Guide
How to tell trade customers about a price increase (with 3 letter templates)
Most trade suppliers put prices up once a year, often on 1 January or 1 April, and announce it by emailing a new price list. Done well, customers barely notice. Done badly, it starts a round of phone calls, disputed invoices and orders placed at the wrong price.
When to announce it
- Follow your terms of trade. If they set a notice period, that’s your minimum.
- Give at least 30 days, and 60–90 if your customers quote jobs in advance. For a January rise, write in October or November.
- Avoid the week before the change. Late notice is what customers remember.
What every price increase letter needs
- The date the new prices start.
- How much prices change: an average, or by product group.
- One or two sentences on why.
- What happens to orders placed before the date (usually: old prices).
- The new prices themselves, and who to ask about them.
Want the numbers for step 2? Our free price list comparison tool compares last year’s list with this year’s, gives you the average change and every changed line, and drafts the letter for you.
The problem with one letter for everyone
If customers have their own discounts or fixed prices, the list price rise isn’t their rise. Telling everyone “prices go up 6%” invites the question “what does that mean for me?”, and attaching the full list price file makes each customer work it out.
TradeCatalog fixes this. You keep one list of prices and each customer’s discount rules; when you schedule a price rise, every customer is emailed the old and new prices for the items they can buy, sorted with the lines they order most at the top. Customers can search, see their own prices and order online at any time. Try it free for 14 days.
Price increase letter templates
Copy one and replace the parts in square brackets.
1. Annual price review
Your yearly rise, announced well ahead.
Subject: Our prices from 1 January Dear [Name], Following our annual price review, our prices will change from 1 January. Across our range the average increase is [x]%; some lines are unchanged. Our own costs for raw materials, energy and carriage have risen again this year, and we have kept the increase as low as we can. Orders placed before 1 January will be charged at current prices. Your new price list is attached. Thank you for your continued business. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call [name] on [number]. [Your name] [Business name]
2. Cost surge at shorter notice
A supplier or raw-material increase you have to pass on.
Subject: Price change on [product group] from [date] Dear [Name], Our suppliers have increased the cost of [steel / timber / brass] by [x]% with effect from [date]. We have absorbed what we can, but from [date] prices on [product group] will rise by [y]%. Prices on the rest of our range are unchanged. Any order placed before [date] will be charged at current prices, including orders for later delivery. We’re sorry for the short notice. If this affects a job you have already quoted, please get in touch and we’ll do what we can to help. [Your name] [Business name]
3. Customers with agreed prices
Accounts on their own discounts or fixed prices.
Subject: Your prices from [date], [Customer name] ([account code]) Dear [Name], Our list prices change on [date]. Your agreed discount of [x]% stays the same, so your own prices will move in line with the list. The lines you buy most often: [SKU] [Product] [old price] → [new price] [SKU] [Product] [old price] → [new price] Your full price list with your own prices is attached [or: is always up to date at (link)]. Orders placed before [date] will be charged at current prices. Thank you for your business, [Your name] [Business name]
Questions suppliers ask
How much notice should I give trade customers of a price increase?
Check your terms of trade first: many set a notice period. Where they don’t, 30 days is a common minimum and 60–90 days is kinder to customers who quote jobs in advance. Announce January rises in October or November, before customers price next year’s work.
Should I say why prices are going up?
Yes, in one or two plain sentences: higher raw material, energy, carriage or wage costs. Customers accept a rise they understand far more readily than an unexplained one. Don’t over-explain or apologise at length.
What if customers have different agreed prices?
Then a single percentage in a letter is misleading: each customer’s own price moves by a different amount. Send each customer their own old and new prices, or give them somewhere to see them. TradeCatalog does this automatically: schedule the change once and every customer is emailed the changes to their own prices.
Should I let customers order at the old price before the rise?
Most suppliers do: orders placed before the effective date are charged at current prices. It rewards loyal customers and brings orders forward. Say clearly in the letter whether orders placed before, or delivered before, the date get the old price.