheets required
• Number of cuts
• Material usage
• Production time

Small configuration changes can significantly impact production calculations.

For example:

• Modifying trim settings
• Changing sheet orientation
• Using "Cut Multiple Pieces"

Often results in immediate changes to cutting quantities and production costs.

💡 Best Practice: Always verify cutting diagrams when testing paper, digital printing, or finishing services.

Use the Edit Cost Window

One of the most valuable troubleshooting tools in Printer's Plan is the Edit Cost window.

To access it:

1. Open a quote.
2. Locate a service line.
3. Double-click the service price.

The Edit Cost window reveals exactly how a price was generated.

It allows you to see:

• Service quantity
• Time calculations
• Material costs
• Markup application
• Final selling price

Think of this screen as the story behind the price.

Whenever a price seems incorrect, this is often the first place to investigate.

The Four Questions to Ask

When testing a service, always identify these four items:

1. What Quantity Is Being Used?

Determine what quantity the service is actually calculating from.

Examples include:

• Number of sheets
• Number of impressions
• Number of sides
• Finished quantity

2. What Service Time Is Being Calculated?

Understand how much production time Printer's Plan is assigning to the service.

3. What Cost Is Being Generated?

Review how labor, materials, and setup costs contribute to the total cost.

4. How Is That Cost Being Marked Up?

Determine whether the service is using:

• Markup tables
• Fixed percentages
• Price tables
• Cost-plus pricing

If all four answers make sense, the service is usually functioning correctly.

Testing Changes Effectively

When making adjustments, follow a simple pattern:

1. Identify the current result.
2. Identify the setting producing that result.
3. Change one setting.
4. Reprice the item.
5. Review the outcome.

This creates a clear cause-and-effect relationship.

For example:

Making predictions before changing settings helps confirm your understanding of how the service works.

Avoid Changing Multiple Settings

One of the most common testing mistakes is changing several settings at once.

Avoid simultaneously adjusting:

• Hourly rates
• Production speeds
• Setup times
• Markup percentages

When multiple changes occur together, it becomes difficult to determine which change affected the final result.

✅ Change one setting at a time.

This keeps testing simple, controlled, and repeatable.

Testing Material Cost Changes

A common maintenance task is updating vendor pricing.

When material costs increase:

1. Open the stock service.
2. Update the cost value.
3. Save the service.
4. Reprice the quote.

In most cases, the result should be straightforward:

Higher cost → Higher selling price

Testing through a quote confirms the impact before updating production estimates.

Understanding Markup Tables

Markup tables allow Printer's Plan to apply different markup percentages based on cost ranges.

This provides more flexibility than using a single markup percentage for all services.

When troubleshooting pricing:

• Verify the markup row assigned to the service.
• Review the corresponding markup table.
• Confirm the expected markup is being applied.

Understanding markup assignments can quickly explain why two services with similar costs produce different prices.

Understanding Service Relationships

Services rarely work alone.

One service often affects several others.

A typical chain might look like this:

Paper → Printer → Waste → Sheet Quantity → Cost → Selling Price

Or:

Folding → Waste → Paper Requirement → Cost → Selling Price

Because services interact with one another, a small adjustment in one area can create pricing changes elsewhere.

Understanding these relationships is critical when troubleshooting.

Testing Waste Calculations

Waste is one of the most common causes of unexpected sheet quantities.

When reviewing waste:

1. Check the printer service.
2. Review the paper service.
3. Identify the assigned waste table.
4. Review setup sheets and waste percentages.
5. Examine finishing services that may add additional waste.

Services such as:

• Folding
• Bindery
• Printing

Can all contribute to total waste requirements.

Before reducing waste settings, verify they accurately reflect your actual production process.

Printer's Plan is often accounting for real manufacturing requirements that may not be immediately visible.

Using Shortcuts During Testing

A useful time-saving technique is opening services directly from the quote.

Instead of navigating back to the Services area:

1. Locate the service line in the quote.
2. Double-click beside the service color indicator.
3. Edit the service directly.
4. Save and reprice.

This approach dramatically speeds up testing and troubleshooting.

💡 Best Practice: Most experienced administrators perform the majority of testing without ever leaving the quote screen.

Why This Process Works

Following a disciplined testing process helps you:

• Verify pricing accuracy
• Troubleshoot faster
• Understand service relationships
• Validate production assumptions
• Build confidence in your estimates

More importantly, it helps ensure your pricing reflects your actual costs and production workflow.

Final Takeaway

Service testing is about understanding cause and effect.

Follow this process:

Build a Product → Identify a Service → Understand the Result → Change One Setting → Reprice → Review

When you consistently test this way, service maintenance becomes easier, troubleshooting becomes faster, and pricing becomes more predictable.

"The goal isn't to memorize settings. The goal is to understand why the price changed."