GlossaryKind of term: Cost and economicsPrice date
What is a price date?
The price date is the date on which a price or index value applied; with it you can tell later which price was used and how old it was.
Which date that is depends on the source: the date of the purchase order, the supplier quote or the price list, or the period of an index used as a market reference. It is not the day someone entered the price, which may be weeks later. In contracts the term has a related meaning. In a price adjustment clause, the reference date is when an index value is taken: the base value at signing and, at each adjustment, the new value compared against that base.
How does the price date work in practice?
Material prices often change faster than the rest of an estimate. When a part comes back after a year, you want to know whether the drawing has stayed the same and which material price, from which date, was used. With a price date on every price you can lay an old and a new estimate side by side and see how much of the difference comes from material. How old a price may be before you ask again is a convention that depends on the material, how volatile its market is and the order value.
What is the price date often confused with?
The price date is not the validity of a quote: validity says until when the customer can accept the price, the price date says when the price itself applied. Nor is it the revision date of the drawing, which concerns geometry and requirements, not prices.
How do you see the price date in Blake?
In the materials catalogue each of your own purchase prices has a source and a date, and earlier prices stay on record; market references are dated and sourced as well. A repeat part is compared with its last priced estimate. More on materials.
Frequently asked questions
Which date counts as the price date for a purchase price?
The date the price applied at your supplier: the date of the purchase order, the quote or the price list. Not the day you entered it, which may be weeks later.
Do I have to ask for a new material price on a repeat order?
Not automatically. If the previous price is old or the market reference has clearly moved since, ask for a new price and record its date. On a small order in a stable market, that matters less.
What is the reference date in a price adjustment clause?
The date on which the agreed index value counts: at signing for the base value, at each adjustment for the new value compared with that base. The agreement with the customer or supplier sets which index and dates apply.