Package Item Surcharges & Options

Two kinds of extra charge

A package keeps its price per guest. On top of that, two things can add to its total:

• Item surcharge. An extra charge for picking one particular item in a choice rule. The Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Sandwich costs you more to make than the egg one, so it carries +$3.50. You set it on the package, per item, per rule.
• Option price. The price of an item option, such as Bread: Gluten-free (+$1.50). It’s set on the item itself (see Item Options) and works the same in every package.

They’re separate prices and they add together. A gluten-free roast beef sandwich adds both its item surcharge and the Gluten-free price.

Setting an item surcharge

1. Go to Items → Packages and edit the package.
2. On the flexi choice rule, click Edit items to open Choose eligible items.
3. In Selected items on the right, each item has a Quantity, a Unit (per guest or fixed) and an Item surcharge. Type the extra charge for one of that item, such as 2.00. Leave it blank for no surcharge.
4. Click Save, then Save package.

The surcharge belongs to the item in that rule. The same sandwich in another package, or in another rule of this package, has its own figure.

How it’s charged

The surcharge is charged on the quantity supplied, not per guest:

• Per guest: the per-guest quantity times the guests, rounded up to whole items. A sandwich at 0.5 per guest for 20 guests is 10 sandwiches, so a $2.00 surcharge adds $20.00. For 15 guests it’s 8 sandwiches (7.5 rounded up), so $16.00.
• Fixed: the quantity as set, whatever the guest count. 2 Cheese Platters at +$15.00 add $30.00.
• If you change a chosen line’s quantity on the quote, the surcharge follows your quantity.

The price per guest on the quote doesn’t change. The surcharges are added to the package total and named in a note beside it (see below).

Default options and All options

When an eligible item has option groups, its card in Choose eligible items shows each one as Bread: default option, with a * when the group is compulsory, and a chip for each value. Option prices show on the chips, such as Gluten-free (+$1.50).

• Pick a value and it’s preselected whenever this item is picked under this rule, in the order builder, on the online order form and through the API. It can still be changed there.
• All options (on a compulsory group) preselects nothing, so the line starts on the item’s own default. If the item has no default, the option still has to be chosen when the item is picked.
• On an optional group, pick None for the same thing; on a group that allows several values, leave them all unticked.

Whatever you preselect, the quote’s list of choices always offers every value.

In the order builder

On the quote’s items page, open the package from the Packages tab. Each choice with a surcharge shows it in brackets, Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwich (Item surcharge +$2.00), and priced options show theirs on the chip, Gluten-free (+$1.50). Ticking or unticking a choice, or changing its options, updates the package Total straight away. Under the total, a note says how much of it is surcharges and options: Total $690.00, then (includes $85.00 in item surcharges and $15.00 in options).

The package’s row on the items page shows the same figures:

A bundle in a package, such as a lunch box picked under a choice rule, lists its contents in the package window with each content’s own options, the same as when you add the bundle on its own. The bundle’s preset options are already in its price. Picking a different option adds the difference for every content in the bundle, and that amount goes into the package’s options figure. A compulsory option group left empty stops Update until it’s filled.

The online order form works the same way. Customers see the surcharges in brackets beside the items, priced options on the chips (a bundle’s contents’ options included, in both the package popup and the list view), and a cart total that matches the order you receive.

How it shows on the quote

The package line keeps its price per guest. Beside the total, a note says what’s added on top, naming only the parts that apply:

20 x Working Lunch @ $29.50 per guest

$690.00 (plus $85.00 in item surcharges and $15.00 in options)

So guests × price per guest + the note = the total: 20 × $29.50 = $590.00, + $85.00 + $15.00 = $690.00. With no option prices the note reads “(plus $85.00 in item surcharges)”, and with neither there’s no note.

A chosen item keeps its plain name. Its surcharge is its first sub-line, labelled Item surcharge, with the price each and the amount for its quantity, followed by any priced option in the same form:

10 x Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwich
– Item surcharge +$2.00 each | $20.00
– Gluten-free +$1.50 each | $15.00

The Item surcharge sub-lines add up to the “item surcharges” figure in the note. If the line hides its quantities, only the amount shows.

Choices still to be made. Where a rule is set to Show items, the quote lists what the customer can choose from. An item with a surcharge reads Roast Pumpkin and Feta Sandwich (Item surcharge +$1.00), and every item with options gets an Options: line listing all its values with their prices, such as **Options: Bread: White

Wholemeal

Gluten-free (+$1.50). A bundle on offer lists each of its contents on a line of its own, with no **Includes:. Under each content, its option groups appear one level further in, in the same form: **Options: Bread: White

Wholemeal

Gluten-free (+$1.50). Each price is what that pick adds to one bundle. Once the bundle is picked, its line shows the pick as the bundle does on its own: **BLT Sandwich – Wholemeal (additional $15.00).

When a rule is partly chosen, the first pick is marked Selected (1 of 3) and the remaining list is headed Choose 2 more from:. With nothing chosen it still reads “Select 3 items from the following:”, and a fully chosen rule shows neither.

The quote PDF and every quote template show the same lines. Kitchen documents (chef dockets, packing lists and labels) show the items and options but not the surcharges.

Existing quotes keep their prices and options

Changing a package’s surcharges or options only affects new quotes:

• A quote keeps the surcharges its package had when the package was added. Items chosen on it later, in the order builder, online or through the API, use those same figures.
• A quote keeps the options its choices started with. An option group or value you add to the item later doesn’t appear on that quote’s choices; new quotes have it. Option names and prices still follow your catalogue.
• A duplicated quote keeps its original’s surcharges. A package added to an existing quote takes the package’s surcharges as they are at that point.

Through the API and AI assistants

For tenants scripting their own account with the The Developer API, or using an AI assistant connected to Puree:

• GET /packages and GET /packages/:id return surcharge_in_cents on each choice_rules[].choices[] entry (0 when none). POST and PATCH /packages take it there, in whole cents. Leave it out to keep the stored figure; send 0 or null for none.
• On a quote, a package line’s choices can name each picked item’s options: options: {"<item_id>": [option value id, …]}. Without them, an item takes the option the package preselects, then the item’s own defaults. If a compulsory option group is still empty, the write is refused and says which item and group need an option.
• A picked bundle’s contents can take their own options too: content_options: {"<item_id>": {"<bundle item_option_value_id>": [option value id, …]}}, using the bundle’s own rows as a bundle line’s content_option_value_ids does. A content you leave out keeps its picks. A compulsory group left empty is refused, and so are two values from a single-choice group or an option from another item.
• Quote reads return each package line’s choice_surcharge_in_cents and option_surcharge_in_cents beside price_per_guest_in_cents, and each chosen item’s package_choice_surcharge_in_cents.

Tips

• Use an item surcharge for an item that costs more to supply, such as salmon or a premium cut, so the package’s price per guest can stay the same for everyone.
• Use an option price for something every package charges the same for, such as gluten-free bread. Set it once on the item.
• Check a package’s surcharges before quoting a large event: on a per-guest item the surcharge scales with the guest count.

For more on setting packages up, see Packages. To change a package’s choices on one quote, see Changing a Package on a Quote.