What's the Best CPQ Software with Custom Pricing Features | CSG
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What's the Best CPQ Software with Custom Pricing Features
CSG Insights TeamAuthor
2025-10-01
Key takeaways
Architecture determines outcomes: Industry-specific systems often deliver faster deployments and better long-term flexibility than feature-rich platforms requiring extensive customization
Industry requirements vary significantly: Telecommunications pricing demands differ fundamentally from manufacturing, software or financial services needs
Total cost extends beyond licensing: Implementation, integration and ongoing customization typically represent the largest investment components
Organizational complexity drives selection: Transaction volume, product portfolio size and ecosystem coordination requirements matter more than feature checklists
Selecting CPQ software for custom pricing capabilities requires understanding architectural differences that impact long-term flexibility and performance. For IT leaders evaluating options, the right choice depends on business requirements, integration needs and strategic objectives.
Essential features vs. nice-to-have capabilities
The distinction between essential and advanced features depends on your specific business model and industry requirements. Start by identifying which capabilities directly support revenue generation versus those that provide incremental optimization.
Must-have features for custom pricing
Dynamic pricing engine: Rule-based pricing with real-time calculation
Business impact: Prevents margin erosion, enables competitive positioning
Approval workflows: Configurable approval thresholds and routing
Business impact: Maintains financial control while enabling sales flexibility
Discount management: Multi-tier discount structures with expiration tracking
Business impact: Supports sales strategies without revenue leakage
Bundle pricing: Component-level pricing with bundle optimization
Business impact: Maximizes deal value while maintaining margin visibility
Currency support: Multi-currency pricing with real-time conversion
Business impact: Essential for global operations
Integration APIs: Standard APIs for CRM, ERP and billing systems
Business impact: Prevents data silos and manual processes
Nice-to-have advanced features
Advanced capabilities can provide competitive advantages but may not justify their implementation costs for all organizations. Evaluate these based on your specific market dynamics and competitive positioning.
Business impact: Enables ecosystem business models
Industry-specific requirements
Different industries have fundamentally different pricing requirements that general-purpose platforms struggle to address effectively. Understanding your industry's specific needs prevents costly customization cycles.
Telecommunications CPQ requirements
Telecommunications pricing involves unique challenges around partner coordination, network resources and regulatory compliance that generic platforms weren't designed to handle.
Critical custom pricing features:
Multi-partner revenue sharing calculations
Usage-based and subscription hybrid models
Geographic pricing variations with regulatory compliance
Real-time inventory integration for pricing accuracy
CSG Quote & Order advantage: Built specifically for telecom requirements with TM Forum API compliance and proven ability to handle multi-site, multi-partner configurations. Organizations report significantly faster deployment times compared to adapting general-purpose platforms.
Manufacturing CPQ requirements
Manufacturing pricing complexity centers on materials, volumes and configuration variations rather than service orchestration and partner ecosystems.
Critical custom pricing features:
Volume-based pricing tiers with quantity breaks
Material cost integration with supplier pricing
Configuration-driven pricing based on specifications
Lead time pricing adjustments
Multi-location pricing with regional variations
Software and SaaS CPQ requirements
Software pricing models prioritize subscription management and usage tiers over physical product configuration or network orchestration.
Critical custom pricing features:
Subscription pricing with usage tiers
Freemium to premium conversion pricing
Add-on module pricing with dependency rules
Multi-tenant pricing isolation
Renewal and upsell pricing automation
Financial services CPQ requirements
Financial services pricing revolves around risk assessment and regulatory compliance rather than product configuration or service delivery.
Critical custom pricing features:
Risk-based pricing models
Regulatory compliance pricing rules
Multi-product bundling with cross-subsidization
Customer segment-specific pricing
Commission structure integration
CPQ software evaluation criteria
Effective evaluation balances technical capabilities, business functionality and vendor viability. Weight each category based on your organization's specific priorities and risk tolerance.
Technical architecture assessment
Technical architecture determines long-term flexibility and performance more than any other factor. Evaluate architecture decisions against your expected growth trajectory and integration requirements.
Scalability: Can it handle 10x current transaction volume?
Integration: Native APIs vs. custom development required?
Performance: Sub-second response times for demanding quotes?
Flexibility: Business user configuration vs. IT dependency?
Reliability: Uptime guarantees and disaster recovery?
Business functionality evaluation
Business functionality determines daily user experience and operational efficiency. Poor usability erodes adoption regardless of technical capabilities.
Mobile support: Native apps, responsive design, offline capability
Vendor assessment framework
Vendor viability matters as much as current product capabilities. Platform longevity and ongoing development are key factors in determining your long-term success.
Financial stability
Annual recurring revenue growth trends
Customer retention rates above industry benchmarks
R&D investment as a percentage of revenue
Market position and analyst recognition
Implementation track record
Average implementation timeline for comparable organizations
Customer satisfaction scores and reference availability
Industry-specific experience and case studies
Post-implementation support quality
Product roadmap alignment
AI and ML integration plans and timelines
Cloud-native architecture development progress
Industry standard compliance (APIs, security)
Ecosystem partnership strategy and execution
Support and services
Implementation methodology maturity and documentation
Ongoing support response times and escalation procedures
Training and enablement program comprehensiveness
Professional services capabilities and availability
Cost-benefit analysis framework
Total cost of ownership extends far beyond initial licensing fees. Implementation, integration and ongoing customization typically represent larger investments than software licenses.
Total cost of ownership considerations
Year 1 investment components:
Software licensing varies by user count, transaction volume and feature requirements
Implementation services depend on customization needs and organizational readiness
Internal resources for project management, training and testing
Integration development based on existing system architecture
Annual ongoing investment:
Software maintenance
Support services scale with organizational size and usage patterns
Infrastructure costs for cloud hosting, security and compliance
User training for new team members and expanded capabilities
Business value quantification
Quantify benefits across multiple dimensions rather than focusing solely on quote cycle time reduction. Comprehensive value assessment reveals opportunities that single-metric analysis misses.
Typical impact ranges:
Quote cycle time might decrease
Pricing accuracy could improve
Margin improvement
Sales productivity might increase
Implementation decision matrix
Organizational characteristics determine appropriate platform complexity more than industry alone. Match platform sophistication to your actual requirements rather than aspirational ones.
High-complexity organizations
Organizations with significant scale, product diversity or ecosystem coordination requirements benefit from purpose-built platforms despite higher initial investment.
Indicators for purpose-built solutions:
Annual revenue exceeds $1B with continued growth
Product portfolio includes 1,000+ SKUs or demanding service offerings
Regulatory compliance needs across multiple jurisdictions
Real-time integration requirements with numerous systems
Platform characteristics to prioritize:
Industry-specific architecture and data models
Native ecosystem orchestration capabilities
Advanced approval and governance workflows
Comprehensive API libraries for standard integrations
Mid-complexity organizations
Organizations with moderate scale and complexity need platforms that balance flexibility with implementation speed. Over-engineering creates unnecessary costs while under-engineering limits growth.
Indicators for flexible platforms:
Annual revenue between $100M-$1B
Product portfolio under 500 SKUs with moderate configuration requirements
Standard integration needs with common business systems
Growth trajectory requiring scalability without re-platforming
Platform characteristics to prioritize:
Configurable workflows without custom development
Standard API availability for major business systems
User-friendly administration for business teams
Reasonable implementation timelines
Low-complexity organizations
Organizations with straightforward quoting needs benefit from simple platforms emphasizing speed over sophistication. Feature richness creates an administrative burden without corresponding value.
Indicators for simple solutions:
Annual revenue under $100M
Product portfolio under 100 SKUs with simple configurations
Basic approval workflows with sufficient governance
Cost sensitivity prioritizes rapid ROI
Platform characteristics to prioritize:
Rapid implementation timelines
Minimal administrative overhead
Standard templates and workflows
Affordable total cost of ownership
Key selection criteria summary
The best CPQ software aligns with your specific business requirements and integration needs rather than offering the most features. Dedicated solutions typically deliver better outcomes than general platforms requiring extensive customization.
For telecommunications: Industry-specific architecture addresses unique requirements around partner coordination, network resources and service orchestration that general platforms weren't designed to handle. CSG Quote & Order provides telecommunications-specific capabilities with TM Forum compliance and proven faster deployment times.
For manufacturing: Prioritize ERP integration capabilities and product configuration tools. Manufacturing requirements center on materials, volumes and specifications rather than service orchestration.
For software and SaaS: Focus on subscription billing integration and usage-based pricing models. Software pricing emphasizes recurring revenue management over one-time product sales.
For all industries: Evaluate total cost of ownership over 3-5 years including implementation, integration and ongoing customization. Initial licensing often represents the smallest investment component.
