Use this article when an estimator opens the price breakdown on a finished quote and the total is higher or lower than they expected, or when the total disagrees with what your MIS produced for a similar past job. After this you will have either confirmed every line on the breakdown is correct or identified the setup record, pricing rule, or rebate that explains the gap, and the corrected quote will recalculate to the expected total.
Symptom table
Symptom | Check (where to look) | Fix (action) | Verify (what you'll see) |
The total is higher than the MIS reference quote for a similar job | Expand the print and finishing lines on the price breakdown and look for an unusually large make-ready, run, or click line | If make-ready or run time is too high, open the assigned machine in Estimate Setup → Print machines or Finishing machines and correct the time or speed. Apply Changes and Recalculate | The line shrinks to the expected value and the total drops accordingly |
The substrate line is much higher than expected | Read the substrate row in Estimate Setup → Substrates for sheet price, parent-sheet rule, and waste sheet count | Correct the sheet price, parent-sheet split, or waste count in the substrate record. Apply Changes and Recalculate | The substrate line falls to the expected value |
A finishing step row is missing entirely from the price breakdown | Open Issue analysis on the quote and check the category's step list — the step is not in the part's step list | Add the missing step to the part in Estimate Setup → Products. Apply Changes and Recalculate | The step appears on the price breakdown with realistic make-ready and run lines |
A rebate value at the bottom of the breakdown is larger than expected | Read the Rebate line caption — it names the percentage and whether it is the customer standing rebate or a quote override | If the override is wrong, adjust it through Manually adjust price → Set rebate %. If the standing percentage is wrong, fix it on the customer record in customer admin | The rebate value matches the expected percentage of the grossed-up total |
A pricing rule has spiked the total | Read the Pricing rules applied section under the breakdown total | If the rule fired in error, adjust the rule's conditions in Estimate Setup → Pricing rules or change its priority. Apply Changes and Recalculate | The rule no longer appears (or appears with the expected effect) and the total moves to match |
Two options on the quote have identical totals | Confirm the spec on each option — same press, same substrate, same finishing — explains the match | Change the spec on one option (substrate, quantity, or finishing) to differentiate, or accept the match as correct | The two options produce different totals once their inputs differ |
Example 1 — Stitched Book total is €40 above the MIS reference
Northgate Press re-quotes a 5,000-run Stitched Book on Silk 100gsm SRA1 that the MIS priced at €1,180 last quarter. GelatoConnect Estimator returns €1,220.
Diagnosis: Open Issue analysis and expand the print line. The make-ready time on the XL105 is reading 90 minutes; the operator log for that press shows 60 minutes is typical for a Stitched Book.
Fix: Open Estimate Setup → Print machines → XL105, set make-ready to 60 minutes, and Apply Changes.
Verify: Recalculate the quote. The make-ready line on the print step drops by half an hour at XL105's labour rate; the total falls to within €5 of the MIS reference.
Example 2 — Volume Customer rebate gross-up surprises the estimator
Northgate Press quotes a job for Volume Customer (10% standing rebate) at a pre-rebate base of €100.00. The estimator expects the quote total to read €100.00 with the rebate noted at the bottom; instead the total reads €111.11 with a Rebate (10%) — €11.11 line.
Diagnosis: Open the Rebate line. The caption reads "10% (customer default)" — the standing rebate on the customer record is grossing the price up so the customer pays the rebate-equivalent on top of base. This is the intended direction.
Fix: No fix required if the rebate gross-up is the intended commercial behaviour. If your shop expected the rebate to discount the price instead, open the customer record in customer admin and remove the standing rebate.
Verify: Recalculate the quote with the rebate removed. The total drops to €100.00 with no Rebate line on the breakdown.
What if this didn't fix it?
If the price lines all reflect the setup and pricing rules as configured but the total still does not match the expected number, the issue is in calculation logic rather than setup. Open a support request and include: the estimate ID, an export of the price breakdown, the Pricing rules applied list, and the MIS reference total you compared against. See Wrong route selected when the total looks wrong because the route is wrong, and Why a pricing rule did not apply when the issue is a rule that should have fired but did not.