Bespoke quote calculators - The story behind TargaCalc

TargaCalc started as a response to a very real problem: How to help people make informed decisions when pricing is complex.

The foundations for TargaCalc were laid more than a decade ago, working at enterprise scale for a global corporation, where pricing clarity wasn’t just a nice to have - it was a regulatory, commercial, and reputational necessity.

My manta during those times was simply This is what doing it right looks like which was also an important reminder when faced with internal challenges over other commercial and strategic objectives.

By 2014, I had already spent well over a decade as a senior member of the Hertz e-Commerce development and management team, working across design, development, systems integration, and international partnerships.

My responsibilities included:

• On-boarding and supporting international franchisees across Europe and beyond.
• Overseeing and managing integrations with global airline and corporate partners.
• Overseeing and project managing loyalty scheme integration and third-party booking platforms.

In 2014, I was also entrusted with overseeing pricing transparency and compliance across Hertz’s digital platforms.

The role was to ensure that the communication of pricing was clear to each and every customer who brought an almost infinite combination of needs to the table, also met the requirements of regulators including the EU Commission, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) and other governing and regulatory bodies in North America, Australia, and other regions.

At the time, it felt like just another area of responsibility I had been given, but its scale and importance quickly became apparent, and it turned out to be one of the most formative experiences of my career.

Transparent pricing is rarely simple.

At Hertz, every rental price depended on multiple factors, including:

• Where the customer lived
• Where they were renting
• Their age
• The booking channel they used
• Optional extras, insurances and other choices.
• Their chosen method of payment
• Local taxes, mandatory charges, and regulations

On top of that, pricing had to be:

• Accurate
• Compliant
• Clearly and concisely explained
• Consistent across devices, languages, and platforms

Customers also needed to know whether prices were final or estimated, and why.

Dates, times, location, currency exchange rate fluctuations, local charges, etc., could all affect the final price, and additional responsibilities and restrictions could vary from one rental to the next, based on the specific needs and criteria of each customer.

This work was closely monitored by regulators, but more importantly it was experienced and judged by customers...

Any lack of clarity damaged trust immediately, and furthermore could lead to hefty fines for any company in our field who did not meet the requirements set by the regulators.

And here’s an important point to make...

Many car rental companies STILL use booking channels which are not capable of handling the complex variations that international bookings require. And customers continue to suffer poor experience as a result.

My work on pricing transparency lasted from 2014 until I left Hertz in 2021 to form TargaWeb, but one of the most important lessons I learned was simple:

People don’t just buy on price, they buy on confidence.

Many competitors appeared cheaper at first glance, but mianly because of what they were not disclosing up front, or in some cases not at all.

Mandatory charges were shown later during the buying process

In the UK, Europe and certain other countries, we were obliged to include taxes and other mandatory charges in the “headline” price (the price shown at the point of selection).

Some competitors and other “comparison” booking platforms resisted doing that, and therefore showed cheaper prices up front, but might charge more by the end of the purchase, or load hefty charges and penalties for amendment, cancellations, and other options.

It should also be noted that even on the Hertz booking platform, some countries including the US, were allowed to communicate prices exclusive of tax until the final stage, but were still obliged to include other mandatory charges up-front.

Important conditions weren’t explained

Some competitors and other booking channels which included Hertz as an optional brand to choose from, failed to communicate important conditions relating to cancellations, modifications, one way rentals, late returns, refueling options, insurances, etc.

Restrictions weren’t made clear upfront

Some competitors and other booking channels failed to communicate restrictions such as those based on the customers age, which could also apply to any additional driver they wanted to include.

Such restrictions varied from country to country. In some countries the minimum age to rent could be as low as 19, whilst in other countries the minimum age could be anywhere between 21 and 25, often with a surcharge to offset the additional risks associated with younger drivers.

Even worse was that some booking channels allowed customers to select and pay for vehicles that they were not entitled to drive, and they only found out when they turned up to collect the car from the rental location!

Without clear, honest, relevant information, customers wouldn’t be able to make genuinely informed decisions. Confusion and a lack of trust often became deciding factors.

Of course this principle applies far beyond car rental, and applies to many sectors, whether it be in service or product based businesses.

When I left Hertz in 2021 and founded TargaWeb, I applied the same transparency-first approach to pricing websites.

Rather than hiding costs behind vague “from” prices, endless consultations or not being prepared to provide even a clue, I wanted potential clients to:

• Understand what they were paying for
• See how their choices affected the price
• Make informed decisions with confidence

That led to the creation of my first cost calculator… a self-service tool that allowed potential customers to select pages, features, and options, with clear explanations and transparent pricing at every step.

The calculator then provided an instant quote based on the selections made. It even included a personalised split payment plan, and the ability for customers to email the quotes to themselves.

Customers were also better informed, and were able to see why TargaWeb were able to justify price based on value, instead of cutting corners on essential features and services se we could compete on price.

The result was better conversations, better-qualified enquiries, and fewer surprises on either side.

It quickly became clear that this approach wasn’t just useful for web design.

When existing clients began asking whether similar calculators could be built for their own businesses, it highlighted a much bigger opportunity.

TargaCalc was born by combining:

• Enterprise-level experience in pricing transparency and compliance
• Business analysis and systems thinking
• Bespoke web development expertise

Today, TargaCalc calculators help service-based businesses to:

• Present pricing clearly and confidently.
• Educate customers without overwhelming them.
• Qualify enquiries before any human interaction is required.
• Support sales teams and on-site staff with consistent quoting tools.
• Build trust through openness and transparency, not pressure.