How to use Apparound to configure complex b2b pricing models

If you sell B2B and your pricing makes your sales team sweat, you’re not alone. Between custom bundles, contract terms, and endless exceptions, things get messy fast. This guide is for anyone who’s tired of pricing chaos and wants to use Apparound to actually get control—without spending weeks wrestling with settings you don’t need.

Let’s cut to the chase. Apparound can help, but only if you focus on what matters. Here’s how to configure complex B2B pricing models that work in the real world.

1. Get Clear on What “Complex” Means for You

Before you touch any software, sketch out how your pricing really works. (Not how you wish it worked, or how marketing says it works.) Grab a whiteboard, or just scribble on paper:

  • Are you selling by user, by volume, by feature, or all three?
  • Do you have tiers? Custom deals? Bundles?
  • What’s non-negotiable? Where can reps discount?
  • Any “gotchas” like region-based pricing, contract lengths, or one-off deals for big customers?

Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate. If 90% of your deals follow three patterns, start there. You can always add exceptions later.

2. Map Your Pricing Model to Apparound’s Structure

Apparound uses a few main building blocks:

  • Catalog: Where your products, services, and “options” live.
  • Price Lists: Rules for how much things cost, and when.
  • Bundles/Kits: Ways to group things for custom offers.
  • Discounts & Approvals: Controls for who can lower prices and by how much.

Here’s how to think about mapping:

  • Products/services → Create as catalog items.
  • Add-ons/options → Use “configurator” options.
  • Different customer groups/regions → Set up multiple price lists, or use segmentation.
  • Bundled deals → Use Kits, but only if you really need them (see below).

What’s worth ignoring?
Don’t get sucked into every feature. A lot of “advanced” settings are there for edge cases you’ll never use—like multi-level nested bundles or conditional logic for 1% of deals. Start simple.

3. Set Up Your Catalog the Smart Way

Your catalog is the foundation. Get this right and everything else is easier.

Steps:

  1. List your real-world products and services.
  2. Use plain names. If your sales team calls it “Premium Support,” don’t name it “Extended Services Tier 2.”
  3. Group things logically.
  4. By product line, by region, whatever makes sense to your team.
  5. Add attributes only if they matter for pricing.
  6. Skip the urge to add every field—stick to what affects cost or what reps need to quote fast.
  7. Use SKUs if you have them.
  8. This saves headaches later, especially if you integrate with another system.

What doesn’t work?
If you try to mirror your ERP’s 1,000+ products with all their weird codes, you’ll make Apparound slow and confusing. Keep it focused on what reps actually sell.

4. Build Your Price Lists (and Don’t Go Overboard)

Here’s where most people get tripped up.

Key things to know:

  • One price list per customer type or region is usually enough.
  • If you sell internationally, separate price lists for different currencies makes sense.
  • Volume discounts? Use price breaks or discount rules, not a separate list for every scenario.

How to do it:

  1. Create a base price list.
  2. Start with your “rack rate” — the default price before any discounts.
  3. Add rules for common variations.
  4. E.g., “If customer is in EMEA, apply 10% uplift.”
  5. “If more than 100 units, price drops to $X per unit.”
  6. Test with real deals.
  7. Plug in a few sample quotes. If you can’t get the right price in three clicks, simplify.

What to ignore:
Don’t create a separate price list for every single customer! That’s what discounts and exceptions are for.

5. Set Up Bundles and Kits (Only If You Must)

Bundles sound nice—until you’re drowning in exceptions. Use them for:

  • Pre-defined packages (e.g., “Starter Pack”)
  • Must-have combos (e.g., “Hardware + 1-year support”)

But if every customer tweaks every bundle, skip the feature and let reps add items manually. Apparound’s configurator is flexible, but too many nested bundles slow things down.

6. Configure Discounts, Approvals, and Guardrails

This is where you keep your margins from leaking away.

How to do it:

  1. Set max discount levels for each user role.
  2. E.g., sales rep can discount 10%, manager can go to 20%.
  3. Require approvals for anything outside the rules.
  4. Apparound lets you set up approval workflows. Use them, but keep it tight—if everything needs approval, your deals will crawl.
  5. Add automatic guardrails.
  6. E.g., if discount hits 15%, auto-flag for finance review.

Honest take:
If you make approvals too strict, people will find workarounds (“I’ll just email the CFO”). Strike a balance: enough control to avoid disasters, but not so much that deals grind to a halt.

7. Customize the Quote Output (Don’t Overthink It)

Customers only care about two things: what they’re getting and what it costs. Your quote template should reflect that.

  • Use simple, clear language.
  • Show line items, quantities, and totals.
  • Hide all the internal codes and gobbledygook.
  • Add your logo and contact info, but don’t sweat design details.

Apparound lets you tweak templates, but don’t spend hours making it “perfect.” You can always improve it later.

8. Test With Real Scenarios (Not Just Edge Cases)

Before you roll this out, run through:

  • Your three most common deal types
  • One “weird” edge case (biggest deal you’ve done lately)
  • One small, standard deal

Watch for:

  • How many clicks it takes
  • Where reps get stuck or confused
  • If the final price matches what you’d quote manually

If something takes five steps, see if you can make it three. The goal is speed and reliability, not wizardry.

9. Train Sales the Right Way (and Get Feedback)

Don’t dump a 50-page manual on your team. Instead:

  • Show them how to build a quote from start to finish.
  • Explain only the features they’ll actually use.
  • Get their feedback—if they say something’s confusing, fix it.

You’ll hear about weird one-off deals. Resist the urge to “just add another rule” for every exception. Focus on the 95% that matters.

10. Iterate, Don’t Overhaul

No pricing model survives first contact with real customers. Expect to tweak:

  • Bundles that nobody uses
  • Discount rules that are too tight (or too loose)
  • Catalog items that were wishful thinking

Set a reminder to review your setup every quarter. Avoid big, dramatic overhauls—small, steady improvements work better.

Honest Pros & Cons of Apparound for Complex Pricing

What works well:

  • Clean, logical interface (once you know where things are)
  • Flexible enough for most B2B models
  • Approval workflows keep pricing under control

What doesn’t:

  • Can get messy if you overuse bundles or create too many price lists
  • Some features (like advanced CPQ logic) are overkill for most teams
  • Integrations can take work, especially if your data’s messy

What to ignore:

  • Every shiny feature demoed by sales—stick to what your team will actually use
  • Overly complex templates and custom logic
  • Trying to mirror your entire ERP system in Apparound

Keep It Simple and Iterate

Complex pricing doesn’t have to mean complicated software. Focus on your real-world needs, roll out the basics, and adjust as you go. Don’t try to build every exception into the tool from day one—you’ll just slow everyone down.

The best pricing models are the ones your sales team actually uses. Start simple, listen to feedback, and keep improving. That’s how you tame the chaos—and finally get pricing off your worry list.