Percent pricing

Concepts

Percent pricing is a model where your revenue is tied directly to the value you help your customers generate. It is the standard for commissions, royalties, and value-added surcharges.

The logic of dimensions

Percent pricing is a 1-Dimensional model. It depends on a single factor: the base value (q) flowing through the contract.

Think of this as brokerage. In this model, Zenskar acts as your broker, calculating a professional "cut" of every transaction. Like a broker’s commission, the fee has no independent height; its scale is physically locked to the size of the deal. If the transaction value doubles, your brokerage fee doubles in perfect lockstep.

Case 1: Metered (usage-based percentage)

In a metered scenario, the Base Value () is dynamic. Zenskar monitors a stream of data (a "Meter") and calculates the fee based on the actual activity recorded during the billing cycle.

• Scenario: A 5% Management Fee calculated on the total dollar value of logs ingested.
• The base (q): A billable metric that sums the total cost of storage consumed.
• The calculation: If the meter reports $1,500 in storage consumed, Zenskar takes its 5% cut.

Case 2: Non-metered (fixed-value percentage)

In a non-metered scenario, the base value (q) is static. This is used when the percentage applies to a predefined amount that does not change based on usage, such as a one-time setup fee or a fixed monthly allowance.

• Scenario: A 10% Onboarding Surcharge applied to a fixed implementation cost.
• The base (q): A fixed quantity defined directly in the product or contract (e.g., $5,000).
• The calculation: Zenskar applies the percentage to the static value regardless of monthly consumption.

Get started

Create a percent-based product

1. Navigate to the Library: Go to Contracts > Products.
2. Create a Standalone Product: Click + CREATE NEW and choose Standalone Product from the dropdown. The Create Standalone Product page will appear. Fill in the required details and click Save & Proceed at the bottom right.
3. Open Price Details: You will be redirected to the Price Details page. Click + Add Price to configure pricing for the product.
4. Select Percent Pricing Model: In the Pricing Model dropdown, select Percent Pricing.
5. Set the Percentage Rate (): Enter the numerical percentage (for example, 5 for 5%).
6. Review and Save: Complete the remaining required fields, click Confirm, then click Done on the Price Details page to finalize the setup.

How-to: Add percent pricing to a contract

1. Via Contracts

1. Open the target contract in Contracts > Contracts.
2. In the Summary tab, click + ADD PRODUCT V3.
3. Search for and select your configured percent pricing product.
4. Click ADD PRODUCT. You will be redirected to the Summary page. Click Publish.

2. Via Customer

1. Open the target customer in Customers.
2. Go to Contracts and click + CREATE CONTRACT.
3. In the Summary tab, click + ADD PRODUCT V3.
4. Search for and select your configured percent pricing product
5. Click ADD PRODUCT. You will be redirected to the Summary page. Click Publish.

Reference

Technical specifications

System architecture

In Zenskar, all pricing models are governed by a hierarchical relationship between entities:

• Contract: The legal agreement between you and your customer.
• Phase: A specific time-bound period (e.g., Q1, implementation phase) within that contract.
• Product: The actual service or software module being sold.
• Pricing model: The specific logic (percent pricing) that defines how that product is billed.

Entity hierarchy:

flowchart LR
    CONTRACT[Contract] ---|"has one or more"| PHASE[Phase]
    PHASE ---|"has one or more"| PRODUCT[Product]
    PRODUCT ---|"has exactly one active"| PRICINGMODEL[Pricing model]

style PRICINGMODEL fill:#90ee90

Price resolution flow

The following flow describes how percent pricing calculates the final price:

1. Product library: Defines the global percentage rate (r) and whether the source is metered or non-metered.
2. Contract: Links the percent product to a customer and maps it to the appropriate data source.
3. Data source (q):
   • Metered: The value is pulled dynamically from a billable metric (e.g., total GMV).
   • Non-metered: The value is pulled from a fixed quantity field (e.g., a one-time setup fee).
4. Billing engine: Processes the base value, applies the percentage, and resolves the total price P for the invoice line item.