How proposal totals work

Your client looks at the total before anything else, so it helps to know exactly what goes into it. This guide explains which line items count toward the total, how recurring fees are shown, and how optional items, credits and taxes change the number your client sees.

What counts toward the total

Every line item in a pricing section has a price type. The type decides whether it adds to the total:

  • Fixed: the amount is added to the total.
  • Per: the amount is multiplied by the quantity (for example $80 x 10 hours) and the result is added to the total.
  • Recurring: the amount is not added to the total. Recurring fees get their own line in the totals box instead (see below).

The total at the bottom of your proposal adds up the fixed and Per items of every pricing section your client will pay for. With taxes on the proposal, the box shows a Subtotal, a line for each tax, and the Total.

Recurring fees

A recurring fee (for example $500 Per month) has no end date, so Nusii can’t know how many months to include in a total. That’s why recurring items are kept out of the total and shown on their own lines, one per billing period, such as Per Month or Per Year. If a proposal only has recurring items, its total shows $0 and the monthly amount appears on the line below it.

The billing periods you can choose for a recurring item are Per year, Per 6 months, Per 3 months, Per month, Per 2 weeks, Per week, Per day and Per hour.

When you know how long the work runs

If the engagement has a fixed length, use a Per item instead of a recurring one. For example, choose Per and Month, enter $500 and a quantity of 12. Your client then sees $500 x 12 months, and the $6,000 counts toward the total.

Quantities on recurring items

Recurring items don’t have a quantity field. To price something like $5 per user per month for 100 users, add a recurring item of $500 Per month and spell out the calculation in the line item’s description, for example “100 users at $5 per user”.

Optional sections and line items

Optional pricing only counts once your client chooses it:

  • Optional sections (the Optional checkbox on a pricing section) are left out of the total until your client selects them.
  • Multi-choice line items count when your client ticks them. A Mandatory multi-choice item is always selected and always counts.
  • Single select line items count for the one option your client picks.

The total updates live as your client selects and deselects options, and the total they accept is the one they built. Read more in How to Set Up Optional Pricing and How to Set Up Optional Line Items.

Discounts and credits

There’s no separate discount field, but you can add a line item with a negative amount, for example “Credit for the paid review: -$100”, in a pricing section that isn’t optional. It lowers the total like any other line item.

Your client can’t accept a proposal whose total is below zero. If a credit takes the total under zero, Nusii asks them to select more options first. A total of exactly $0.00 can be accepted.

Taxes

Taxes are calculated as a percentage of the subtotal and shown as separate lines in the totals box, for example VAT (20%). You can add more than one tax to a proposal. Add them from the proposal’s Settings panel under Add tax to the proposal, or create one there with Create new tax. See Taxes for how to save the taxes you use often.

Two things to keep in mind:

  • Line item prices are always shown before tax. Tax only appears in the totals box, so if your clients expect prices that include tax, mention it in the pricing section’s text.
  • Taxes apply to the subtotal of your fixed and Per items. The recurring lines in the totals box are shown without tax.

Section totals

Each pricing section can show its own subtotal. Tick Include total on the section to show a Subtotal for that section, plus a line such as Subtotal per month for its recurring items. Untick it to hide the section’s subtotal; the proposal total stays the same.

Hiding the total

Sometimes you’d rather not show a final total at all. Open the proposal’s Settings panel and tick Exclude final total to hide it from the proposal, or Exclude final total in PDF to hide it only from the PDF. See Exclude total from Proposal for details.

If you have any questions, just ping us below. We’ll be happy to help!