Rates are the foundation of your rental pricing. In VEVS Car Rental Software you set daily and seasonal prices for every fleet category, refine them by weekday, weekend and hourly use, and add rental-period and seasonal rules so the right price applies automatically to each booking.
What the Rates page does
The Rates page is where the price of a rental is defined. It holds a base price for each fleet category and lets you adjust that price for weekdays, weekends and hourly use. On top of the base rate you can create seasons, which are named date ranges with their own prices that override the base rate while they are active, and rental periods, which let you charge differently depending on how many days a booking lasts.
Everything is organised around a single grid with one row per fleet category. That structure makes it possible to review your whole price list in one place and to see how a change to one category compares with the others.
Where to find it
In the admin area, open the Prices section in the left menu and choose Rates. The page is titled RATES and shows the pricing grid. If no fleet categories exist, the grid displays a message that no fleet categories were found, so the fleet structure needs to be in place before pricing can begin.
Choosing what you are pricing
At the top of the page, the Set prices for: selector lets you choose between the Base Rate and any of your seasons. The Base Rate is the standard price that applies whenever no season is in effect. A season is a named date range with its own prices that override the base rate while it is active, and each season is listed with its date range next to its name. When you select a season, the grid switches to editing that season's prices.
This separation keeps seasonal pricing tidy: you do not have to overwrite your standard prices to run a peak-season rate, and a season prepared in advance takes effect only for the dates it covers.
Understanding the pricing grid
The grid has one row for each fleet category. The columns depend on what you have selected. In Base Rate mode, the first group is Base rate with three columns: Weekday, Weekend and Hourly. In a season, the first group is Default rate, also with Weekday, Weekend and Hourly columns. After that, each rental period you have defined appears as its own group with a Weekday and a Weekend column.
To set a price, simply type it into the relevant box. A small pencil icon next to a category name opens that category for editing, which is handy when you want to adjust the category itself rather than only its numbers.
Worth remembering: the Hourly price is available only on the Base rate or Default rate columns, not on individual rental periods.
Rental periods
Rental periods let you charge different rates depending on how many days a booking lasts. Click Manage Periods to open the period editor. Each period is defined by a From (days) and a To (days) range, for example 1 – 3 days or 4 – 7 days. Click Add Period to add a new range, type its To value, use the trash icon to remove a range, and click Save to keep your changes.
Once periods exist, a Weekday and a Weekend price column appears in the grid for each one. This makes it possible to offer a lower daily price for longer rentals while keeping short rentals at a higher rate, all within the same category and without creating separate fleet entries.
Period tools for faster pricing
Next to each period, and next to Default rate in a season, a price icon opens the Period tools dialog. These tools fill in prices quickly instead of typing them one by one, and they keep period prices anchored to the base rate:
- Use the Base Rate prices for this period – copies the base rate into the selected period.
- Reduce the Base Rate by % – lowers the base rate by a percentage you enter.
- Reduce the Base Rate by amount – lowers the base rate by a fixed amount.
- Add % to Base Rate – increases the base rate by a percentage.
- Add amount to Base Rate – increases the base rate by a fixed amount.
Enter a value and click SET to apply it. Working from the base rate keeps your prices consistent across categories: when the base changes, period prices can be recalculated rather than left at figures that no longer relate to the rest of the grid.
Seasons
Use the buttons next to the Set prices for: selector to manage seasons. Add Season opens a dialog where you enter a Title, a Start date and an End date, then save. Edit Season changes the title or dates of the currently selected season, and Delete Season removes it. A season's prices override the base rate only for the dates covered by its start and end dates, so overlapping plans should be checked carefully before they go live.
How to set rates step by step
- Open Prices and choose Rates.
- In Set prices for:, choose Base Rate or a season.
- Enter Weekday, Weekend and Hourly prices for each fleet category.
- If you use rental periods, set their Weekday and Weekend prices, or use the Period tools to fill them in.
- Click Save at the top of the page.
What happens after you save
After saving, the new prices apply to future bookings that fall within the matching date range. Seasonal prices take over from the base rate automatically for their date range, so a customer booking a peak period is quoted the seasonal figure without any manual intervention. A confirmation message appears when the settings are saved successfully.
The Save button and editing are only available to users who have permission to update rates. Without that permission the page is shown read-only, which protects your pricing from accidental changes while still letting the team view the current figures.
Business benefits
Good rate management is about matching price to demand without creating a maintenance burden. A clear base rate gives you a stable reference point, rental periods let you reward longer bookings, and seasons let you respond to peak and off-peak patterns. Because the rules are applied automatically, the price a customer sees is consistent with the dates, category and duration they selected.
- Structured pricing: one grid for every category, with weekday, weekend and hourly columns.
- Duration sensitivity: rental periods reward longer bookings without duplicating categories.
- Seasonal control: named date ranges override the base rate only while they are active.
- Faster maintenance: Period tools apply percentage or fixed adjustments from the base rate.
- Access control: permission-based editing keeps pricing in authorised hands.
Practical use cases
A fleet with a mix of compact cars and larger vehicles can set a distinct base rate per category, then use weekend prices to reflect stronger leisure demand. A company that rents for both short city breaks and multi-week trips can create rental periods such as 1 – 3 days and 4 – 7 days, setting lower daily prices for the longer band. A destination with a pronounced high season can create a season with its own dates and prices, leaving the base rate untouched for the rest of the year.
When a base rate changes, the Period tools make it practical to recalculate period prices as a percentage or fixed adjustment rather than editing every cell.
Best practices
- Set your Base Rate first, then use the Period tools to create period prices as adjustments on top of it, so prices stay consistent across all categories.
- Use seasons for peak and off-peak periods, such as summer or holidays, with dates that match the demand you are pricing for.
- Remember that Hourly pricing belongs to the base or default rate, not to individual periods.
Conclusion
Rates give you a single, structured place to turn your pricing strategy into numbers the booking system can apply. Start with a considered base rate for each category, use rental periods to shape duration-based pricing, and add seasons for the dates that deserve different treatment. With the Period tools and permission controls in place, your price list stays consistent, current and easy to maintain.