# Charge for a backboard by the sign area

Set a rate per square inch or square centimetre on a backboard so the charge grows with the size of the sign.

- Source URL: https://www.signcustomiser.com/help/pricing-and-sizing/17591699-charge-for-a-backboard-by-the-sign-area/
- Markdown URL: https://www.signcustomiser.com/help/pricing-and-sizing/17591699-charge-for-a-backboard-by-the-sign-area.md
- Category: Pricing and Sizing Models
- Last updated: 2026-10-13

## Article

You can set the price of a backboard from the size of the sign. Enter a rate for each square inch or square centimetre. Sign Customiser multiplies the width and height of the sign by your rate. It adds the result to the price. A large sign pays more for its backboard than a small sign.

This article is for merchants who manage backboards in a customiser. The option is off by default. Existing backboards keep their prices.

## Before you start

-   Create at least one backboard. Refer to [Backboards](../../features/16861335-backboards/).

-   Find your Measurement Unit. Go to **Store Settings**. Look under **Admin Settings** for **Measurement Unit**. The rate uses this unit.

-   Use a customiser that has the option. Frame Fit, Metal Cut-Out and Stencil customisers do not have it.

## Set an area rate on a backboard

1.  Open the Sign Customiser admin. Click **Customisers**.

2.  Select the customiser.

3.  In the left-hand menu, go to **Sign Components → Backboards**.

    ![The Backboards page in the customiser admin, with Backboards selected under Sign Components and the Add Backboard button visible.](/help/intercom-docs/help-centre-images/64f540519494573745b5817f9355005c53b58ee816d2e2122a2b44af4191f935.png)

4.  Click **Add Backboard** to make a new backboard. To change a backboard, click it in the list.

5.  Scroll to **Additional Pricing (optional)**.

6.  Select **Price per square in** or **Price per square cm**. The label shows your Measurement Unit.

7.  Enter the charge for one square unit. For example, enter 0.10 for 10 cents for each square inch.

    ![The Additional Pricing section of the backboard editor with Price per square cm selected and a rate field.](/help/intercom-docs/help-centre-images/427c43e01fb6c1c141039e0caa5648088959cc576df971d0fabbe0c7bdce934c.png)

8.  Click **Save**. For a new backboard, a dialog opens. Click **No, just create the backboard** or **Yes, add all colours**. Neither choice changes the area rate.

A backboard uses only one option under **Additional Pricing (optional)**. When you save an area rate, Sign Customiser clears the **Base Price** and **Price Multiplier** values on that backboard. You cannot use a flat fee and an area charge on the same backboard.

## How the charge works

The charge is the width of the sign multiplied by the height of the sign and by your rate. The width and height are the size of a box around the design. Sign Customiser does not add the border per edge to this box. It rounds the result to the cent.

If the rate is zero or empty, there is no charge.

### Example

Your store uses inches. You set **Price per square in** to 0.10 on a backboard. A shopper makes a sign that is 20 in wide and 10 in high.

-   Area: 20 × 10 = 200 square inches.

-   Charge: 200 × 0.10 = $20.00.

Sign Customiser adds $20.00 to the price of the sign. A sign that is 30 in by 15 in has an area of 450 square inches. The charge for this sign is $45.00.

## What the shopper sees

The shopper sees the backboard charge in the total price. The total changes when the shopper changes the size of the sign.

In preview, the price breakdown has a separate **Backboard area** line. To see it, click **Price** above the live preview in the customiser admin. The line shows:

-   the width, the height and the area

-   the charge, which is the area multiplied by the rate

-   the amount that Sign Customiser adds to the price, for example **+$20.00**

The price breakdown shows only in preview. On your live store, the shopper sees the charge in the total price. There is no separate line.

## Limits

-   Only backboards have this option. Backboard colours and materials do not have it.

-   Frame Fit customisers do not have this option. They already price the sign by area.

-   Metal Cut-Out and Stencil customisers do not have this option.

-   The charge does not apply when Sheet pricing sets the price of the size. This happens only on Simple Letter customisers, for letter-height sizes that have sheet pricing rows.

-   **Adjust all prices** and currency conversion change the area rate with your other prices.

-   A **Price Multiplier** on another option also multiplies the area charge when its target is **Final Price (includes additional costs from other options)**.

## Related articles

-   [Backboards](../../features/16861335-backboards/)