Pricing

What is Pricing?

Pricing is LeadConduit's financial tracking system that monitors the monetary flow of every lead. It calculates what you pay sources, what buyers pay you, and tracks the margin in between. Think of pricing as your lead flow's CFO - constantly watching the money, calculating profitability, and ensuring every transaction is properly accounted for.

Unlike simple price fields, LeadConduit's pricing system understands the complex financial relationships in lead distribution: volume discounts, conditional pricing, revenue sharing, and multi-buyer scenarios.

Why Pricing Matters

Lead distribution is a business, and every business needs to track money:

Sources charge different rates for different lead types
Buyers pay based on quality and exclusivity
Margins vary by source, buyer, and lead characteristics
Profitability requires real-time financial visibility

Without proper pricing, you're flying blind. With LeadConduit's pricing system, every lead carries its complete financial story.

How Pricing Works

The Three Pillars

LeadConduit tracks three financial metrics for every lead:

Cost - What you pay the source
Revenue - What the buyer pays you
Margin - The difference (Revenue - Cost)

These aren't just fields - they're calculated values that update throughout processing.

Pricing Flow

Lead Arrives → Source Pricing → Processing → Buyer Pricing → Margin Calculation
     ↓              ↓                           ↓                ↓
   Lead ID      Cost: $5.00                Revenue: $25.00   Margin: $20.00

Where Pricing Lives

Pricing can be configured at multiple levels:

Level	Purpose	Example
Source	Default cost for all leads	"All leads from Source A cost $10"
Source + Rules	Conditional source pricing	"California leads cost $15"
Flow	Processing fees/markups	"Add $2 handling fee"
Recipient	Buyer payment	"Buyer B pays $50"
Recipient + Rules	Conditional buyer pricing	"Exclusive leads pay $75"

Pricing Rules

The Last-Match-Wins Principle

Pricing rules work differently from all other rules:

Normal Rules: Stop at first match (short-circuit)
Pricing Rules: Evaluate ALL rules, last match wins

This enables progressive pricing:

Rule 1: All leads         → $25
Rule 2: California leads  → $30  
Rule 3: Exclusive CA      → $50

Exclusive CA lead matches all three, pays $50 (last match)

Why Last-Match-Wins?

This pattern supports common pricing strategies:

Base pricing - Default for all leads
Geographic premiums - Higher for certain states
Quality bonuses - More for verified data
Special cases - Maximum for perfect matches

Order your rules from general to specific.

Common Pricing Patterns

Tiered Source Pricing

Different costs based on lead characteristics:

Base cost: $10
├── Rule: state = "CA" → $15
├── Rule: state = "NY" → $18
└── Rule: exclusive = true → +$10 (added to state price)

Volume-Based Pricing

Adjust pricing based on volume:

Standard rate: $25
├── Rule: daily_count > 100 → $23
├── Rule: daily_count > 500 → $20
└── Rule: daily_count > 1000 → $18

Quality-Based Pricing

Pay more for better data:

Basic lead: $30
├── Rule: email.valid AND phone.valid → $35
├── Rule: age < 65 AND income > 50000 → $40
└── Rule: trustedform.present = true → +$5

Time-Based Pricing

Different rates for different times:

Regular hours: $25
├── Rule: {{format timestamp "HH"}} < "09" → $20
├── Rule: {{format timestamp "HH"}} > "17" → $20
└── Rule: {{format timestamp "u"}} = "6" OR "0" → $15 (weekends)

External Pricing

Vendor-Provided Pricing

Sources can include their price in the lead:

In submission:

{
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "source_price": "12.50"
}

In configuration:

Map source_price to standard field
LeadConduit uses for cost calculation
Overrides default source pricing

Dynamic Buyer Pricing

Buyers can return their price:

Buyer response:

{
  "accepted": true,
  "lead_id": "ABC123",
  "price": 45.00
}

In integration:

Parse price from response
Updates revenue automatically
Supports real-time bidding

Margin Calculation

Automatic Computation

LeadConduit automatically calculates:

Margin = Revenue - Cost

This happens:

After source pricing (cost established)
After each buyer response (revenue updated)
In real-time for reporting

Multi-Buyer Scenarios

When selling to multiple buyers:

Lead Cost: $10
├── Buyer A pays: $25 (margin: $15)
├── Buyer B pays: $30 (margin: $20)
└── Total Revenue: $55 (total margin: $45)

Each delivery tracks its own revenue/margin.

Pricing in Reports

Financial Metrics

Standard reports include:

Total cost
Total revenue
Total margin
Average margin per lead
Margin percentage

Grouping Options

Analyze pricing by:

Source (which sources are profitable?)
Buyer (which buyers pay most?)
Time period (daily/weekly/monthly)
Lead characteristics (state, quality, etc.)

Profitability Analysis

Identify:

Most profitable source/buyer combinations
Negative margin leads
Pricing rule effectiveness
Volume vs margin tradeoffs

Currency and Precision

Currency Handling

All pricing in account currency (usually USD)
No currency conversion
Consistent decimal precision

Decimal Precision

Supports fractional cents: $10.555
Rounds at final calculation
Maintains precision during processing

Special Pricing Scenarios

Bidding Systems

For ping/post with bidding:

1. Ping includes lead subset
2. Multiple buyers bid
3. Highest bid wins
4. Post includes price
5. Revenue = winning bid

When sharing revenue:

Total Revenue: $50
├── Partner share (30%): $15
├── Your share (70%): $35
└── Track both in reporting

Bundled Pricing

For package deals:

Bundle of 5 leads: $200
├── Allocate per lead: $40 each
├── Track individually
└── Report on bundle performance

Best Practices

Rule Design

Order matters - General to specific
Test thoroughly - Verify rule matches
Document logic - Explain pricing strategy
Monitor results - Check margin reports

Margin Protection

Set minimums - Reject if margin too low
Alert on negatives - Catch pricing errors
Regular reviews - Adjust as market changes
Test changes - Use staging first

Transparency

Track everything - Cost and revenue
Share appropriately - Partners see their data
Audit regularly - Verify accuracy
Document agreements - Match configuration

Common Pitfalls

Rule Ordering

❌ Specific rules before general
✅ General base price, then specific overrides

Missing Prices

❌ Assuming default prices
✅ Explicitly configure all scenarios

Calculation Timing

❌ Expecting immediate margin
✅ Margin calculated after buyer response

Currency Mix-ups

❌ Mixing currencies
✅ Consistent currency throughout

Integration with Other Systems

With Source Entities

Sources define base pricing:

Default cost per lead
Conditional pricing rules
External price acceptance

With Recipient Steps

Recipients determine revenue:

Buyer-specific pricing
Response-based pricing
Dynamic/bid pricing

With Rules Engine

Pricing rules use full rule capabilities:

Field comparisons
Complex conditions
Template support

With Reporting

All pricing data available in reports:

Real-time margin tracking
Historical analysis
Profitability insights

Technical Details

Pricing Evaluation

Source rules evaluate (all rules, last wins)
Cost established
Lead processes through flow
Buyer rules evaluate (all rules, last wins)
Revenue established
Margin calculated

Storage and Precision

Stored as decimal values
Full precision maintained
Rounding at display time
Consistent calculation

Performance Impact

Pricing rules add minimal overhead
Calculations are fast
No impact on lead flow speed
Real-time margin updates

Entities - Sources and buyers define pricing
Rules - Power conditional pricing logic
Templates - Enable dynamic pricing rules
Reporting - Analyze financial performance

Pricing is the financial heartbeat of your lead distribution business. It transforms LeadConduit from a technical platform into a business intelligence system, ensuring every lead's journey is not just tracked, but profitable.