How often should you release updates to your pricing tools?

I get this question a lot, often under the assumption that there is a single best practice. Instead, I’ll lay out the most common types of updates that are required for pricing tools, and how to think about the cadence in which those updates should be made, tested, and released.

Bugs and Errors

All but the simplest pricing tools will have bugs of some kind, regardless of platform (web, Excel, Google Sheets, etc.). Bugs and errors are most prevalent when releasing a new tool or implementing major updates and additions over time.

Bugs and errors should be fixed, tested, and released immediately.

Let users know, especially when releasing a new tool, that bugs should be expected and people need to escalate issues they see immediately. My mantra with clients is “see something, say something”. It’s a two-way street, however- if people promptly escalate issues with the pricing tool, but those are issues don’t get resolved just as promptly, users will be less apt to escalate issues down the road. Rapid response to bugs and errors is key to ensuring a properly functioning pricing tool.

What if we’re only a couple weeks away from a new release?

Fix the bug in the current and upcoming versions. Double-work is never fun, but in my experience all but the most harmless bugs are worth fixing immediately.

Minor Updates

By “minor updates” I include updates like changing a default quantity from X to Y, adding a new pricing unit or two, updating descriptions, changing a couple roles and resources, etc.

For small teams where a specific person is responsible for maintaining and updating the tool, these updates can be made and released as they arise. If a more significant set of updates is in progress, these updates should wait until that larger process is complete (see the next section), otherwise the tool administrator is having to make the updates multiple times and/or delaying the more important, larger update.

For larger teams and more complex tools, consider a monthly cadence for releasing minor updates. While any single update may have a small impact on pricing and functionality, the sum total of all such updates may be substantial enough to warrant a management review.

It’s not fun to tell someone that changing a 4 to a 5 will be done in a few weeks instead of tomorrow, but people will be more understanding when they know there is governance in place.

Major Updates

“Major updates” are those updates which are difficult to implement, introduce new service areas and/or geographies, significantly impact on revenue, etc.

Treat major updates as their own mini-projects, with timeframes for initiating, testing, getting approval for, and releasing those updates. “Testing” includes not only whether the updates work as intended, but what impact they have on pricing across a sampling of recent projects.

Freeze all other updates while these major updates are underway (with the exception of bugs and errors as noted above). This step ensures the major update can be made as quickly and efficiently as possible, without the complication of numerous other minor updates muddying the actual effect of- or delaying- the major updates.

These steps above force the business to prioritize the time, attention, and decision making required to implement major updates in a reasonable timeframe.

Trust and Reliability

For users and reviewing to trust the pricing tool and pricing process, they need to trust that bugs, errors, and helpful updates will be made in a reasonable, predictable timeframe. If bugs are only fixed on a monthly or, god forbid, quarterly basis, people have to work around them, get frustrated with them (and you), and may even just stop reporting them. I’m always amazed how long people will work around bugs without reporting or fixing them.

Similarly, if minor updates reported today (14-February) don’t get incorporated until the Q2 quarterly update in late June, users get frustrated and the reputation of the pricing tool- and team- with respect to quality, responsiveness, and discipline suffers immensely.

And when it comes to major updates, you have the people who think those updates shouldn’t take long at all, and those who are so intimidated by the prospect that they’d rather not do it at all, even if it means lost revenue. Making major updates their own mini-projects provides clear expectations and accountability around the process.

Following through on those expectations makes your pricing team- and tool- a trusted, reliable partner for your organization.

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I specialize in pricing and financial strategies for service and technology providers. Contact me today to discuss solutions for your organization.