Pricing Rules
Pricing rules on the appointable product Pricing tab adjust the booking total on top of the base product price, staff base costs, and add-ons.
How it works
Each rule has a Base cost column (once per appointment when the rule matches) and a Slot cost column (per interval segment when the segment is fully inside the rule window). All matching rules apply unless a developer filter limits that.
What you need
- Appointable product with Custom pricing rules? enabled
- Product interval understood — slot segments use interval for products saved after 5.0.0 (see below)
You are ready when
- ✅ At least one pricing rule is saved on the product Pricing tab
- ✅ Storefront total changes when you pick a slot inside the rule window
How totals are built
At checkout, WC_Appointments_Cost_Calculation computes:
Appointment cost = Base total + Sum of slot costs per segment
Add-ons are added after this via the add-ons integration (not inside the pricing-rule loop).
| Component | Source | Applied |
|---|---|---|
| Product price | Product General tab | Once (in base total) |
| Staff base cost | Staff profile | Once per selected staff (in base total) |
| Rule base cost | Matching pricing rules | Once per rule when the rule matches |
| Rule slot cost | Matching pricing rules | Per segment fully inside the rule window |
| Add-ons | Product add-ons | After appointment cost is calculated |
Segment counting (minute/hour products)
| Product age | Segments | Slot cost applies |
|---|---|---|
| Saved after 5.0.0 (default) | ceil(duration ÷ interval) | Each interval segment separately |
| Saved before 5.0.0 (legacy) | Usually one segment per appointment | Once per appointment (or per day for multi-day) |
Example (modern product): 3-hour duration, 1-hour interval → 3 segments. A slot cost applies only to segments fully contained in the rule time window.
Base cost matching
| Product age | When rule base cost applies |
|---|---|
| Saved after 5.0.0 (default) | When any part of the segment overlaps the rule window |
| Saved before 5.0.0 (legacy) | When the segment is fully inside the rule window (same as slot cost) |
Each rule’s base cost applies at most once per appointment (first matching segment wins for that rule).
Per-slot prices on the calendar are a preview (WC_Appointment_Slots_Pricing). Checkout uses segment logic above and is authoritative. For single-interval bookings they usually match; long appointments can differ slightly on time rules.
Rule types (Pricing tab)
Match the admin Type dropdown:
| Type | UI label | Matches |
|---|---|---|
custom | Date range | Specific calendar dates |
months | Range of months | Months in range |
weeks | Range of weeks | ISO weeks in range |
days | Range of days | Weekdays in range |
time | Recurring time (all week) | Clock time every day |
time:range | Recurring time (date range) | Clock time on dates in span |
time:1 … time:7 | Monday … Sunday | Clock time on that weekday |
slots | Duration | Customer-selected duration in range |
quant | Quantity count | Booking quantity in range |
sessions | Appointments in package (5.4+, recurring only) | Billable session count at recurring checkout |
There is no staff pricing rule type — assign per-staff base cost on the staff profile, not on the Pricing tab.
Cost modifiers
Each Base cost and Slot cost cell has a modifier:
| Modifier | Base cost column | Slot cost column |
|---|---|---|
| + (default) | Add to running base total | Add to segment slot cost |
| − | Subtract | Subtract |
| × | Multiply running base total | (not in UI) |
| ÷ | Divide running base total | (not in UI) |
| = | Set running base total to this value | Set segment slot cost to this value |
= on base cost replaces the accumulated base total (product + staff + prior rule bases) — not add-ons.
Worked example
Product: $100 base · 3 h duration · 1 h interval (product saved after 5.0.0)
Staff: +$20 base cost
Rules:
| Rule | Base | Slot |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 14:00–16:00 | +$10 | +$5 |
| Recurring time 09:00–12:00 (all week) | — | +$15 |
Appointment: Monday 13:00–16:00 · add-ons $5
Three 1-hour segments: 13:00–14:00 · 14:00–15:00 · 15:00–16:00
| Line | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Product + staff | $100 + $20 = $120 |
| Rule base (Mon 14–16) | +$10 once (13:00–14:00 segment overlaps 14:00) |
| Slot cost (Mon 14–16) | +$5 × 2 (14:00–15:00 and 15:00–16:00 fully inside rule; 13:00–14:00 is not) |
| Peak 09–12 slot rule | $0 (no segment fully inside 09:00–12:00) |
| Subtotal | $140 |
| Add-ons | +$5 |
| Total | $145 |
Appointments in package (5.4+)
On a recurring-enabled product, Appointments in package adjusts the package subtotal at recurring checkout (after per-session costs are summed):
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| From / To | Billable session count range (e.g. 8–12 sessions) |
| Base cost + modifier | Applied to package subtotal — slot cost column is ignored |
- First matching rule wins for the package total
- − (or empty modifier with a cost) multiplies the cost by billable session count per plugin logic
- Per-session time/date rules may still apply before the package rule runs
See Recurring packages — Package pricing.
Related
- Appointable product — pricing
- Recurring packages
- Staff — per-staff base costs (not a pricing rule type)