Use this article when an expected custom finishing or binding step does not appear on a quote, or appears but costs zero. After this you will have either confirmed the setup is wired correctly or made the change that puts the step back on the quote.
Symptom guide
Symptom | Check (where to look) | Fix (action) | Verify (what you will see) |
Add-on does not appear at all on the quote | Estimate Setup → Products → Conditional Steps. Find the step name, open the row, and read the Product categories list. | Add the quoted category to the assignment. Open Pending Changes and Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. The step appears in the main finishing options (Show By Default = Yes) or in the optional finishing list. |
Add-on visible on some products but not others | Estimate Setup → Products → Conditional Steps. Read which categories are assigned. | Add the missing category to the row. Apply Changes through Pending Changes. | Recalculate a quote on the previously-missing category. The step now appears in the finishing options. |
Add-on disappeared after a recent setup edit | Pending Changes panel in the sidebar. | Review the staged changes for a related price-model or conditional-step row. Choose Apply Changes. | The Pending Changes count returns to zero. Recalculate the quote — the step is live again. |
Add-on visible but cost is zero | Open the price-model row under Estimate Setup → Finishing Machines (or Binding Machines) → Custom (Price Model). Read every cost field. | Set the missing rates (Setup Cost, Cost Per Unit, Running Speed, Labor Rate, Machine Rate, or tier-table values, as required by the model). Apply through Pending Changes. | Recalculate the quote. The step row in See price breakdown shows a non-zero cost in the expected bucket. |
Add-on cost looks too low or too high | Open the price-model row. Confirm the Cost Basis matches how the operation actually scales. Open See price breakdown to see the bucket markup applied. | Correct the Cost Basis or rates; or move the step to a different model sub-menu if the formula is wrong for the operation. | The recalculated quote shows the step cost the shop expects, with the bucket markup applied as configured. |
Step exists in setup but never appears on any quote | Read the step's Tags. Read the product part's Tags or route tags. Confirm the conditional-step assignment lists the quoted category. | If tags do not match, add the matching tag on the product part. If the assignment is missing, add the category. Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. The step qualifies and shows in the finishing options. |
Per Unit Added step calculates zero variable cost | Open the quote and find the Add-On Quantity field for the step. Confirm a number is entered per copy. | Enter the count of items (e.g., grommets per poster). | The price-breakdown line for the step shows the variable cost = Cost Per Unit Added × count × quantity. |
Example 1 — A grommets step does not appear on a poster quote
Northgate Press quotes a 100-poster job on Canon Wide with the Banner category. The Grommets step does not appear in the finishing options. The shop has created a Model 5 Per Unit Added price model for grommets.
Diagnosis: open Estimate Setup → Products → Conditional Steps and find the Grommets row. The Product categories list contains Banner but the row was edited last week and the change is still in Pending Changes.
Fix: open Pending Changes and choose Apply Changes on the staged Grommets conditional-step row.
Verify: recalculate the quote. Grommets now appears in the optional finishing list (Show By Default = No). Adding it and entering 4 grommets per poster produces a Grommets line on the price breakdown.
Example 2 — A shrink-wrap step shows zero cost
Northgate Press' Stitched Book quote runs through Stitcher 1 with a custom Shrink Wrap step. The step appears on the quote but the breakdown line shows €0.
Diagnosis: open the Shrink Wrap price-model row under Estimate Setup → Finishing Machines → Custom (Price Model) → Model 1: Setup + Per Unit. The Cost Per Unit fields are all blank — the row was created with the name and category assignment but no rates.
Fix: enter the Setup Cost (Labor) of €15, Setup Cost (Machine) of €5, and Cost Per Unit (Material) of €0.10 against the existing Cost Basis = Per Copy. Save and Apply Changes.
Verify: recalculate the quote. The Shrink Wrap line in the price breakdown shows the expected cost: €20 setup + (1,000 × €0.10) = €120 before bucket markups.
What if this didn't fix it?
If the price-model row and the conditional-step assignment both look correct, the tags match, and the rates are populated but the step still does not appear or still costs zero on recalculation, the issue is in calculation logic or data sync rather than setup. Open a support request and include: the estimate ID, the printhouse identifier, the price-model name and model sub-menu, the product category, and the steps you already tried. See the pricing-setup troubleshooting article when the symptom is a pricing-rule problem rather than a step-missing problem.