Updating gold prices daily and keeping a price change history

The gold price is the most frequently changing data in a shop and it affects every transaction directly. When prices only live on a board or in a ledger, it is very hard to prove which price an invoice used and when.

This article covers how to organise prices by gold type, who may update them, how prices are applied to each transaction type and why a price change history is needed.

Price list by gold type

The price list follows the gold type catalogue, with a buying price and a selling price in VND per chi for each type. Alongside gold types, the catalogue also manages foreign currencies.

Labour is not part of the gold price. Labour charges are configured by product group in the Catalogue and shown with thousands separators, for example 350.000, to avoid misreading figures.

Who may update prices

The Gold prices page belongs to the owner. Store managers and staff cannot access it, so the price used at the counter only changes when the owner updates it.

1. 1Open the price update screen
2. 2Enter the new buying and selling prices for the gold type
3. 3Save and check that the new price appears correctly on transaction screens

Keeping a price change history

Every time a price changes, the software writes a line to the price change history. The history shows which price was in force at what time and is the basis for checking an old invoice or explaining a difference to a customer.

Together with the system log, the price history lets the owner trace price changes when end-of-day figures do not match.

How prices apply to each transaction

The general rule is that each ticket uses the price in force when it is created, taken automatically from the price list. How it is shown depends on the transaction type:

• Sale: the confirmation screen before printing shows the selling price (VND/chi), and that price is printed on the invoice
• Gold exchange: the Gold in and Gold out boxes each show their own unit price for their gold type
• Scrap gold purchase: shows the applied unit price (VND/chi) with thousands separators
• Resizing: the applied unit price follows the current selling price for the gold type and cannot be edited

The amount for each transaction follows Weight (chi) x Unit price (VND/chi), plus or minus surcharges, loss or labour where they apply. When the price changes during the day, tickets created after the change use the new price.

Showing prices at the counter

On the sales screen, buying and selling prices should be shown in a large font with a colour that contrasts with the background so they are readable from a distance. The same display applies to both buying and selling prices.

A shop with a customer display of around 10 inches can let customers follow weight, unit price and total during the transaction. Printing the unit price on the invoice lets customers check it themselves and reduces price complaints.

Manual entry or automatic price feeds

In the basic setup, the owner updates prices on the Gold prices page. Fetching gold prices automatically from an online source is a separate implementation item that needs additional investment.

Whether prices are entered by hand or fetched automatically, every change must still be written to the price change history to keep a basis for reconciliation.

Frequently asked questions

Can staff edit unit prices taken from the price list?

Not for fields taken from the price list, such as the applied unit price for resizing. Prices only change through the Gold prices page updated by the owner.

Is labour included in the gold price?

No. Labour is configured separately by product group in the Catalogue and charged by jewellery type at sale.

Why print the unit price on the invoice?

An invoice showing the selling price per chi at the time of sale lets the customer check it and reduces price complaints.

Does the software fetch gold prices online automatically?

Automatic price fetching needs additional investment. In the basic setup, the owner updates prices on the Gold prices page and the software keeps the change history.