Time-Based Pricing for Gaming Clubs

Published: 2026-05-30 · Updated: 2026-06-20 (13 days ago)· IZI Team

Time-Based Pricing for Gaming Clubs

A flexible time-of-day tariff grid lets your club earn more during peak hours and fill seats during quiet periods with lower prices. In IZI this works through schedules — objects that define Days of the Week and Time Intervals — combined with Sales Policies and Usage Policies on each tariff. Set a schedule once and it runs automatically: the morning tariff appears at 10:00, the night tariff at 22:00, no admin action needed. Each tariff covers one price segment; different time windows mean different tariffs with different schedules. Because schedules are reusable, you can update a time window in one place and every linked tariff picks it up instantly.

What this page covers:

Why splitting the day into time windows increases revenue.
The three IZI objects that build the grid: Schedule → Sales Policy → Usage Policy.
Step-by-step setup from creating schedules to verifying at the POS.
Combining time windows with player group discounts and zone pricing.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them.

Why time-of-day pricing matters

A gaming club’s demand is uneven. In the morning the floor is mostly empty — pricing at 70–80 % of the evening rate lowers the entry barrier and fills seats. On a Friday evening demand exceeds capacity — a higher rate or a premium package captures that upside. The night segment serves a different audience with a different format (unlimited access or a fixed session) and its own pricing logic.

A well-designed tariff grid solves three problems at once:

Off-peak utilization — a daytime tariff makes the morning and afternoon profitable.
Peak revenue — evening and weekend tariffs maximize yield when the floor is full.
Night segment retention — a night tariff keeps the audience that would otherwise go to a competitor.

Typical tariff grid structure

A standard starting point for a gaming club looks like this:

Window	Days	Example hours	Pricing logic
Morning / daytime	Mon–Fri	10:00–18:00	Discount vs. evening rate
Evening (primary)	Mon–Fri	18:00–22:00	Base price
Night	Daily	22:00–08:00	Unlimited or fixed package
Weekend	Sat–Sun	All day	Premium or separate tier

This is a starting point. The exact window boundaries and prices depend on your market, load curve, and target audience. IZI supports any number of time windows per club.

How IZI implements time-based pricing

IZI has no single “price-by-time switch.” Instead, three objects work together:

1. Schedule — a standalone object that defines a time window. It contains:

Days of the Week — one or more days the schedule is active.
Time Intervals — one or more From/To pairs. Overnight intervals past midnight (e.g. 22:00–08:00) are supported natively, no extra setup needed.
Optional: Include Dates and Exclude Dates for holidays and exceptions; Valid From / Until for seasonal schedules.

2. Sales Policy — links a schedule to a tariff and controls when the tariff is visible at the POS and available for purchase. One tariff can have multiple Sales Policies with different schedules.

3. Usage Policy and Pricing — defines which hours a purchased tariff can open a new session (Start Schedule) and what price applies in each zone. Also includes the Additional End Schedule that lets a session continue after the main window closes.

The key insight: schedules are reusable. Create “Evening Mon–Fri 18:00–22:00” once and attach it to any number of tariffs. Change the window once — all tariffs update. Full field reference is in Tariff Schedules.

Step-by-step setup

Step 1. Create a schedule for each time window

In CRM, select your club → Tariffs → open the Schedules tab → Add Schedule.

Create one schedule per window. Example for three basic windows:

“Daytime (10:00–18:00 Mon–Fri)”: Days — Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri; Time Interval — 10:00–18:00.
“Evening (18:00–22:00 Mon–Fri)”: Days — Mon–Fri; Time Interval — 18:00–22:00.
“Night (22:00–08:00)”: Days — All; Time Interval — 22:00–08:00 (the system recognizes the midnight crossover automatically).

The system schedule “Always” (shows a tariff around the clock) is created by IZI automatically and cannot be renamed.

Step 2. Create a tariff for each window

In the tariff list click Add and create a separate tariff for each time window with the appropriate price settings. See Creating a Tariff in IZI for full field details.

Use clear names — “Daytime PC”, “Evening PC”, “Night Unlimited” — your staff will see these at the POS.

Step 3. Attach the schedule via a Sales Policy

Inside the tariff card, find the Sales Policy block → Add Sales Policy → in the Schedule field select the schedule you created in Step 1.

The tariff now appears at the POS only during the hours defined by that schedule. Outside those hours it is hidden from the sales view. Full parameter reference is in Tariff Sales Policy.

Step 4. Configure the Usage Policy and zone prices

Still in the tariff card, find Usage Policy and Pricing → Add Usage Policy.

Configure:

Start Schedule — choose the same schedule or a separate one if you want to allow purchases slightly before the session can start.
Zone prices — set a price for each zone that should be active in this window. A price of 0 makes the zone free; leaving a zone out makes it unavailable under this tariff. See Zone-Based Pricing for details.

To allow clients to finish their session after the window closes, add an Additional End Schedule with a window that extends to 09:00 or 10:00. Without it, running sessions are not cut off mid-play, but no new sessions can start once the window ends.

Step 5. Set weekday vs. weekend prices (optional)

A single tariff can carry multiple Usage Policies with different schedules. This is how you apply different prices for the same tariff on different days:

Policy 1: schedule “Weekdays (Mon–Fri)” → price X per hour.
Policy 2: schedule “Weekends (Sat–Sun)” → price Y per hour.

IZI automatically applies the correct price when a session starts, based on the current day and time.

Step 6. Verify the grid at the POS

After setup, open the CRM POS screen during each time window — or ask a staff member to do it. The tariffs available right now should match the window exactly.

If a tariff is missing, open its card and check:

The Sales Policy is saved and its schedule includes the current hour.
The current day of the week matches the schedule settings.
The schedule is not archived.

Practical tips

Build schedules before tariffs. Think through and create all time windows first, then attach tariffs to them. This reduces errors and maximizes reuse.

Don’t duplicate schedules. If three tariffs (Standard PC, VIP PC, PlayStation) share the same evening window, use one “Evening” schedule for all three. Change the window once; all three update.

Use date exclusions for holidays. Add specific dates to the Exclude Dates field in a schedule — it will be inactive those days. This is cleaner than creating a separate tariff for each holiday. For holidays with special pricing, use Include Dates in a dedicated holiday schedule.

Open night sales 30 minutes early. A practical pattern — set the Sales Policy schedule to open at 21:30 so clients can buy the night tariff before 22:00 and start immediately. The Start Schedule stays at 22:00.

Layer time windows with group discounts. A daytime tariff combined with a player group like “Students” with an additional discount creates two-tier segmentation without extra tariffs. The time window sets the base price; the group applies a personal discount on top.

Common mistakes

Same schedule for Sales Policy and Usage Policy when you actually want different boundaries. Using identical schedules is fine if purchase and session start should coincide. If you want to allow purchasing ahead of time, create two schedules with slightly different boundaries.

No Additional End Schedule on the night tariff. A client who starts at 07:55 won’t be able to finish their session if the window closes at 08:00 for new starts. Fix: add an Additional End Schedule with a window through 09:00 or 10:00.

Zones not included in the Usage Policy. If you create a Usage Policy without selecting a zone, or leave its price blank, the tariff becomes unavailable in that zone — which looks like a bug. Always check: every zone where the tariff should work must be explicitly added to the Usage Policy with a price set.

What’s next

Tariff Schedules: night, morning, weekend — step-by-step guide to creating schedules in IZI.
Tariff Sales Policy — where and how a tariff is visible to clients and staff.
Zone-Based Pricing — how to set different prices for Standard, VIP, and PlayStation zones within one tariff.
Player Groups and Discounts — combining time windows with segment-level discounts.
Multipass in IZI — session bundles as an alternative to hourly pricing.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set different prices for different times of day in IZI?

Create a separate tariff for each time window, then attach a Schedule to it via the Sales Policy and Usage Policy. IZI will automatically show the right tariff at the right time — no manual switching required.

How many time windows do most clubs use?

Typically three or four: daytime (e.g. 10:00–18:00 at a reduced price), evening (18:00–22:00 at the base price), night (22:00–08:00 as an unlimited or fixed session), and weekends (Saturday–Sunday at a separate rate). The optimal number depends on your club's demand pattern.

What is the Start Schedule and why does it matter?

The Start Schedule (a field inside the tariff's Usage Policy) controls which hours a new session can be opened under an already-purchased tariff. For example, a client buys a night tariff at 23:30 — the Start Schedule prevents them from launching another session at 09:00 on the same ticket.

Can one tariff cover multiple time windows?

Yes. You can attach multiple Usage Policies to a single tariff, each with a different schedule and price. The tariff will then start at one price in the morning and at a different price in the evening.

How do I set up a tariff that runs past midnight — for example 22:00 to 08:00?

IZI handles overnight intervals natively. In the schedule's Time Interval field, enter From 22:00 and To 08:00 — the system correctly interprets the midnight crossover without any extra configuration.

Do I need a new schedule for every tariff?

No. Schedules in IZI are reusable. Create a schedule once — for example 'Evening (18:00–22:00 Mon–Fri)' — and attach it to as many tariffs as you like. Change the window once and all linked tariffs update automatically.

What happens if a client starts a night tariff 10 minutes before the window closes?

A session already in progress is not stopped automatically. To let clients finish their session, add an Additional End Schedule in the Usage Policy — this allows the session to continue beyond the main window's closing time.

How do I verify that a tariff is active during the right hours?

Open the POS screen in CRM during the hours the tariff should be active. Tariffs available for sale right now appear in the list. If a tariff is missing, check that the current time and day of the week match the schedule you configured.

Can I restrict a night tariff to specific zones?

Yes. Each zone gets its own price inside the Usage Policy. If you omit a zone, the tariff becomes unavailable there. This lets you limit, say, an unlimited night package to the VIP zone only.

How do I set different prices on weekdays vs. weekends for the same tariff?

Create two schedules — 'Weekdays (Mon–Fri)' and 'Weekends (Sat–Sun)' — then add two Usage Policies to the tariff, each pointing to the corresponding schedule with its own price. IZI applies the right price automatically based on the current day.

Does changing a schedule affect tariffs clients have already purchased?

No. Schedule changes only affect new sales and new sessions. Active and pre-purchased tariffs continue under their original conditions until the session ends.