Six starting points, each pre-loading the margins, pack formats, and sample SKUs typical for its category — so the first thing you see is a working model, not an empty table.
Every pricing model in Alculator starts with a category choice. A template seeds the calculator with a plausible brand — realistic FOB prices, the pack formats the category actually ships in, and margin defaults that match how that category trades — so you can watch the three-tier math work before a single one of your own numbers goes in.
There are six cards: Beer, Wine, Spirits, Hemp / Non-Alc, Soda / Energy, and Start from Scratch. Each loads a placeholder brand name, distributor and retailer margin defaults, and three sample SKUs (Blank loads none). You can switch anytime from the Templates button in the toolbar — a confirm dialog warns you first, because switching replaces your current rows.
Visit the calculator for the first time — with nothing saved on the device and no account signed in — and an overlay titled "What are you pricing?" opens over a blurred preview of the pricing table. Six cards sit in a grid, each with an icon, a label, and a one-line subtitle ("Lager, IPA, Wheat Ale" under Beer, and so on). Click one and the calculator fills in behind it.
On that first visit the picker expects a decision: clicking the backdrop does nothing, though Escape will dismiss it if you'd rather stare at an empty table. Return visitors skip the picker entirely — the calculator restores whatever you were working on, from this device or from your cloud brand if you're signed in.
A template writes exactly three things into the page, all of them ordinary editable fields:
Nothing is hidden or locked. The moment the rows land, the calculator recalculates every sell-in, shelf price, and GP column and saves the state, so the samples behave exactly like rows you typed yourself. Overwrite them with your own products — that's what they're for. How margins flow through the math is covered in Setting Distributor & Retailer Margins; every field in a row is covered in SKU Rows.
Here is what each card loads, straight from the calculator:
| Template | Margins (dist / retail) | Sample SKUs it loads |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 28% / 30% | Light Lager, IPA, Wheat Ale — 12 oz cans in 6×4 and 4×6 case formats, FOBs from $24 to $32 |
| Wine | 30% / 40% | Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé — 750 ml bottles in 12×1 cases, FOBs from $60 to $96 |
| Spirits | 30% / 35% | Vodka, Bourbon, Tequila — 750 ml bottles in 12×1 cases, FOBs from $96 to $144 |
| Hemp / Non-Alc | 30% / 35% | Mango Citrus, Watermelon Haze, Grapefruit — 12 oz cans in 6×4 cases, $80 FOB each |
| Soda / Energy | 28% / 35% | Cola (12 oz), Energy Citrus (16 oz), Kombucha Ginger (12 oz) — 6×4 cases, FOBs from $18 to $48 |
| Start from Scratch | 30% / 35% | None — an empty table waiting for your first row |
The margin defaults mirror how the categories actually trade: wine carries the fattest retail margin at 40%, beer the leanest tiers at 28% and 30%, and everything else sits between. They're starting points, not verdicts — the theory behind the numbers lives in Distributor Margins and Retailer Margins. Pack formats like 6×4 and 12×1 are decoded in Case Formats.
The Templates button sits in the calculator toolbar, next to Save Brand and + New Brand. Click it and the same six-card picker reopens; this time clicking the backdrop (or pressing Escape) closes it without changing anything.
Pick a card while you have rows in the table and a "Switch templates?" dialog steps in first, warning that this will replace your current SKUs. It offers three moves:
Replacing doesn't just swap the rows. The new template also overwrites the brand name and both global margins with its own defaults. If you've tuned margins to your market, note them before you switch — or save the model as a brand first.
The sixth card, Start from Scratch, loads no sample SKUs at all: an empty table, the placeholder brand name "Brand Name," and neutral 30% / 35% margin defaults. Reach for it when your product doesn't fit the five categories — cider, RTD cocktails, sparkling water, cold brew — or when you simply know your numbers and want a clean slate without deleting samples first.
From an empty table the path is the same as any other model: add a row, name it, set the FOB, and watch the columns fill. The 60-second version of that walk is the Quick Start, and if your "everything else" is draft, kegs get their own treatment in Pricing Kegs.
Templates are a head start, not a commitment — every value they load is yours to overwrite.
Open the Calculator →