Under what conditions should a buyer take advantage of a discount? Accounting and tax accounting of discounts. The procedure for applying a discount is the simplest

ON THE. Abramova General Director of TH "Alfa-Service"
Magazine “Planning and Economic Department”, No. 3 for 2011

New Year, February 23, March 8... During the holidays, the number of customers in stores increases. And so that everyone leaves the store happy and with a lot of purchases, you can unobtrusively push him towards these very purchases. The main thing is to correctly calculate the size and duration of discounts in order to cover momentary losses by increasing sales volume. The seller’s hesitation is always understandable: excessive extravagance, without leading to a noticeable increase in sales, guarantees a decrease in profits; excessive caution, especially during the holidays, will lead to an outflow of customers and a decrease in sales volumes. How can we find a middle ground that will allow us, sellers, to make a profit, not lose customers, and increase sales? Let's figure it out.

If you ask sellers for what purpose they provide discounts, you can hear different answers:

• Everyone gives discounts, and so do I. Buyers are not interested in goods if there are no discounts on them;
• if the buyer doubts whether to purchase a product or not, then the easiest and most effective way to persuade him is to provide a discount;
• market prices for the same categories of goods are approximately the same. To attract a buyer, you need to offer a discount.

First, let's look at the times when discounts are ineffective and don't live up to expectations. The first mistake of the seller is that he did not calculate the economic efficiency of the discount provided, did not estimate how much the turnover should increase in order for the discount to pay off and income not to fall. A small calculation (below we will see how to do it correctly) will show that a 5% discount requires an increase in turnover of at least 30%, and this is a significant increase.

You won't surprise anyone with discounts now. And sellers often do not take into account that many buyers believe that sellers first put the product up for sale at an inflated price, and two weeks later they put up a discount label and began selling the product at the “correct” price. To be honest, sellers often do this. Therefore, before buying an expensive durable product, such as a refrigerator or a car, buyers will visit several stores, search for information on the Internet, and only then make a choice in favor of one store or another. And the main element of choice for the majority will be the final price and quality of the product, warranty periods for the product, but no discount provided.

For your information. Human psychology is structured in such a way that the first noticeable and significant number for them is 15%. Whether their salary was increased, whether they were given a discount, or the price of gasoline was raised - most people will pay attention to this only if the size of the change exceeds 15%. Therefore, discounts of 5 or even 10% will not add noticeable attention to the product. And vice versa, if the buyer likes the product, he will buy it without a discount.

For any buyer, the value is the product itself, the purchase of the right to own it, and not its cost. Price targeting begins where there is a lack of information about the product itself, or where the market is oversaturated with goods in one category. After all, you can take a different path and not provide a discount, reducing the price of the product, but, for example, offer a bonus, a gift that increases the value of the product itself, or some related product. But these should not be old 3.5 floppy disks for a computer that no one buys, and other unnecessary stale goods. But free delivery of heavy goods will definitely interest the buyer. This will be a good counterbalance to discounts, which also really works.

Note! It often happens that the seller reduces his profit by offering discounts without first calculating their cost-effectiveness. But sometimes it is easier and more economical to resort to other effective methods.

So do you need discounts or not? And if necessary, in what cases will their use be most effective? What will help the seller make the right choice - common sense, pursuit of public opinion or accurate calculation?

So, the seller must understand that discounts are not a necessary evil, but a means of increasing income. The most effective in practice is not one or two discounts on a specific product, but a whole system of discounts, simple and understandable to both employees of the trading company and customers. Discounts burdened with additional conditions should not lead employees and customers into the jungle of these conditions. The use of a discount system also leads to a bright, accessible and understandable advertising campaign for everyone, from bright stands at the entrance and inside the store to announcements and commercials on television and radio.

By and large, the variety of discounts applied can be divided into the following groups.

• Temporary discounts. They are provided at a certain time interval (morning, night), during the season (summer, winter) or on holidays.
• Segment discounts. Provided to a specific circle of people or social group (housewives, students, pensioners).
• Hidden or inconsistent discounts. A product of marketers who are “not friendly with their heads.” A type of discount that the buyer learns about only when standing at the checkout and about to pay or receiving a terrible-looking kettle with a whistle as a “gift”. I just want to ask: why? Whether this discount is or not is no longer important.
• Saving from additional costs. Selling stale, unfashionable goods or end-of-season sales and eliminating the costs of storing and transporting goods.

Let's see what positive and negative aspects discounts have, why they are interesting for the seller and buyer, and learn how to calculate the economic efficiency of discounts.

Increasing discounts with increasing purchase volumes

This type of discount is used most often. The seller develops a scale of discount percentages, which increases as the volume of purchases increases over a certain period of time. For example, in a month you bought an iron and a coffee maker and received a 4% discount, and if you also want to buy a microwave oven, the discount will be 6% on all purchased goods. The simplest example to understand the principle. In most cases, such discount systems are created out of the blue, and even the seller himself does not undertake to determine their effectiveness.

Initially, we assume that the appointment of a progressive discount scale will primarily provoke an increase in sales, that is, an increase in volume. Based on the economic concept of profitability, the profit received at a discounted price and increased sales volume should be no less (and even greater) than the expected profit at prices without discounts and the existing level of sales.

So, let’s create a formula for calculating the progressive scale of discounts:

Profit is the current amount of commodity revenue minus variable costs (for an industrial enterprise) or the cost of purchasing goods (for a trading enterprise). If a trading company has its own production, then all variable costs must also be deducted from revenue.

The expected profit increase is the planned revenue for an increased volume of goods. The larger the enterprise, the more complex calculations for product items, prices, sales volumes and units of measurement will be. It should be taken into account that the discount scale is developed not for one product, but for an entire category of goods, the sales volume of which needs to be increased. The discount scale can be applied either specifically to each client, or it can be made uniform for all clients, without singling out any of them. Let's look at both examples of using a progressive discount scale.

Example 1

Our regular customer expects an additional discount. We will calculate whether this is beneficial for us and offer a specific buyer an additional condition for providing a discount.

This buyer already has a 3% discount and buys goods worth RUB 50,000 from us every month. in the amount of 50 pieces. That is, taking into account the discount, the commodity price of all goods purchased by him is 51,546 rubles. (50,000 / (1 – 3% / 100%)). The trade margin for this product is 20%. Purchase price or cost of production - 42,955 rubles. (51,546 / (1 + 20% / 100%)), and the profit is 7,045 rubles. (50,000 – 42,955).

How much must a buyer buy a product for to receive a 5% or 7% discount? We want to create a discount scale, so each discount percentage will have its own calculation conditions. Let's take into account that the seller wants to receive an additional profit of 200 rubles for a 5% discount, and 500 rubles for a 7% discount. The calculation is given in table. 1.

Table 1. Calculation of new sales volumes

Calculations were made using the above formula. For the first column, the discount is 0, the markup is the same for all columns and is equal to 20%. Expected profit growth for the first column = 0. Find the required sales volume at a discount equal to 0: (7045 – 0) / (1 – 1 / ((1 – 0 / 100) × (1 + 20 / 100)) = 42,269 rub.

The required sales volume is equal to the full price because there is no discount in the first column.

We remove the 20% premium from the full price and get the purchase price: 42,269 / (1 + 20 / 100) = 35,224 rubles.

We calculate the ratio of the required volume to the current one as a percentage: (42,269 – 50,000) / 50,000 × 100% = –15.5%.

By providing a 5% discount, we want to increase our profit by 200 rubles. for the entire volume of goods. Now the formula will take the following form: (7045 + 200) / (1 – 1 / ((1 – 5 / 100) × (1 + 20 / 100)) = 58,995 - the required sales volume at a discount.

The full price will be 62,100 rubles. (58,995 / (1 – 5 / 100)). Purchase price - 51,750 rubles. (62,100 / (1 + 20 /100)).

The ratio of the required volume to the current one is 18% ((58,995 – 50,000) / 50,000 × 100%).

All other calculations are performed in exactly the same way.

The buyer can count on a 5% discount if he increases purchases of goods by at least 18%. This will be our counter-offer. And if he wants a 7% discount, then purchases should almost double. If the buyer agrees to this, such cooperation will be mutually beneficial.

Example 2

Now let's consider the general case of calculating the discount scale. What is needed for this? First, let's determine the sales volume, so to speak, the lower limit of the purchase volume from which the discount begins. This stage of calculations is the most difficult, requiring a comprehensive analysis of the sales volumes of a trade organization or the sales policy of an industrial enterprise. The lowest limit can be considered the break-even point, that is, the provision of a discount at the very beginning of sales. Of course, in this case the profit margin will be less than expected. But many retail and industrial enterprises offer this type of discount scale in order to increase competitiveness and attract potential buyers.

It is also necessary to determine the expected amount of profit that the company would like to receive for the volume of goods sold. We are not talking about profitability, which is calculated in calculations per unit of production, but rather about profit for a certain amount of products sold. In this case, the expected profit cannot be less than profitability, but its upper limit is limited by the competitiveness of the product price and consumer demand for this product category.

To determine the size of the calculated discount steps, you can arm yourself with the practical experience already accumulated on this issue and not reinvent the wheel. But if the product is new or the circle of buyers is quite stable, then you can conduct a survey or a full-fledged sociological study and calculate a scale for reducing the price of the product to increase the interest of potential buyers, then calculate a scale for the volume of products sold (Table 2).

Table 2. Calculation of the discount scale

What can be concluded? The purpose of providing discounts is to increase sales, as in the calculations we are considering. The profit level will increase only if the sales volume for each discount exceeds the calculated one for each discount percentage. And if with wholesale regular customers it is quite simple to make such a calculation and determine the size of the discount, then in retail trade the indicators will always differ from the calculated ones. Ignoring the reasons for a decrease or increase in consumer demand can lead to the fact that actual indicators may differ significantly from the calculated ones, and it’s good if they are higher. This can threaten both a decrease in expected profit and the appearance of illiquid, stale goods. This may be why real discounts in stores do not exceed 3–5%: sellers trust their caution more and do not organize constant trade with large discounts.

Let's see how the volume of goods sold should increase if the discount percentage increases and the profit share remains unchanged (see figure).

Dynamics of the volume of goods sold

In life, everything can be calculated much more simply, without resorting to complex academic formulas. The above formula is not entirely convenient for practical calculations, since we depend on the volume of additional products sold on the expected profit. More often, you need to calculate the optimal discount percentage for a specific buyer or a single optimal percentage for all buyers, and the formula for calculating the optimal discount percentage will help in such calculations:

Max.% Discount = (Profit – (Profit × Min. Volume / Expected Volume) / Unit Price.

Example 3

Let's use the data from example 1. (7045 – 7045 × (62,100 – 42,269) / 62,100) / 1031 = 4.7%. The minimum additional volume of goods sold is determined by the difference between the expected sales volume and the existing one. The price of the product is known and established. Based on this calculation, the seller understands that with an increase in sales volume by 18%, the maximum possible discount will be 4.7%. To obtain additional profit, you need to either make the discount lower or increase sales volume even more.

Note! The seller, by providing a discount, pursues two goals: to gain additional profit or to get rid of an unfashionable product that is not interesting to customers. Permanent discounts lose their relevance over time and people stop paying attention to them.

Contract discount

Very interesting is contract discount. There are plenty of options for both the buyer and the seller. These are discounts for prepayment, when purchasing certain types of goods, and even when using various types of payments in foreign currency. Various types of discounts under a contract can be combined, always taking into account the interests of the buyer. If he is not interested in our proposals, there is no need to impose them on him. For example, transport services can be added to the discount system, which is widely used by companies that have their own transport. A discount is provided for a product if the buyer has ordered transport from the seller or manufacturer and transport for its delivery. The economic efficiency of discounts is calculated in the usual way.

Pre-holiday or seasonal discounts

These are the same discounts that we talked about at the beginning of the article. Such discounts require promotions. Before the holidays, every potential buyer will be looking for gifts for their family and friends. It is necessary to focus his attention on our store. This type of discount is mainly used for retail trade, as opposed to seasonal sales. The question arises: what to do with unsold goods, for example from the summer collection? What is cheaper - selling them at a significant discount or leaving them gathering dust on store shelves waiting for a bright future? In this case, the size of the discount and its effectiveness are determined by the cost of storing the goods in a warehouse and the low probability of selling the goods at the original price. Many buyers eagerly await seasonal sales, when prices sometimes drop by almost 80%. But there is another way for seasonal discounts - to sell goods at a discount before the onset of the main season, offering new products that are interesting to the buyer.

Supermarkets use similar discounts every day to reduce the load on the store in the evenings and weekends. They provide discounts on all purchases up to 12 o'clock on weekdays and at night, so that interested people come to the store to shop during non-peak hours. In this case, the size of discounts and their effectiveness depend on the amount of lost profits when consumer demand is not met during peak hours.

Retaining regular customers and attracting new ones

When customers are “accustomed” to buying goods in a certain store, it is necessary to develop a system of cumulative discounts in order to retain them, in which the discount percentage increases for a specific customer when a certain amount of the cost of all his purchases is reached. For example, for purchases worth more than 5,000 rubles. a 3% discount is provided, when crossing the barrier of 10,000 - 5%, 15,000 - 7%, etc. When a certain purchase price is reached, the maximum possible discount percentage is assigned, which is significant for the buyer, which will not allow him to change the discount store. The purchase amount and the discount will have to be taken into account using magnetic cards, the cost of manufacturing of which and the cost of reading devices will also have to be taken into account when calculating the discount scale. Some supermarkets offer a discount or gift when purchasing goods for a certain amount at the same time, which may also be of interest to the buyer.

Note! Many supermarkets use a very interesting method to attract new customers and retain regular ones. Indicator products are selected - milk, bread, cereals, which are most often purchased by each person, and the price of these products is reduced quite noticeably. At the same time, prices for other goods in the same category that have more beautiful packaging or a longer shelf life, as well as for goods purchased for gifts or pleasure, may be inflated.

Products with reduced prices should be popular, there should be few of them (no more than three to five from each category), but they should be in high demand every day. Then, in order to buy cheap bread and milk, the buyer will come to this particular store, while simultaneously purchasing other products at prices without discounts or even inflated prices, which compensates for discounts on popular goods.

Network discounts

A separate group includes discounts intended for network distributors, distributors, dealers and other network marketing sellers. Products are sold to distributors at a discount, approximately equal to the cost of finding a potential buyer and subsequent sale of the product. The size of such discounts can vary from 15 to 100% depending on the implementation of the sales plan.

The sale of goods through catalogs in online stores is gaining momentum, as well as a new online service - collective purchasing. The meaning of the idea is that lots with certain goods and services are put up on the site, including trips to a restaurant or fitness club. The discount increases when other clients are attracted and is distributed equally among all clients at the time of sale. The more buyers bought a product or service, the cheaper it costs them. The discount scale is simple and clear; any user can see how many more customers are needed for this or that discount to apply. In this case, the buyer himself is interested in attracting new customers and performs the functions of free advertising. On such sites you can find offers with a 90% discount, valid for a short time only in order to attract potential buyers of goods or services.

The benefits of such discounts are obvious: you can buy a product or service that you couldn’t afford at full price, new types of services can be “tasted” for a small fee, a purchased coupon can be used as a gift, you can get together with a large group, agree and redeem coupons at a big discount for a celebration in an expensive restaurant or nightclub. You can make money by attracting customers: many sites pay a certain amount or give gifts for attracting customers.

To sell a lot of goods and at a good profit, you don’t have to be the smartest or the most experienced. Most likely, on the contrary, you need to forget about what you were once taught. For example, it is necessary to forever forget the rule of American businessmen that the buyer can be manipulated. Forget also that salesman is a difficult and thankless profession, and forbid your hired salespeople to remember this too.

If you want to have a high sales volume, you don't need to start with discounts or bonuses. There is something very cheap in monetary terms and expensive for any person - in our case, the buyer. Smile, polite and even attitude, friendly communication. Even if the prices in your store are higher than those of your neighbors, and there will be no discounts, there will always be an influx of customers.

Conversely, you can hang your store with discount tags and the word “sale,” but gloomy and even rude salespeople, long lines, ignoring customers, or overly intrusive staff will lead to the fact that all correctly made cost-effectiveness calculations will be shattered by the soviet mentality of your store employees and the buyer will swear even to cross the threshold. Sometimes it is the friendliness of the seller that becomes the main incentive for shopping in this store.

For your information. Now the so-called trust marketing is gaining momentum. Its meaning is that by “taming” the buyer to your store, showing him increased attention, you win his heart and affection, and the buyer is ready to come to your store again and again for a kind word and your attention.

Let's say we are going to establish a trusting relationship with the buyer in our store. Where to begin? You offer a potential buyer some kind of chip with the address, phone number and email address (if any) of your store (a magazine with interesting articles, a chocolate bar, a small bottle of shampoo) in exchange for the phone number or email address of the future buyer. Few people will refuse such a little thing. Next, you can call or write to the future buyer and offer a free service or product at a good discount. The main thing is that this call/letter corresponds to the interests of the client, that is, at the moment of recording the address and name, you should find out what the future buyer was interested in and offer him only what he really needs. As a result, the buyer himself matures into the need to purchase goods from you and will maintain a pleasant and long-term relationship with your store. How to calculate the economic efficiency of such a step? Almost impossible, but the result will be worth the effort.

The listed marketing moves also have all the signs of discounts: the seller reduces the price of the product. Another interesting example is the use of discounts based on customer demand segments. For example, a pensioner will always go to buy goods in a store that offers a discount for pensioners. And, having seen an advertisement about such discounts, he will remember it and take advantage of it, because he has a lot of time, but little money, and he agrees to go where the product will cost him less. Discounts in stores and cinemas in the morning and afternoon hours of working days also have their own contingent of buyers of goods and services - pensioners and unemployed people. Market segmentation also includes dividing stores into expensive, medium and cheap. Market segmentation has simply permeated our entire lives.

Summary

Sales psychology is a whole science that has developed along with humanity throughout its history. Despite all the calculations of economic efficiency, the end result may not be what was expected if you do not take into account the nuances of human psychology. The easiest way is to trade food and basic necessities. However, there are convenience stores in almost every yard, and their profit margin is limited by the number of residents living in the area. Such stores do not need to organize any sales (unless out of a desire to lure customers from a neighboring store). Marketing moves and discounts are of interest primarily to large stores and chains, and the cost of a mistake when choosing a marketing policy can be significant.

We must also not forget that in order to effectively use the discount system, in addition to advertising, charm and goodwill of sellers, a system of motivation for employees is also needed. It is necessary to develop a clear and understandable system of bonus payments, when a successful seller is rewarded not only for the volume and quantity of goods sold, but also for the absence of complaints about his work, attracting new customers, etc.

Every seller must know that when offering a discount of 20% or more, he must prepare supporting documents to explain his actions: issue an appropriate order or order for the enterprise on the appointment of a discount and the reasons for its appointment, attaching the necessary economic calculations, or indicate the reasons for reducing discounts in the contract with the buyer. Such actions are necessary to justify and explain one’s actions to the tax authorities, since, according to Art. 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a short-term decrease or increase in the price of a product by more than 20% must be checked by tax authorities for the legality of application in order to protect the market from dumping or shortages.

The seller needs to be able to correctly calculate the cost-effectiveness of the discounts provided in order to obtain the maximum possible profit while building trust and interest on the part of buyers. The discount system should be beneficial to both the seller and the buyer. Only in this case is it possible to strengthen and develop long-term relationships to mutual satisfaction.

In pursuit of additional profit, individual entrepreneurs use various means. This includes providing discounts, using savings programs, advertising bonuses, and providing customers with gift certificates. It should be taken into account that such shares may entail tax risks. About how to avoid them, as well as about the features of applying for discounts, discounts, savings programs, etc. read the article.

Publication

Many individual entrepreneurs often face the question of increasing the number of customers for goods and services, expanding the scope of services, and, consequently, generating additional income. After all, the main task of any business is to increase profitability and make a profit. In pursuit of additional profit, individual entrepreneurs use various means. This includes providing discounts, using savings programs, advertising bonuses, and providing customers with gift certificates.

The main external difference that you can immediately pay attention to is the purpose of these means of attracting customers. Discounts actually reduce the base, that is, market, price depending on various factors, for example, the quantity of goods or services purchased by a specific counterparty. Also, discounts may be provided depending on seasonal and other fluctuations in consumer demand, reduction in product quality, and the sale of experimental models.

In practice, discounts can be used as an advertising campaign in conjunction with distributing catalogs, holding tastings, etc. Discount cards are considered as an additional mechanism for attracting visitors and represent a document by which the buyer is invited to order a service a second time at a more favorable price. The main difference between savings cards and discount cards is that they accumulate points or information about purchased goods and services. Gift cards and certificates are convenient for those who want to give a gift to a loved one, but do not know what to give. They can also be given to regular customers in order to attract friends and acquaintances, and therefore, to expand the circle of service.

So, let’s figure out what the main dangers for an individual entrepreneur lie and what mechanisms are best to use.

Providing discounts and bonuses

According to civil law, the customer pays for goods, work and services in the manner prescribed by the contract. Consequently, the parties can independently set the price of services or the procedure for determining it. In particular, the customer and the contractor have the right to provide for cases of price reduction depending on certain circumstances (discount).

At the same time, the difference between discounts and bonuses and other mechanisms for attracting customers is not clearly defined in the legislation. However, the Federal Tax Service of Russia in Letter dated 04/01/2010 N 3-0-06/63 recognizes that an agreement for the sale of goods (works, services) may provide for an incentive system by providing:

a discount that determines the size of a possible reduction in the base price of the product specified in the contract;

bonus as an additional reward (premium) provided by the seller to the buyer for fulfilling the terms of the transaction, for example, for purchasing a certain quantity and (or) range of goods.

A discount most often represents a change in the previously stated price that occurred after the conclusion of the contract, or the agreement of a new contract price. The provision of discounts can be included in advance by an individual entrepreneur in the price list based on the quantity of goods, works, and services purchased. Sometimes discounts can be perceived by others as a promotion, for example, when we see advertisements “if you buy two, get a third item as a gift.”

From the point of view of tax legislation, discounts are usually divided into discounts with a revision of the price of the goods reflected in the sales contract, and discounts without changing the price of a unit of goods through the payment of premiums 1 . A discount without changing the price of goods (work, services) can be provided by paying a premium (bonus), reviewing the debt for services rendered, or providing additional services for a set price. Providing a discount without changing the price is also allowed by the financial department in Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 29, 2010 N 03-07-11/158.

In addition, the law does not prohibit the provision of discounts both before the delivery of goods and services, and after the provision of services, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions. Such discounts can be either with a change in the price of services provided, or without a change in the quality of the reward - a bonus.

Limitations and risks in providing discounts and bonuses

1. Discounts and bonuses must be documented. An agreement stipulating the conditions for providing discounts or bonuses, calculation, calculation of discounts provided, documents confirming the fulfillment of the conditions under the agreement (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 24, 2005 N 03-03-01-04/1/24) can serve as supporting documents.

2. The discount should not be provided for more than 20% of the total established price. If the discount exceeds 20%, the tax authorities can check on what basis the deviation from the market price exceeds the limit in accordance with Art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, according to paragraph 3 of Art. 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, an individual entrepreneur must motivate the use of discounts by seasonal and other fluctuations in consumer demand for goods (work, services); loss of quality or other consumer properties of goods; expiration (approximation of the expiration date) of the shelf life or sale of goods; marketing policy, including when promoting new products that have no analogues to markets, as well as when promoting goods (works, services) to new markets; implementation of experimental models and samples of goods in order to familiarize consumers with them.

3. In order to avoid claims from buyers of goods, works, and services, the mechanism for establishing discounts and bonuses must be as transparent as possible. Otherwise, buyers may make claims. Therefore, it is recommended to develop a single document that all potential buyers can use and place it on the website, in the sales area and other publicly accessible places.

4. Individual entrepreneurs using the simplified taxation system may encounter the problem of accounting for discounts and bonuses for tax purposes. In Letter dated May 25, 2010 N 03-11-06/2/80, the Russian Ministry of Finance indicated that taxpayers using a simplified taxation system with the object of taxation in the form of income do not have the right to take into account expenses when determining the object of taxation. Thus, if discounts are factored into the price, that is, before the goods are provided, revenue is generated based on the discounted price. But if an individual entrepreneur decides to provide the buyer of a service with a bonus after purchasing it, then the size of the bonus will not reduce income. If an individual entrepreneur applies the taxation object “income minus expenses,” then he must pay attention to the fact that the discount is not designated as an expense (Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, it is better to take into account a bonus or discount in the price of the work or services provided, reducing their cost until the moment of implementation.

5. Don’t forget to reflect the discount in the primary documents. A unified form of the primary document for registering the provision of discounts is not provided, therefore the taxpayer has the right to develop and use it to reflect transactions in accounting. For example, you can reflect in an invoice or a certificate of completion that goods or services are provided at a discount. Cumulative bonuses that the buyer receives over a period of time (month, quarter, year) must also be reflected in the final document, which will avoid disputes with the counterparty and the tax office. It is recommended to use uniform documents.

6. If the cost of goods or services changes after their sale, it is necessary to make corrections to the Book of Income and Expenses and recalculate the tax base. If errors (distortions) are identified in the calculation of the tax base for the previous tax period, adjustments to income and expenses for tax purposes and, accordingly, recalculation of tax liabilities can be made in an updated tax return for the tax paid by individual entrepreneurs in connection with the use of the simplified system.

Pay attention to paragraph 1 of Art. 54 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as currently in force, according to which the taxpayer has the right to recalculate the tax base and the amount of tax for the tax (reporting) period in which errors (distortions) relating to past tax (reporting) periods are identified, also in those cases when mistakes (distortions) have led to excessive payment of tax. If the price of a product has changed after sale, an additional argument for accounting in the current period may be that during the period of sale the tax base was formed correctly based on the application of the sale price of the product without taking into account the discount.

Discount programs and discount cards

An individual entrepreneur can provide entire discount programs or issue discount cards.

The difference between discount programs is that the provision of such a program depends mainly on the duration of the contract. For example, an individual entrepreneur provides services for conducting recreational physical education classes, accounting services for organizations, or other types of services. As a measure to attract customers, he can provide a discount program depending on the timing of the provision of services (quarter, six months, year).

Unlike discount programs, a discount card provides discounts on subsequent purchases of services and goods. Discount cards put into circulation can be either bearer or individual, simple or cumulative. Simple plastic cards may be put into circulation, which indicate what discount and what preferences a regular customer can count on. The difference between individual cards and simple cards is that a simple card can be used by any person - the card bearer; individual cards indicate the client’s data (passport information, etc.). The main difference between savings cards is that they are awarded points that allow you to receive a discount or even a certain product or service as a gift.

Accordingly, when providing discount programs to clients, an individual entrepreneur most often incurs costs for the production of plastic discount cards.

Limitations and risks in providing a discount

1. As in the case of discounts and bonuses, individual entrepreneurs must document the provision of the discount, as well as formalize the provision of discount programs with primary documents. In addition, individual entrepreneurs must take into account Art. 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and not provide a discount of more than 20% or prepare a reasoned justification for the discount on the basis of clause 3 of Art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

2. One of the main features is that, unlike discounts, providing a discount involves in most cases the production of discount cards. The Ministry of Finance does not provide specific explanations regarding the recognition of expenses for the production of discount cards. At the same time, the Department’s Letter dated February 13, 2007 N 03-03-06/1/84 states that the use of discount cards is associated with the sale of goods to customers who are their owners at prices taking into account discounts and is aimed at increasing product sales and generating income , and therefore taken into account for tax purposes.

3. A controversial situation is when discount cards are distributed along with leaflets, brochures giving the right to purchase goods at a discount, for example, at an exhibition or as part of another advertising campaign. Only the costs of producing advertising brochures and catalogs can definitely be classified as non-standardized expenses. They are expressly indicated in paragraph. 4 p. 4 art. 264 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, such expenses may be associated not only with participation in an exhibition (fair), but also are intended for holding an auction 2. Therefore, there is a possibility that the tax authorities will not recognize the costs of producing other types of advertising products as non-standardized, since they are not mentioned in paragraph. 4 p. 4 art. 264 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In this regard, the accompanying primary documents should indicate that the discount cards were produced and distributed not as part of an advertising campaign, but as current expenses.

4. If an entrepreneur wants to enter individual cards indicating passport data, surname, initials, date of birth and thus maintain a client database, then in order to avoid disputes, it is necessary to obtain permission from the client to use his personal data. This consent can be stated in the applicant-client’s questionnaire or in the agreement with the client on the provision of a discount program. This is a feature of individual discount programs; however, with such a discount program, the cardholder can receive additional bonuses for birthdays and holidays. But if the owner no longer wants to use the card, he will not be able to transfer it to a friend or relative, which narrows the circle of card users. When using discount cards, it is better to use one of two directions (individual or bearer), which will avoid confusion.

5. An individual entrepreneur can introduce his own discount program by ordering discount cards from a specialized organization. Specific conditions for their provision in the case of issuing cards yourself must be written down in a local document. Another option for providing discount programs is to join an existing discount program that covers a large number of enterprises and clients. As part of the discount system, an agreement is concluded between several organizations to use a single discount card, which provides rights to a discount. In this case, the individual entrepreneur must contact the organizer of the discount system. Then the terms of cooperation, the cost of the system’s services and the conditions for attracting clients will not be determined by the individual entrepreneur himself.

6. Discount cards can be issued for a fee or free of charge, the latter is more common in practice. In the first case, the costs of producing discount cards can be considered economically justified, since they are aimed at generating income when issuing cards to customers on reimbursable terms. In this case, when issuing a discount card, an individual entrepreneur must issue a check or other supporting document. However, these cards will be less in demand.

Savings programs

Savings programs can be used both as part of discount programs and as part of discount programs. As part of the savings program, points may be awarded for purchases or customer purchase amounts, which must be reflected in the electronic savings system. This can be either a specialized point tracking program or point tracking in standard office applications, for example MS Word, MS Excel, which is the simplest option. Both discounts and specific gifts can be used as incentives in the savings system.

Within the framework of savings cards, cards of various levels can be provided. For example, a savings card will be issued to all guests upon their first visit. It is exchanged for a “silver card”, which provides a 5% discount if the total amount of bills for the year reaches a certain amount or when paying a one-time bill, for example, for two persons, the amount is over 5,000 rubles. The “Gold Card” provides ten percent discounts when accumulating on the card an amount exceeding twice the amount on the “silver card” in a year, or for a one-time purchase in the amount of 50,000 rubles.

Limitations and risks in organizing savings programs

1. Unlike one-time discounts and discount cards, the savings program requires the maintenance of more detailed documentation confirming the provision of a savings discount or gift to a specific client, otherwise problems may arise with the inspection authorities.

2. The legislation provides for the requirement to conclude contracts in writing if the gift is made in the amount of 5 minimum wages (500 rubles) in accordance with clause 2 of Art. 574 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. But this only applies to gifts to legal entities. If the gift is made to an individual or individual entrepreneur, then an agreement is not needed. Please note: we are talking about legal entities; this provision does not affect individual entrepreneurs. According to Art. 5 of the Federal Law of June 19, 2000 N 82-FZ, from January 1, 2001, the minimum wage is 100 rubles.

3. Of course, no income arises from donation. This means that the tax base does not increase. Usually it cannot be reduced either, since, for example, with the simplified tax system it is customary to take into account only the expenses specified in paragraph 1 of Art. 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, and the cost of gifts is not included among them. Therefore, it is better to use a discount savings program instead of gifts.

4. If business partners or clients are given items with branded logos, the costs of purchase (manufacturing) can be reflected as advertising expenses (clause 20, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Advertising is information about an organization or entrepreneur, type of activity, goods, ideas, distributed in any form by any means among an indefinite number of people to maintain interest in the advertised object (Clause 1, Article 3 of the Federal Law of March 13, 2006 N 38-FZ ). Small things (figurines, dishes, toys, stationery) with a company logo meet all the criteria and can be considered advertising. However, there are tax risks. The fact is that advertising is not targeted at anyone in particular, so when creating a specific list of individual card holders, the tax authorities may consider this a violation.

Opinion. Irina Shtukmaster, senior lawyer at Pepelyaev Group:
Courts sometimes note that if any product, even with a taxpayer’s logo, is distributed among a certain circle of people (employees, clients), then such products are not advertising. In particular, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District came to this conclusion in Resolution dated 01.03.2007, 09.03.2007 N KA-A40/1026-07. However, expenses for such purposes can be considered expenses for product promotion; accordingly, they can be taken into account as expenses on the basis of paragraphs. 49 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation without taking into account the standard.

But if gifts are given to any bearer - the holder of a savings card, because... These are bearer cards and can be considered promotional expenses.

Opinions. Irina Shtukmaster, senior lawyer at Pepelyaev Group:
In paragraph 4 of Art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides only an approximate list of expenses that are considered as advertising. In other words, the list of advertising expenses is open. Such expenses may include any costs associated with carrying out events that fall under the definition of advertising. In particular, if in a cafe, items (napkins, toothpicks) with cafe logos are laid out on the tables, then the costs of producing such items can be classified as advertising expenses, since they fully satisfy the criteria for advertising expenses. In this case, the product is a means of advertising, with the help of which visitors are formed to maintain interest in the services of the cafe; such products contain visual information about the object of advertising, promote recognition of the company (cafe) and at the same time are directed to an indefinite circle of people. At the same time, since such expenses are not mentioned in Art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as non-standardized (such expenses do not relate to outdoor advertising in terms of Law N 38-FZ “On Advertising”), for tax purposes they will be recognized in an amount not exceeding 1% of revenue.

Oksana Gusalova, accountant at GSL Law & Consulting:
Advertising is information disseminated in any way in any form and using any means, addressed to an indefinite circle of people and aimed at attracting attention to the object of advertising, creating or maintaining interest in it and promoting it on the market (Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law " About advertising"). If, for example, in a cafe, napkins or toothpicks with the logo of this cafe are laid out, then in this case the napkins and toothpicks are not carriers of advertising information and are used by a certain circle of people (cafe visitors).
Costs associated with the production of napkins and toothpicks with the cafe logo, under the general regime, are included in other costs associated with sales (clause 49, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
When applying the simplified tax system, these expenses can be taken into account as part of material expenses (clause 5, paragraph 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The composition of material costs is determined by Art. 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (clause 2 of Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Based on paragraphs. 6 clause 1 art. 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, material expenses, in particular, include the taxpayer’s costs for the acquisition of works and services of a production nature, performed by third-party organizations or individual entrepreneurs, as well as for the performance of these works (provision of services) by the structural divisions of the taxpayer. Works (services) of a production nature include the performance of individual operations for the production (manufacturing) of products, performance of work, provision of services, processing of raw materials (materials), monitoring compliance with established technological processes, maintenance of fixed assets and other similar work.
Thus, an individual entrepreneur using a simplified taxation system has the right to take into account the costs associated with the production of napkins and toothpicks with the cafe logo when determining the tax base for the single tax, since these costs are directly related to the business activities carried out by him.

Gift certificates

Gift certificates can be used by an individual entrepreneur to increase, for example, sales during the holidays, or can be sold to men to purchase gifts for women. Certificates may also be offered to corporate clients. They can be used by restaurants, shops, beauty salons, etc.

Limitations and risks in providing gift certificates

1. The current civil legislation does not define the concept of “gift certificate”, so it is difficult to establish what type of agreement must be concluded with the client when issuing the certificate. Logically, the implementation of a certificate can be called a purchase and sale. However, there are examples of arbitration practice indicating that judges recognize sales contracts with an inconsistent list of goods as not concluded 3 . In addition, in the Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated 08/04/2009 N 17-15/080428, the capital’s tax authorities directly stated that a gift certificate is not a product. It gives the bearer the right to purchase goods for the amount specified therein. The tax authorities conclude that “the amount received by the organization (as a result of the sale of a gift certificate) is an advance payment towards the retail sale of goods (provision of services, performance of work) that will be purchased (provided, performed) in the future.”

Opinion. Oksana Gusalova, accountant at GSL Law & Consulting:
A gift certificate certifies the right of its holder to purchase goods (work or services) from the seller in an amount equal to the nominal value of this certificate.
Costs for the production of gift cards under the general regime are included in other expenses associated with the sale of goods (clause 49, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
The list of expenses for the simplified tax system (clause 1 of article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) does not directly indicate the costs associated with the production of gift certificates, therefore some taxpayers take these expenses into account as part of material expenses (clause 5 of clause 1 of article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, according to the tax authorities, these expenses cannot reduce the tax base for the single tax. Therefore, in order to avoid disputes during the audit, it is better not to take them into account when calculating the single tax.

Also, when selling certificates, a contract for the provision of paid services cannot be used, since under a contract for the provision of services for a fee, the contractor undertakes, on the instructions of the customer, to provide services, that is, to perform certain actions or carry out specific actions, and the customer undertakes to pay for these services (Article 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In practice, a gift certificate replaces cash when paying for goods and services.

Opinion. Irina Shtukmaster, senior lawyer at Pepelyaev Group:
Indeed, relations for the purchase and sale of goods using gift certificates represent a specific set of relations that are not directly regulated by civil law. In practice, several points of view are expressed regarding the qualification of transactions for the transfer of funds for the acquisition of a certificate and its further redemption. However, each of the possible approaches has its drawbacks.
The first approach assumes that the buyer acquires property rights to purchase, certified by a certificate. The second provides that the certificate is transferred as goods. But the certificate itself has no consumer value; it only serves as confirmation of the transfer of funds, and therefore cannot be considered a product. The third approach to defining the relationship for the “sale” of gift certificates as an advance payment towards the upcoming purchase of goods is also not without drawbacks, because clause 1 art. 487 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation assumes that the advance payment is paid within the framework of the concluded sale and purchase agreement. In turn, according to paragraph 3 of Art. 455 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the name and quantity of goods must be specified in the sales contract. Thus, since the goods to be transferred in exchange for the certificate are not initially specified, formally such a certificate cannot be considered as an advance payment. But, despite the existing shortcomings, this approach is most consistent with the nature of the relationship and is used in practice.
The costs of producing (purchasing) gift certificates, in our opinion, can be taken into account for tax purposes as advertising expenses when meeting the general requirements of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Such expenses should be recognized as advertising expenses in the period when the corresponding certificates were transferred to customers. The basis for recognizing expenses may be reports on the number of transferred certificates compiled during the promotion within which such certificates are transferred. There is a risk that the tax authority does not recognize as economically justifiable the cost of producing certificates that were not used by buyers. However, this approach of the tax authorities can be successfully challenged, since Art. Art. 264, 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation do not provide for any restrictions on the recognition of expenses depending on the characteristics of promotions. In other words, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not make the possibility of recognizing advertising expenses dependent on the further use of certificates transferred to buyers. In addition, entrepreneurs can refer to the position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, expressed in Determination No. 320-O-P dated 06/04/2007, which notes that in order to recognize costs as economically justified, it is first necessary to take into account the initial intentions of the business entity to obtain an economic effect, but not concrete results.

2. When introducing gift certificates, it is necessary to develop a local act in which it is necessary to determine the denomination, validity period and procedure for issuing gift certificates, and take into account the costs of producing certificates.

3. An individual entrepreneur may have problems with taxation. Entrepreneurs who use the simplified method and, therefore, recognize income on a cash basis, must immediately include the amounts received from the sale of gift certificates as part of their income. When a customer repurchases a certificate, there is no need to recognize revenue.

4. As a rule, there are no refunds for sold certificates. If no one uses it before the gift certificate expires, the certificate “burns out.” Consequently, if the certificate has expired, then the individual entrepreneur will generate income, and the moment the income is generated is its sale.

5. When selling a gift certificate, an individual entrepreneur must provide the client with a receipt. According to the Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated 08/04/2009 N 17-15/080428, the amount received by the organization when selling a gift certificate is an advance payment towards the retail sale of goods (provision of services, performance of work) that will be purchased (provided, performed) ) in future. At the same time, the Federal Law of May 22, 2003 N 54-FZ “On the use of cash register equipment when making cash payments and (or) settlements using payment cards” does not exempt organizations and individual entrepreneurs from the use of cash registers when making cash payments in the event payment for goods (work, services) before they are provided to the buyer. Therefore, when providing a gift certificate, an individual entrepreneur must sell it at the cash register.

6. If the purchase amount is higher than the cost of the certificate, then the buyer must pay additional money to the cash register or deposit it into the bank account. Accordingly, the individual entrepreneur must post these amounts as income. If the cost of the goods chosen by the buyer or the services provided to him is lower than the nominal value of the certificate, and the resulting difference according to the rules for the circulation of certificates is not returned ("burns"), revenue is usually recognized based on the actual selling price of goods and services, and the difference must be included in income individual entrepreneur as a gratuitously received amount.

In conclusion, I would like to note that all the methods discussed make it possible to increase sales of goods, works and services provided by individual entrepreneurs. At the same time, it is necessary to remember the nuances, legal and tax risks. Summarizing all the conclusions, pay attention to the following:

develop an internal document on the provision of discounts, discounts, gift certificates, which will be available to clients;

determine whether you will have costs for the production of cards, leaflets, discount flyers, etc., as well as how you will recognize the costs and produce these documents;

enter into an agreement with the client and provide him with primary documents, which can later be presented to the inspectors;

reflect income by separately calculating the increase in profit when using discounts, bonuses, etc., which may serve as justification for the tax authorities. It must be remembered that discounts and bonuses should not be more than 20% of the established price, otherwise it is necessary to prepare documents indicating the legality of the price reduction (seasonal factors, expiration of the shelf life, etc.).

1 Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated November 14, 2006 N 20-12/100238
2 Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 05/07/2009 N 03-11-06/2/89.
3 For example, Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the East Siberian District dated March 13, 2006 N A74-3508/04-Ф02-898/06-С2.

Here is another question on which I see confusion both in the heads and in the price lists of companies.
How will this mess smooth out? I will give a non-fictional dialogue. I think it’s very recognizable, isn’t it?

Dialogue between Selsa and Nach. sales department:

Sereg, TransTech is asking for a discount... an additional one.
- And what? How much does he have?
- minus 7%
- Wow! how does he take it and how does he pay?
- He takes it normally, there’s a price for 200 thousand here.
- on credit?
- Well, yes, that’s how he takes it. We’ll give it, he says, he’ll take more of a discount.
- but he pays, how does he pay?
- well, yesterday I paid 100
- How much do you owe?
- 400, but he says he will pay in a week.
- oh... well, give him another 2%... no, give him 1%

In an effort to show professionalism, and realizing the pointlessness of the dialogue, many of us will immediately rush to comment: it is not clear what 1% is, for what, what does it mean to “take more”? And we will be right with you, of course. Let's figure out what we need to “give” for and how much to “give.”

Classification of discounts

The discount can be one of three types:

• marketing discount;
• sales discounts;
• logistics discounts.

Marketing discounts include direct discounts unrelated with current and well-functioning sales logistics: goods in exchange for money. These discounts affect development prospects, stimulate partner relationships (CRM), and structure the sales channel.

Sales discounts include discounts directly related to current transactions, to ensure a given profitability of sales and the current planned inventory turnover for concluded (concluded) transactions.

Logistics discounts include discounts for optimizing cash and commodity flows that affect the current financial performance of the company.

Marketing discounts

Hidden promotional discount

Functional discount (discount for distribution)

The manufacturer provides various functional discounts to players in the trading channel who provide it with different types of services (logistics, services for developing a sales network, building a dealer network). Functional discount in the marketer's dictionary

Dealer discount

Provided by the manufacturer to its permanent representatives or sales intermediaries (for example: an affiliate program for servicing customers in a chain of stores: promotions, use of promotional rooms, merchandising, etc. is stimulated by a dealer discount).

Discounts taking into account intercultural communications

In practical activities, marketing faces a very important circumstance, which should be attributed to the so-called cultural differences, which is also the subject of marketing research.
In Central Asian, Arab, some Balkan countries and individual Transcaucasian republics, during trade negotiations it is considered a matter of honor to achieve a large discount on the offer price. And although this circumstance is associated with a complex of Eastern mentality, many importers will not sign an agreement that does not contain a provision on discounts generally exceeding 20 - 30% of the proposed price. Since this fact is known in the marketing and trading environment, some companies consider it necessary to first artificially inflate prices by the expected percentage, and then present it with a discount specified in the contract.

Service discounts

A significant part of industrial products requires maintenance during operation. A service discount is preferred to creating and maintaining an effective service network, which requires significant investment and effort. This approach to solving the problem would be acceptable if it were possible to monitor the implementation of additional functions by the recipient and a way to assess the effectiveness of such a discount.

• on the part of the buyer - the amount of costs for storing goods purchased in advance before the start of the sales season (including fees for loans attracted for this purpose);
• on the part of the manufacturer - the amount of costs and losses that he would have to incur if the manufactured goods were stored until the start of the season in his own warehouses, and production was either stopped due to the deadening of working capital in finished product inventories, or was supported by additionally attracted loans to replenish working capital.

Consequently, the amount of discounts should provide the buyer with savings greater than the increase in his costs of storing goods until the seasonal increase in demand. On the other hand, the manufacturer can provide such discounts - for an amount no greater than the amount of its losses due to the slowdown in capital turnover as a result of storing goods in its own warehouses before the start of the season and not receiving sales revenue.
The logic of discounts for off-season purchases requires their differentiation in time: the earlier the product is purchased before the start of the season, the larger the discount should be.

Discounts to encourage new product sales.

Such discounts can be considered as an addition to planned discounts that help promote a new product to the market. As a rule, such discounts in the form of financing a national advertising campaign indicating the names of the trading companies selling the product are not enough. For example, such advertising does not really give buyers information about where they can actually buy the mentioned product in their city (district).

Therefore, dealers and end sellers have to conduct their own advertising campaigns using local media outlets (whose advertising rates are usually lower than those in the national press or national television). This gives them the opportunity to indicate the addresses of their stores in such advertising, which actually provides an increase in sales.

Sales discounts

Discount for turnover, bonus discount (bonus)

The discount is provided to regular customers on the basis of a special power of attorney. In this case, the contract establishes a scale of discounts, depending on the turnover achieved during a certain period (usually one year), as well as the procedure for paying amounts based on these discounts.

This discount system is designed in the form of columns price list. This is the price list. I call (well, I like it that way) the price columns - price protocols: 1st protocol, 2nd protocol. Why is this so? Coordination and recording of prices is the legal basis for transactions, recorded in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If you come across “price protocols” somewhere in other articles, that’s from this.

Logistics discounts

Other types of discounts can be classified as tactical logistics.
They are united by an economic source - profit(!), as well as the general task of creating additional incentives for the buyer to make a purchase. The use of logistics discounts leads to a reduction in the actual purchase price of goods and, accordingly, to an increase in the buyer's premium. This premium represents the difference between the economic value of the product for the buyer and the price at which he was able to buy this product.
The main types of discounts include:

Discount for the volume of purchased goods

Proportional price reduction for buyers purchasing large quantities one type goods. Typically, the discount is set as a percentage of the total cost or unit price of a specified volume of supply, for example, a 10% discount for orders over 1000 pieces. Discounts may be offered on a non-cumulative basis (per order placed) or on a cumulative basis (per number of items ordered over a given period).
Quantity discounts should be offered to all customers, but the supplier/seller must ensure that the amount of discounts does not exceed its cost savings due to the increased volume of goods sold. These savings can be achieved by reducing the costs of selling (trade processing), warehousing, maintaining inventory and transporting goods. Discounts of this kind can also serve as an incentive for the consumer to make purchases from one seller (recurring purchases).

Discount for cash payment

If you need it, price reduction for buyers who promptly pay bills in cash. A buyer who pays within 10 days receives, for example, a two or three percent reduction from the payment amount. This discount can also be applied partially, for example, only for a percentage of the entire amount received within 30 days. With a larger supply volume or more expensive equipment, this type of discount can greatly activate the local counterparty, who is interested in selling faster and receiving their considerable income.
Such discounts are widely used to improve the liquidity of the supplier/seller, the rhythm of its cash receipts and reduce costs in connection with the collection of receivables.

Discount for refusal of receivables (for reducing the terms of receivables)

A discount can also stimulate a reduction in the terms of trade credit provided by the supplier to the client.

Progressive discount

A discount for quantity or serialization is provided to the buyer subject to the purchase of a predetermined and increasing quantity of goods. Serial orders are of interest to manufacturers, since the production of the same type of product reduces production costs. The discount is given upon the fact, or in advance, under an agreement fixing such a progression. Sels often gives such a discount without a contract, by verbal agreement. In any case, such agreements need to be recorded, at least within the company in the CRM system.

Export rebates

Provided by sellers when selling goods to foreign buyers in addition to the discounts that apply to buyers of the domestic market. Their goal is to increase the competitiveness of goods in the foreign market.

Discount for expediting payment.

The main objective of discounts for accelerating payment is to reduce the repayment period of receivables and accelerate the turnover of the company's working capital. Therefore, this commercial tool can be attributed to a greater extent to the sphere of management than pricing itself. But since such discounts are set in relation to prices, price specialists, together with financiers and accountants, traditionally determine them.

Discount for expediting payment – a measure of reduction in the standard selling price, which is guaranteed to the buyer if he makes payment for the purchased batch of goods before the deadline established by the contract.
The payment acceleration discount scheme includes three elements:

• the actual quantitative amount of the discount;
• the period during which the buyer has the opportunity to take advantage of such a discount;
• the period during which payment of the entire amount of debt for the delivered consignment of goods must be made, if the buyer does not exercise the right to receive a discount for accelerated payment.

The rate for accelerating payment is usually determined by two factors:

• the level of such rates traditionally established in this market;
• the level of bank interest rates for loans to replenish working capital.

The connection between the discount for speeding up payment and the price of credit resources is quite logical. If a manufacturer cannot achieve acceleration of repayment of accounts receivable, then it has to replenish its working capital mainly through credit. Accelerating payment for shipped goods reduces the need to raise funds and provides savings by reducing the amount of interest payments.

However, usually the level of discount for accelerating payment is significantly higher than the price of credit resources.

This excess of the discount level over the price of loans is justified by the large positive effect that accelerated payment has on the financial condition of the selling company. This effect occurs due to the fact that early payments:

• accelerate the receipt of funds into the seller’s account and improve the structure of his balance sheet, which is essential for him to obtain loans, and also affects investors’ assessment of the company’s position (including the price of its shares on stock exchanges);
• reduce credit risks associated with accounts receivable and increase the reliability of financial planning;
• reduce the company's costs for organizing collection. accounts receivable.

Discount for off-season purchases

With a well-established system of seasonal discounts, manufacturers have the opportunity to organize and complete the production of goods for the next season long before it begins and promptly begin preparations for the manufacture of products for the next season.
The amount of seasonal discounts is usually quite small and is determined by:

Discounts for complex purchases of goods.

Many firms that sell lines of complementary products use a special type of discount to encourage customers to purchase several products from that line, i.e., bundled purchasing.
Discount for complex purchase of goods – a measure of the reduction in the standard selling price that is guaranteed to the buyer if he purchases a given product along with other complementary products from that company.
The logic of such a discount is that the price of each product in the set is lower than with an isolated purchase, even from the same company.

Discounts for returning previously purchased goods from this company (trade-in)

Discounts are provided to the buyer when he returns an outdated model product previously purchased from this company. Such discounts apply to the sale of automobiles, electrical equipment, rolling stock, standard industrial equipment, etc.

Discounts on the sale of used (defective) equipment.

In different countries there are opportunities to profitably purchase used machines, mechanisms and other equipment. If, in addition, the maintenance is well organized, such a purchase is a reasonable alternative to buying new equipment. You can work with new equipment for a long time, while operating costs are low.

Tests

Offsets refer to other types of discounts from the list price. For example, a goods exchange offset is a reduction in the price of a new product subject to the delivery of the old one. Trade-in credit is most often used for the sale of cars and some durable goods. Sales promotion credits refer to payments or price discounts to reward dealers for participating in advertising and sales promotion programs.

Who is responsible for discounts?

More precisely, this section should be called: “Who gives discounts?” However, everything is clear to an inquisitive salesman:

• The marketing department, guided by the marketing policy, is responsible for marketing discounts;
• The sales department is responsible for sales discounts, guided by the standards of profitability of sales and inventory turnover.
• for logistics - parity department of commodity logistics, purchasing department, financial department, acting in accordance with the financial policy of the company.

"The Main Book", 2009, N 3

(Documentation of discounts)

In order to beat competitors and maintain high sales levels, companies use various mechanisms to stimulate consumer demand. One of the most common and effective of them is providing discounts to customers. However, if prices, taking into account such discounts, deviate from the usual ones by more than 20%, then the tax authorities can check the correctness of the application of prices for tax purposes and assess additional taxes. Therefore, it is important for an accountant to pay special attention to the correct documentation of the discounts provided. We will tell you in the article what documents you need to stock up on to avoid additional charges.

What are the dangers of price checking?

Tax authorities can check prices for goods (works, services) only if the discount exceeds 20% within a short period of time<1>. There is no precise indication in the legislation of what period should be considered short. It is determined depending on the specific circumstances of the organization’s activities, the specifics of specific goods (works, services)<2>. Therefore, for some taxpayers, the tax authority may accept 30 days for such a period, and for others - a quarter or a year.<3>.

If during a tax audit it is determined that prices for specific goods (work, services) have been reduced by more than 20% from the market price of identical goods (work, services), then the tax authority has the right to charge additional income tax and VAT based on market prices , and also calculate the corresponding penalties<4>.

In addition to this, tax authorities hold taxpayers accountable for non-payment or incomplete payment of tax amounts under Art. 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and collect a fine. The legality of such fines is the subject of ongoing debate. Courts often take the side of taxpayers, but motivate their position in different ways. For example, some point out that tax authorities cannot apply sanctions at all when controlling prices in accordance with Art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation<5>. Others note that taxpayers do not violate tax legislation, since it does not oblige them to sell goods (work, services) at prices not lower than market prices or to independently calculate taxes based on market prices<6>.

Meanwhile, when determining market prices, tax authorities are required to take into account the usual discounts when concluding transactions between independent parties, including those established by the organization’s marketing policy<7>. Therefore, companies have the right to provide discounts of more than 20%, and such a price reduction will be completely justified if it is provided for by the marketing policy. It is the price taking into account the discount that will be considered market price in a particular situation.

Therefore, in order to justify your position in the field of pricing, including before the tax authorities, it is necessary to correctly document the “discount” mechanism.

Discounts can be provided for both future and existing deliveries. In the first case, depending on the terms of the contract, the buyer purchases the goods at a reduced price either immediately or after certain conditions are met (for example, the purchase of the volume of goods specified in the contract). The discount is already included in the price of the product and is not visible from external documents. In the second case, the price is reduced for goods already sold upon the occurrence of circumstances stipulated by the contract (for example, discounts on total volume, for early payment, etc.). Therefore, the final price, that is, the price taking into account the discount, will be known only after the goods have been shipped.

Thus, the procedure for providing all discounts operating in the company must be fixed in internal documentation. And the use of discounts on goods already shipped should also be reflected in the external document flow with counterparties.

<1>Subclause 4, clause 2, art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<2>Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 24, 2008 N 03-02-07/1-312.
<3>Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated April 10, 2008 N KA-A40/1764-08-P.
<4>Paragraph 1, paragraph 3, art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
<5>Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Far Eastern District dated August 14, 2006 N F03-A51/06-2/2519.
<6>Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District dated August 31, 2004 N A14-1733-04/45/25.
<7>Paragraph 2, paragraph 3, art. 40 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Internal documents

The first thing you must do is to develop and approve a document detailing the pricing procedure, including types of discounts, grounds and procedure for their provision. For example, adopt a marketing policy (provision on discounts, order on providing discounts, etc.).

Nowadays, discounts are often individual in nature, so sometimes it can be very difficult to establish fixed discount amounts and establish a uniform procedure for their application. For example, when companies, knowing that their client is being approached by a competitor, simply set a price lower than that of the competitor.

Given these circumstances, it is very important that the pricing and discount system used is flexible and easily adaptable to changing conditions. Therefore, it is advisable to include in the marketing policy only general provisions for pricing and providing discounts, and indicate a specific list of buyers and the amount of discounts due to them in other, more mobile and efficient, organizational documents (orders, instructions, instructions, price lists, etc. ).

I approve

General Director of Romashka LLC

Ivanov /Ivanov A.V./

Marketing policy for the first quarter of 2009

1. The price of the product may be changed for the following purposes:

• promotion of product sales;
• strengthening the position occupied by the Company in the sales market;
• fulfillment of the approved budget of the Company.

1. To achieve the above goals, the Company uses the following pricing procedure:

5.1. The price set in the annex to the Marketing Policy may be reduced depending on the number of goods purchased.

5.2. Buyers may also be provided with:

• discounts for early repayment of debt for goods;
• discounts on goods purchased on an advance payment basis;
• discounts for ordering goods within 10 days after receiving a message about the arrival of new goods;
• discounts on goods due to the approaching expiration date;
• discounts on seasonal goods;
• discounts for strategically important customers.

1. The amount of discounts specified in clause 5 is established by order of the General Director.

External documents

The condition on the price of the goods may be reflected in the contract. If the prices for the goods are set in the price list, then the contract can make a reference to this price list.

In a situation where the parties have fixed a fixed price in the contract and then agreed to reduce it, it is necessary to conclude an additional agreement to the contract<8>.

Additional Agreement No. 1 to Supply Agreement No. 07/2008 dated November 20, 2008

Moscow

Romashka LLC, hereinafter referred to as the Supplier, represented by General Director A.V. Ivanov, acting on the basis of the Charter, on the one hand, and Dandelion LLC, hereinafter referred to as the Buyer, represented by Director S. Petrov. V., acting on the basis of the Charter, on the other hand, have entered into this Additional Agreement as follows:

1. Add Supply Agreement No. 07/2008 dated November 20, 2008, clause 4.4 with the following content:

"4.4. The buyer is provided with the following discounts to the price of the goods established in clause 4.1 of the Agreement:

• in the amount of 15% of the delivery amount, including the amount of VAT, - when purchasing goods worth more than 500,000 (Five hundred thousand) rubles. per month including VAT;
• in the amount of 25% of the delivery amount, including the amount of VAT, - when purchasing goods worth more than 1,000,000 (One million) rubles. per month including VAT.

Upon reaching the specified indicators, discounts are provided to the Buyer for subsequent deliveries."

1. This Additional Agreement comes into force from the moment of its signing and is an integral part of the Supply Agreement No. 07/2008 dated November 20, 2008.
2. Signatures and seals of the parties:

The idea for this article came completely unexpectedly. While sorting through documents on my computer, I discovered a file containing 10 types of the most unusual discounts.

And looking at them, I thought, why not write more in the form of a manual, it will be useful for us in the company, and it will be useful for you, our readers, in your work. Therefore, today we will talk about discounts. Or rather, I will write the types of discounts in marketing.

Most likely, you may have a question: “Why do we need this?” And it’s true, you yourself know very well what types of discounts there are, for example, “for regular customers” or “buy more, get more.”

However, this is all selective, in fits and starts. I tried for you and found different types and types of discounts with examples, and structured them. And you yourself can think about how to use them, using them in a profitable promotion or sale.

Wow I'll think of something

types and examples of discounts: TOP-30

Below you will find types of discounts and conditions for their application. Choose those that are more suitable for your field of activity and your task.

1. Discount for one day. It works great, I even buy it myself often. Select a product and set a discount on it. By the way, if you highlight it with the “Today Only” price tag, then the product, especially if it is , will fly apart perfectly.

And don’t forget that you need to highlight not the product that you already sell well, but the one that you “already have lying around.”

2. Discount on days of the week. Almost the same as a one-day discount, but tied to a specific day of the week.

For example, on Friday you can buy various meat products significantly cheaper from the international supermarket chain SPAR. It's called “Meat Friday”.

3. Discount for any period. Similar to discounts for one day or day of the week, only the period can be any. I recommend not setting large intervals. The benefit, as always, lies in the simplest thing - greed.

Buyers understand that a good offer will soon end, so they actively part with their money.

4. Discount on a specific product. Discounts on goods may be limited in duration (preferably), or they may not. An excellent solution is to highlight the “Product of the Day” price tag (with the old and new price).

5. Discount for pre-order. Whoever orders earlier, and therefore gives money earlier, receives a significant discount. Your profit is extremely simple - you receive the money with which you pay for this very product.

Yes, your earnings may not be that big due to the discount provided, however, you save time and do not use loans and credits (if we talk about a large purchase).

6. Magnetic discount. When a certain volume of purchases is reached, a discount is provided. Why magnetic? Because it works great with “ ” technology.

This type of discount, for example, worked very well for our client who sells jewelry. In just the first week of introducing such a tool, the number of checks with an amount from s__ increased by 19% compared to the previous month.

7. Discount for wholesale/large amount. The larger the customer's purchase amount, the more he will want to receive a discount. You can play on this when developing your marketing strategy.

8. Cumulative discount. This is a fairly popular type of discount now. With each purchase, a certain percentage drops onto the client’s balance, which he can later use to pay.

9. Discount for payment in cash/non-cash. We all don't like banks. Or rather, not like that. Most entrepreneurs do not like paying with bank cards.

There are 2 reasons for this: the acquiring commission is on average 2%, and with a large turnover this is not profitable. And the money takes quite a long time to arrive. Therefore, offer a discount if the client pays in cash.

10. Discount with personalization. Examples could be the following: “Only for Nikita” (at least he mentioned himself somewhere), “Only with this promotional code,” “Say this word and get a discount.” Of course, do not use them in such a direct form, as I wrote above. Change it to suit your company.

11. Discount for holiday/event. City Day, New Year, Russia Day, and for any professional holidays.

By the way, you can invent holidays yourself. For example, discounts and bonuses in honor of the birthday of the director’s grandmother (a real case).

12. Discount for launching a product or service. Although they are an event or holiday, they are still highlighted in a separate block, since they happen only once when starting a business.

13. Discount on the Internet. A fairly common move in marketing now is when a discount is provided for an online order through a website. It can be 5-10 percent or more. All this works as additional advertising for your site.

14. Discount for action. Put “Like” and get a discount. Repost, show to the administrator and get a discount.

Very popular now among young people. Its main task is not even to make a discount on the price and buy from you now, but to start a chain reaction on social networks and increase the reach of a potential audience.

WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON

15. Melting discount. They are set for a certain time and are reduced every day/hour. Example: cars are offered on December 1st with a 30% discount and every day the discount decreases by 1%.

16. Discount in the moment. The most common discount. The same one that any buyer asks when he buys a product with the words “Will you give me a discount?”

17. Unexpected discount. The reason can be anything. Of those that I liked: “First buyer of the day”, “Last buyer of the day”, “1000th buyer”.

18. Discount for certain groups of people. You select a certain group of people and give them a discount. Example: “All students have a 10% discount” or “A 15% discount for pensioners.”

19. Affiliate discount. Popular in network marketing. That is, the discount is provided to all newly arrived partners.

21. Group discount. Provided to a group of people with a certain number of people. In fact, it’s the same as a discount for wholesale, only in public.

22. Cross discount. One or more products are sold at standard prices, and an additional or accompanying product is already at a discount. Example: a discounted belt to go with jeans.

23. Discount for speed. The most interesting description of this discount that I have come across is “Discount for fast bunnies” :). That is, the faster the client makes an advance payment (perhaps even before agreeing on a contract, etc.), the greater the discount he receives.

For example, we have extremely interesting conditions for people who know us and quickly make decisions about cooperation with us.

24. Discount on first purchase. Trend of the last couple of years. It is very relevant on the Internet, but lately it has been actively moving offline. When purchasing the first item, the buyer is given a discount on it.

25. Discount subscriptions. Common in fitness clubs. A one-time lesson costs 1000 rubles, and, for example, when purchasing a subscription, its cost for the client is reduced to 200-300 rubles.

Lately they have been performing very well in catering. Subscriptions for business lunches and coffee in some coffee shops.

26. Bonus discount. This is when, even if the buyer has a discount card, you give him another discount (bonus), but only for a certain type of product.

27. Seasonal discount. To put it correctly, this is an off-season discount. A simple example is down jackets, fur coats, ski suits.

That is, the discount is given for groups of goods for which it is now “out of season”. As a rule, experienced (and economical) people wait for such “sales” and buy summer tires in winter and vice versa.

In response to your answer that this is not entirely profitable, let me remind you about one entrepreneur from Izhevsk, who in the off-season makes more money selling fur coats than in the season.

28. Club discount. If your store is part of a system of discount clubs, for example, “Rainbow” or “Discount Club,” then customers receive a discount using this card.

Frankly, this system is already dying in its original understanding, since most stores are already introducing their applications with discounts.

But at the same time, applications are beginning to be promoted that contain 20-30 discount cards for small stores.

Using this application is much more convenient. Therefore, I recommend taking a closer look at it if we are the owner of a small store. A sort of modern level of the 21st century.

29. Trade-in discount. Best known for cars and technology. By trading in an old car of one brand and buying a car of the same brand, you can get a significant discount.

Do you think it only works for large purchases? Not at all! For example, with one of our clients, we introduced this discount when selling/purchasing musical instruments.

And she worked quite successfully during the bad months. Here are a couple more niches where this approach definitely works - jewelry (especially important if you have your own pawnshop) and computer equipment.

30. Discount about. Still, I separated it into a separate block. The occasion can be any - angel's day, name day, etc.

Briefly about the main thing

As you can see, the types of price discounts are varied and there are a huge number of them (I assume that I have not named all of them; I do not claim 100 percent accuracy).

For example, I did not mention the sale of discount coupons, as is recommended on popular discount services like Biglion or Friendly.

That is, you buy a coupon for 200 rubles, for example, which gives you a 50% discount on the entire menu in a particular restaurant. However, I think I told you the main types of discounts and to the question “what types of discounts are there?” I answered.

Your main task after reading the article is to test all the presented options in your marketing.

You may think that this is not necessary, because “there are workers,” however, I assure you that if competitors tried it, but it didn’t work out for them, this does not mean that they did everything right. Therefore, your list of actions is as follows:

1. Read the article again and write down discounts that suit your niche. Or rather, types of discounts and conditions for their application;
2. Calculate the profitability of each discount (you won’t give them to yourself as a minus).
3. Implement it into your business by writing a short text explaining the application (and handling of objections) for employees for each type of discount.

The third point is especially important so that it doesn’t turn out like one of our clients (niche - products).

He raised prices, but at the same time introduced cumulative discount cards. If we calculate everything in terms of 3-4 purchases, then the prices would be even lower.

However, he forgot to write an explanation for his sellers and people simply started running out of the store when they answered their question “Why did they raise the prices?” Instead of an explanation, they heard the answer: “But because the management wanted it that way.”