Before you write it
- Check what you have agreed. Some customers have fixed prices in a contract, or a notice period in their terms. The letter must not contradict them. Those customers get their own letter, or none until the agreed date.
- Give enough notice. If no notice is agreed, give customers time to change their own prices before yours change. A month is a reasonable starting point.
- Call your biggest customers first. A key account should hear it from their rep, not from a letter in the post.
- Decide which date counts. Say whether the new prices apply to orders delivered from the date, or orders placed from it. For distributors with standing and forward orders, the answer changes the invoice.
What the letter needs to say
Which prices change, the date, and where to see the detail. One honest sentence on why, if you have one. Leave out a long justification: the customer wants to know what changes for them. Then attach the schedule, so the customer can see every line that changes with the current price beside the new one.
Price increase letter
Subject: Price changes from [effective date]
Dear [Name],
I am writing to let you know that from [effective date], prices on [the lines listed in the attached schedule / your price list] will change. [One sentence on why, if you have one, for example: our own suppliers’ prices for these lines have risen.]
The attached schedule shows each line that changes, with the current price beside the new one. Lines not on the schedule stay as they are.
Orders [delivered / placed] before [effective date] will be charged at current prices. If you have standing or forward orders after that date and would like to change them, please let us know by [date].
If you would like to talk it through, or look at alternatives in our range, please call [rep name] on [phone].
Yours sincerely,
[Your name] [Job title], [Business name]
Price change schedule
Attach to the letter. Prices exclude VAT unless stated.
| Code | Product | Unit | Current price | New price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
What to change on the day
The letter is the easy part. The new prices also have to reach every place an order is priced, on the same day.
- Price lists: the new prices, ready to go live on the date, not before.
- Customer-specific prices: check every customer with their own price on a changing line. Decide whether theirs changes too.
- Standing and forward orders: re-price those that fall after the date, or honour the old price as the letter says.
- Promotions and quotes: end or re-price any that run past the date at the old price.
- Drivers’ devices and printed price lists: van sales drivers price at the door, so their device or book must carry the new prices on day one.
- Online ordering: the customer portal or catalogue, if you have one.
- Reps and telesales: brief them before the letters land, so the first call about it is not a surprise.
Our article on customer-specific pricing covers keeping exceptions explainable once the change is in.
