Lasted Update: 4/2/25
This situation is developing and we will post pertinent information to this page as we learn of any updates.
Overview
The U.S. government’s recent tariff announcement is expected to have a major impact on the HVAC industry. Manufacturers, who rely on foreign components and materials, could see an increase in production costs. Pricebook Digital has learned that manufacturers and distributors are responding with different measures to account for this, i.e., order surcharges or higher equipment prices.
Actions to Take
For PricebookPlus subscribers, handling pricing changes in real time is a breeze. Details from each manufacturer are still being announced; in the meantime, here are a few scenarios with examples of best practices for dealers:
Scenario One: Your manufacturer/distributor will raise equipment costs.
There are two possibilities for this situation in PricebookPlus:
A) If you are a vendor-connected dealer and you receive price lists from your manufacturer or distributor direct from their corporate office into your PricebookPlus account, you need only to wait for them to update your pricing files.
-OR-
B) If you submit pricing files from your manufacturer or distributor, please send an excel file with your model numbers and your costs to support@pricebook.digital and our Support Team will upload your new equipment costs into your account.
Scenario Two: Your manufacturer/distributor will add a surcharge to equipment orders.
Since orders are not placed through PricebookPlus, dealers will need to use one of the following methods to include the surcharge percentage into their pricing structure. All functionality listed below is found on the Company > Pricing> General Pricing tab in your PricebookPlus account unless otherwise indicated. [Admin functionality only.]
A) Add the percentage into your gross margin percentage.
-OR-
B) Add the percentage into your sales tax. (NOTE: Dealers in Canada or the U.S. state of Washington should not use this method as sales tax is itemized for customers to see. For all other U.S. states, sales tax is a percentage added to the cost of your equipment and matierials and is not itemized for customers.)
-OR-
C) If you use Option Pricing in your account (the next tab over from General Pricing) you can add the surcharge percentage into each option and it will calculate the increase ONLY on the equipment.
EXAMPLE: If you will be charged a 2% surcharge when ordering equipment and your gross margin is 40%, you will want to increase the gross margin to 42%.
Final Thoughts and Resources
Adjusting pricing in your account is easy to do, and this above steps can be used to address any number of other pricing adjustments in your PricebookPlus account. Regular review of your pricing settings is recommended. Additionally, our team is happy to discuss any specific situation you have questions about.
External Resources:
(some links may be behind paywalls)
HARDI members have access to a webinar on this subject.
HVACR News: https://www.achrnews.com/articles/164085-updated-newly-announced-tariffs-could-impact-hvac-pricing
HARDI Tariff Alert: https://email.hardinet.org/tariff-alert-stay-ahead-of-the-latest-trade-updates?ecid=ACsprvuvm8UxoUZn9NqAejv6TeQpZOgS_k7lf9mNLXTIe43o0fX-3CQsfkpwgCnUAmgWArxYo4-S&utm_campaign=10056851-2025%20Tariff%20News%20and%20Alerts&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_5EiwtFnxJ-fSp0dpJJW5563oHX5-sviDRqhxSdUTNVgiSyyrVy5boAn-_rWjlfso1gPD7Drl0WcBcFFD6eZrb21Av4I91fKXu85GxpoNXRNN-CNc&_hsmi=354871475&utm_content=354871475&utm_source=hs_email