🧩 Structure and setup of the Estimator

An Estimator consists of one or more price components, which together make up the overall calculation. You have complete flexibility in how you set it up:

🔹 As many price components as you need

Each Estimator can contain as many price components as your product or process requires – from printing and finishing to shipping or special costs.

🔹 Variable or fixed costs

For each component, you can specify whether it represents variable costs (for example, depending on quantity or format) or fixed costs (such as setup costs).

🔹 Descriptions for easier understanding

To keep the calculation transparent and easy to follow, you can add as many price components as you need and give each one its own description. This makes the logic or purpose behind each calculation clear – especially useful for complex models or later maintenance. At the same time, the formulas stay compact and easy to understand.

For each Estimator, you can select an existing variable as the quantity or print run variable. The Estimator can then automatically calculate and return prices for different quantities, such as 100 or 1,000 copies.

Every price component has the same four formula fields:

This division provides a clear structure: the calculation view displays each cost type separately, making the result easy to follow and fully transparent.

The individual items appear in the same order as the price components.

You can define individual variables for each price component and request their values in the input form. These can include decimal numbers, text inputs or yes/no values (Boolean).

Each variable also has a “technical name”: the path in the input JSON.

You can use this to set the values via the API.

You will find the API URL and your token under API access.

Each Estimator can be set to private or public. This setting affects the response you receive via the API:

You can also define helper variables based on previously calculated values.

For example, it can make sense to calculate the material requirement in square metres first, then use it in further calculations with surcharges or other factors.

To show a dropdown in the input form, link the variable to a lookup table. This lets you easily select predefined values – ideal for standard options or frequently used parameters.

Make sure the variable’s data type is set to Text.

Only then will a dropdown automatically appear with all available values from the linked lookup table.