Ply Library shows Ferguson’s current (live) price for your account (based on your contract and ordering setup).
Cost to business (Catalog) is populated with your last paid cost, and you can edit it as needed. The material’s Prices & supplier section shows the fixed cost from Ferguson
Ply Library updates Ferguson materials and prices on a daily basis through the integration.
🛒 Ply Library Price | 📋 Catalog — Cost to Business |
What Ferguson charges you today | Your last paid cost (editable) |
The price Ferguson will charge for this item right now, based on your account agreement, branch, and purchasing configuration. Updates automatically every day. | The cost your company last paid for this item, stored in your Ply catalog for day-to-day operations. Reflects your purchase history — not Ferguson's current price. |
📡 Live price — can change over time | 📌 Stable — doesn't update automatically |
🔒 Set by Ferguson, not editable in Ply | ✏️ Editable — you control this number |
🔄 Refreshed daily via the integration | 📊 Used for cost tracking and reporting |
PLY LIBRARY | CATALOG — COST TO BUSINESS |
$99.10 / each | $10.00 / each |
🟠 Live — updates daily | 🔵 Stable — last paid cost |
Ferguson's current price for your account based on your contract and ordering branch. This is what a new PO would cost. | The price your company last paid for this item. Used in reporting and day-to-day operations. Doesn't automatically update when Ferguson's price changes. |
📌 Source: Ferguson API (your account) | ✏️ Source: Ply catalog (editable) |
➡️ Why the prices can be different
Ply Library price = your price right now
The Ply Library pulls live/current pricing from Ferguson for your account. This number can change depending on things like:
Your Ferguson agreement/contract
Your ordering branch/region
Your purchasing configuration (job/account setup)
So if Ferguson updates pricing or if the ordering context changes, the Library price can shift too.
| Factor | Description |
📄 | Your Ferguson agreement / contract | Your negotiated pricing tier. If your contract is renegotiated or your tier changes, prices across your Library will shift accordingly. |
📍 | Your ordering branch / region | The Ferguson branch your account is configured to order from. Different branches can have different pricing for the same item due to regional logistics and availability. |
⚙️ | Your purchasing configuration | How your Ferguson account is set up — job-based ordering, account-level pricing rules, or other account-specific settings that affect what price applies. |
Library prices refresh automatically every day via the Ferguson integration
➡️ Catalog “Business Price” = your last paid cost (editable in Ply)
In the Catalog, Business Price is designed for your internal cost history. In many cases, it reflects the most recent purchase price you paid for that item.
That means it can stay the same even if Ferguson’s current price changes, and that’s intentional, because it’s used for:
Stable day-to-day inventory operations
Cost tracking over time
Reporting based on your real purchase costs
Image 3 — About the Catalog Cost to Business Field
| Note | Description |
📊 | Used for: reporting and cost history | Your cost-over-time reports, margin calculations, and job costing all reference this field. |
✏️ | Fully editable — you control it | You can update the Cost to Business manually at any time. If you want to reflect the current Ferguson price, edit the field and save. |
🔗 | Also check: Prices & Supplier section | Inside the catalog item's edit form, the Prices & Supplier section shows the fixed cost pulled from Ferguson. This may differ from the live Library price and from the editable Cost to Business — it represents the last synced Ferguson list price for that supplier link. |
ℹ️ | Adding from Library sets the initial Cost to Business | When you add an item from the Ply Library to your Catalog, the current Library price is used to set the initial Cost to Business. After that, it stays at that value unless you manually update it — it won't auto-update when the Library price changes. |
➡️ Example
For material 60 MTL SHWR HOSE MB:
Catalog → Business Price ($10.00): your company’s most recent purchase cost
Ply Library price ($99.098): Ferguson’s current live price for your account based on your agreement
➡️ Which price should you use?
Use the one that matches what you’re trying to do:
Need today’s live Ferguson price? → Check Ply Library
Need your internal cost / last paid price for operations and tracking? → Use Catalog → Cost to business
Image 4 — When to Use Each Price
🛒 Use the Ply Library Price when... | 📋 Use the Catalog Price when... |
GO TO: PURCHASING → PLY LIBRARY | GO TO: CATALOG → OPEN ITEM → COST TO BUSINESS |
💰 You want to know what Ferguson will charge today for a new order | 📊 You're running a cost report or calculating margins on past jobs |
🔍 You're comparing prices before deciding to place a PO | 📌 You need a stable reference cost for internal planning |
📄 A PO you're placing needs to reflect current Ferguson pricing | 💼 You're calculating job costing based on what you actually paid |
🔄 You want to check if prices have changed since you last ordered | 📋 You need your last-paid cost for billing or auditing purposes |
💡 When in doubt about an order — always confirm in the Library first |
The Catalog's Cost to Business is a historical record. Before submitting a Purchase Order, check the Ply Library to confirm what Ferguson will actually charge on that order today. |
➡️ Best practices
✅ Know that turning on certain Ferguson sync settings can update Cost to Business account-wide, not just on newly added items.
If you (or your account) has "Sync Supplier Prices to Cost to Business Field" enabled (see Connecting SureStock with Your Other Tools), Ferguson's live price can start feeding into Cost to Business across your catalog going forward, not just for items you individually add. If you rely on Cost to Business staying stable for reporting, confirm this setting before enabling the Ferguson integration.
✅ If you've manually customized Cost to Business on specific materials, keep a record of which ones and why.
This makes it much easier to tell support which values should be preserved if a broader pricing sync or revert is ever needed.
✅ Before submitting a PO, check the Library, not just the Catalog.
The Catalog's Cost to Business can lag behind what Ferguson will actually charge today.
➡️Common issues & fixes
"My Cost to Business changed across many materials, not just ones I added, after the Ferguson integration was enabled."
This has happened in real cases: enabling the Ferguson integration (or a related pricing sync setting) can cause Ferguson's live pricing to overwrite Cost to Business more broadly than expected, not just on items newly added from the Library. If this happens and it wasn't what you wanted:
Contact support and let us know approximately when the integration was enabled.
Our engineering team can compare your current costs against a snapshot from before the change and prepare a revert.
Before reverting, we'll check with you on two things: whether there are specific materials where you'd prefer to keep the current (post-sync) pricing, and whether any costs were manually updated afterward that you'd like preserved rather than overwritten by the revert.
This is a manual, white-glove process today, there's no self-serve undo for a broad pricing sync, so the more specific detail you can give us about what should and shouldn't change, the faster we can get it right.
"I added an item from the Library, and now its Cost to Business doesn't match what Ferguson currently charges."
That's expected,. Cost to Business is set once when you add the item and then stays stable until you manually update it. It won't silently track Ferguson's daily price changes. If you want it to reflect the current Ferguson price, edit it manually, or check the Library each time before ordering.
"I'm not sure why the Prices & Supplier section shows a different number than both the Library and Cost to Business."
This is expected, the Prices & Supplier section shows the last synced Ferguson list price tied to that supplier link, which can differ from both the live Library price (today's price) and your editable Cost to Business (your internal record). Three different numbers, three different purposes, see the tables above for what each one is for.
Still need help? Contact Support!
Questions about Library pricing or Catalog costs? We're happy to help.