Ignition unveils AI tool to help businesses set smarter prices

Ignition has announced plans to develop an AI-powered pricing intelligence tool aimed at providing service-based businesses with data-driven pricing suggestions.

The company, which offers a recurring revenue and billing automation platform, said that its new feature is currently in early development. This capability is designed to assist firms and agencies that have historically lacked reliable pricing benchmarks, often relying on subjective estimates or outdated references.

The planned AI-powered pricing intelligence tool will draw on real billing data from thousands of services processed through Ignition's platform, enabling the delivery of pricing suggestions tailored to the specific needs of each business. This is intended to help businesses price their offerings with more confidence and optimise revenue streams.

Greg Strickland, Chief Executive Officer of Ignition, outlined the motivation behind the new tool, highlighting the challenges faced by firms in the professional services sector when setting prices.

"Undercharging services. Underselling value. Second-guessing prices. These are problems dragging down profitability across the industry," said Strickland.

He further explained the vision for AI-powered pricing intelligence: "With AI-powered pricing intelligence, our goal is to help business owners stop guessing and start pricing with confidence. They will be able to see whether a price falls below, within or above the expected price range, alongside the AI-suggested price for that service."

Ignition's AI model will differ from traditional static benchmarking tools by offering dynamic suggestions based on granular service attributes. Businesses will be able to input factors such as industry, service name and description, billing type and frequency, and region to receive context-specific pricing insights.

Strickland elaborated on how the tool will function in practice: "The AI pricing suggestions will be informed by thousands of billed services to give customers real-world insights into what clients are actually paying."

The AI-powered pricing intelligence capability is being built into Ignition's proposals workflow. During the proposal process, the feature will indicate where proposed prices sit in relation to expected ranges and will suggest prices based on industry data. Businesses will maintain the ability to adjust prices at their discretion before finalising proposals.

Ignition is currently testing the AI-driven pricing suggestions. The company noted that the functionality and features may change as development continues, with a wider release scheduled by the end of 2025.

Future development

Beyond the initial launch, Ignition plans to expand its pricing intelligence offerings to include comprehensive, personalised reports covering a customer's entire range of services.

Strickland commented on the company's development priorities: "We're taking our time to build a responsible and meaningful AI-pricing model that will deliver real value to our customers into the future. This is just the start in empowering service-based businesses to optimise revenue through smarter pricing and packaging."

Industry reaction

The move has attracted attention from current users of Ignition's platform. Michael Ly, Chief Executive Officer of Reconciled and an Ignition customer, said the new capability could have a substantial impact on how firms approach pricing.

"Ignition's pricing intelligence will be a game changer. Figuring out what to charge, pricing competitively and getting paid your worth is top of mind for any firm or agency owner," said Ly. "This will provide a great starting point to assess whether your services are priced appropriately."

Ignition provides recurring revenue and billing solutions for more than 8,000 businesses, supporting proposal, invoicing, and payment processes. To date, its customers have managed relationships with over 1.9 million clients and generated revenue of USD $9 billion through the platform.

The company maintains a global workforce spanning Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United States, and the United Kingdom.