Component Rate Profiles¶

Component rate profiles help your team manage reusable cost rates for inventory cost components. In Loupe Factory, these profiles are managed in the Component Rate Center.

Use this page when you need to store a standard rate for a component such as a metal, gemstone, labor charge, packaging cost, freight cost, service charge, or overhead cost. A profile records the rate details once, so your team can reuse the same cost reference when it is linked to inventory.

Who Can Use the Component Rate Center¶

Access depends on inventory permissions and user role. Because rate profiles can affect costing, write actions are Admin only.

Admin and Manager Actions¶

Managers get a review-focused view of rate profiles. Admins control the rate records and the actions that can change costing.

Use Manager access when an operations lead needs to understand which rate was used for a component, without allowing that person to change company-wide rate records. Use Admin access for finance, ownership, or trusted pricing operators who maintain approved rates.

What a Rate Profile Stores¶

Each component rate profile stores the details Loupe Factory needs to identify, price, and track a reusable rate.

Only one active profile is allowed for the same component type, component name, currency, and rate basis. This keeps live costing clear and prevents two current rates from competing for the same component.

Rate Sources¶

Choose the rate source that matches how your team received or controls the rate.

Market Feed is available only for Metal component types. It is not shown for Rhodium.

Create a Rate Profile¶

To create a component rate profile:

1. Open the Component Rate Center.
2. Click Create Rate Profile.
3. Choose the Component Type.
4. Choose or enter the Component Name.
5. Select the Rate Source.
6. Select the Currency and Rate Basis.
7. Enter the Rate Price, or let Market Feed fill it automatically.
8. Add source details when they are shown.
9. Add optional internal notes.
10. Choose an Effective Date and Time.
11. Set the profile to Active or Inactive.
12. Save the profile.

The effective date and time must be current or future. Past effective times cannot be selected in the modal.

New profiles default to Active.

Component Name Behavior¶

Component names are handled differently based on the component type.

• For Metals and Gemstones, select the component name from the catalog. This keeps rates consistent across profiles.
• For other component types, enter a clear custom component name that your team will recognize.

Use names that match how your team talks about costs in daily work. Clear names make profiles easier to find later and reduce the chance of applying the wrong rate to inventory.

Market Feed Profiles¶

Market Feed profiles are designed for supported metal rates.

When Metal is selected, the modal can display supported market rate options based on the component name, selected currency, and rate basis. Supported names include gold alloys, silver alloys, platinum, palladium, and selected base metals.

When a supported metal component is selected, Loupe Factory shows the related market feed rate options for the selected currency and rate basis.

For Market Feed profiles:

• The Rate Price is filled automatically.
• The user selects the Rate Source Authority.
• The Rate Key is shown only when the selected authority has more than one available rate key.
• Single-key authorities, such as Spot, are selected automatically.
• Active Market Feed profiles refresh every 24 hours.
• Each automatic refresh uses 1 AI credit.
• Every fetched market rate is recorded in rate history.

Supported Market Feed Metals¶

The Create Rate Profile modal currently supports Market Feed live rates for the following metal component names.

The Base Market Metal explains which live metal rate is used as the market reference. For example, gold karat profiles use Gold as the base market metal, while Sterling Silver uses Silver.

Rate Key Options¶

Rate key options depend on the selected authority. If an authority has only one available key, Loupe Factory selects it automatically. If more than one key is available, the modal asks the user to choose.

Common rate key options include:

• Gold LBMA: LBMA Gold PM, LBMA Gold AM
• Gold MCX: MCX Spot Gold PM, MCX Spot Gold AM, MCX Gold Futures
• Silver MCX: MCX Spot Silver PM, MCX Spot Silver AM, MCX Silver Futures
• Platinum LBMA: LBMA Platinum PM, LBMA Platinum AM
• Palladium LBMA: LBMA Palladium PM, LBMA Palladium AM
• LME metals: LME Aluminum 3M, LME Copper 3M, LME Lead 3M, LME Nickel 3M, LME Zinc 3M

When Market Feed Is Not Shown¶

Market Feed appears only when the selected profile can use a supported live metal rate.

The Market Feed option is hidden when:

• the selected Component Type is not Metal
• the selected metal component name is not supported for Market Feed
• the selected metal is Rhodium

Rhodium is available as a Metal component name, but Market Feed is not offered for Rhodium currently. Use Manual, Supplier Price List, or Internal Price Sheet when you need to store a Rhodium rate.

Effective Date and Time¶

The modal displays effective date and time using your organization's time zone and date format.

The effective date controls when the profile should start being used. For active Market Feed profiles, refreshes follow the effective time and then continue every 24 hours.

Active and Inactive Profiles¶

Use profile status to control whether a rate should be treated as current.

Deactivate a profile when a rate is no longer current but your team still needs to keep the historical context.

Notes and Audit Context¶

Notes are optional. Use them for internal context that helps another user understand why a rate exists or how it was approved.

Good notes can include:

• supplier references
• approval comments
• pricing assumptions
• finance notes
• renewal or review reminders

When a profile is created, Loupe Factory records creation details along with the user context for auditability.

Link the Profile Before Using It¶

A component rate profile is a reusable rate record. It becomes part of inventory costing only after it is linked to a cost component on an inventory item.

Before expecting a rate to affect inventory, confirm that:

• the profile is saved
• the profile is active when it should be used for live costing
• the profile is linked to the correct inventory cost component
• the component type, component name, currency, and rate basis match the intended inventory cost use

Admins have two ways to link many items at once:

Link Cost Components from a Spreadsheet¶

Open Inventory > Component Rate Center > Bulk link from spreadsheets to add or update cost components across existing inventory. Download the template, enter tag IDs and each component's profile name, quantity per piece, and price behavior, then upload the file and review the matches before linking.

Exact profile-name matches use no AI credits. AI can suggest matches for other spellings, and you can choose unmatched profiles by hand. Bulk linking uses existing rate profiles and never creates a profile or deletes a component.

See Link Cost Components from a Spreadsheet for the column guide, screenshots, quantity calculations, and save rules.

Link Inventory to a Rate Profile¶

The Link Inventory modal connects one component rate profile to many inventory items in a single step. Instead of opening each inventory item and adding the cost component by hand, you pick the items from a searchable table, enter the component quantity for each one, and link them all at once.

Open it from the Component Rate Center. Click Link inventory next to a profile's usage count, or choose Link Inventory Items from the profile's actions menu.

Why Link from the Component Rate Center¶

• One pass instead of many. Link up to 100 inventory items to a profile in one submit.
• Consistent costing. Every linked item receives the profile's component name, rate basis, and current rate, converted into the item's currency automatically.
• A clear audit trail. Each linked item gets a note recording the profile, the quantity, the price behavior, and who made the change.
• No duplicates. If an item already carries a cost component for this profile, linking updates that component instead of adding a second one.

How to Link Inventory¶

1. Open the Component Rate Center and find the rate profile.
2. Click Link inventory, or choose Link Inventory Items from the profile's actions menu. The modal opens with the profile summary at the top: component type, current rate, rate source, status, and how many items already use it.
3. Find the items you want. Search matches tag ID, product label, product, type, color, shape, size, quality, location, or rack. An exact number also matches weight or quantity. You can also filter by Product, Inventory type, or link state: All, Not linked, or Linked.
4. Select the checkbox on each item. Selected items appear as cards under Selected inventory.
5. On each card, enter the Total component quantity/weight in the profile's rate basis unit. The calculator button fills the value from the item's own recorded weight or quantity.
6. Choose the Rate Price Behavior for each item.
7. Click Link inventory. The Component Rate Center reloads and the profile's usage count updates.

Total or Per Piece Entry¶

When the profile's rate basis supports per-piece entry and the item has a piece count, the card opens in Per piece mode. Switch to Total to enter the amount for the whole lot.

Switching modes converts the displayed value. The saved amount is always the total for the item. Each card shows a summary line with the quantity, the rate, and the resulting component cost, plus the per-piece quantity and cost when the item has more than one piece, so you can confirm the math before linking.

Rate Price Behavior¶

What Happens When You Link¶

For each selected item, Loupe Factory:

• creates a cost component with the profile's component type, component name, rate basis, and rate source, or updates the item's existing component for this profile
• copies the profile's current rate, converted into the item's currency when the currencies differ
• adds a note on the inventory item recording the linked profile, quantity, price behavior, and who made the change, so the change stays auditable from the item itself

Loupe Factory checks every selected item together. If any item has a problem, such as a missing quantity, the modal highlights that card and nothing is saved until every selected item is valid.

Linking Rules and Limits¶

• Up to 100 inventory items can be linked in one submit. Repeat the process for larger sets.
• An item carries one cost component per profile. Selecting an already linked item updates that component.
• An inactive profile can update the items it is already linked to, but cannot be linked to new items. Reactivate the profile to add links.
• An item whose currency cannot currently be converted from the profile's currency appears unavailable in the table and cannot be selected.

FAQ¶

Does linking change the item's cost right away? Yes. Linking creates or updates a cost component using the profile's current rate, and that component becomes part of the item's component costing immediately. See Cost Components for how component costs roll up.

What happens if I select an item that is already linked to this profile? The existing cost component is updated with the quantity and price behavior you entered and refreshed with the profile's current rate. A second component is never created for the same profile. This also applies to Locked components. Linking again is not the same as Apply. It copies the rate that is current when you link. Items already linked show a Linked badge in the table, and their current quantity and behavior are prefilled on the card.

Why can't I see the Link inventory button? Linking from the Component Rate Center is an Admin action. Managers can open the Component Rate Center to review rates and linked references, but they will not see the Link inventory button.

Why is an item unavailable in the table? The item's currency cannot currently be converted from the profile's currency, so no rate can be copied to it. The item becomes selectable once a conversion rate is available.

Can I link items to an inactive profile? You cannot link new items to an inactive profile. An inactive profile can still update the items it is already linked to, so you can still correct costing on items that already use that profile. New links require an active profile.

How do I unlink an item? Open the item's cost components and remove the component there. See Cost Components.

How do I know who linked a rate to an item? Each link adds a note on the inventory item with the profile, quantity, price behavior, and the user and time of the change. The Component Rate Center also shows each profile's usage count and linked cost component references.

Does Per piece entry save a different amount? No. Per piece is an entry convenience. Loupe Factory multiplies your per-piece value by the item's piece count and saves the total.

Next Steps¶

• Inventory Management: Review how inventory items are added, edited, and managed.
• Cost Components: Learn how rate profiles are applied to inventory item costs.
• Security and Access: Understand which roles can see or manage inventory pricing and related records.
• AI Credits & Billing: Learn how AI credits are tracked for AI-powered workflows.