Checkout uses the same general coupon rules for every purchase, including accepted codes, use limits, eligibility, and discount caps. See How Coupons Are Applied to an Order for those rules. This article explains what is specific to Certifications: after checkout accepts a coupon code, Rhythm decides which application, course, and exam fee lines get the discount.
The Coupon Is Read Fresh Every Time
Each time checkout checks a buyer’s order against a coupon code, Rhythm reads the coupon’s current settings. It does not reuse settings from an earlier checkout. This matters in two ways:
- If you change a coupon’s rules or switch it off, the change applies at the next checkout.
- If the coupon no longer exists, checkout fails with an error instead of applying no discount.
When a coupon has been switched off, Rhythm gives no discount to any line on the order. It stops there and does not check the fee-specific rules below.
Warning
A coupon-related checkout problem does not always stop the certification application from being created. Support has seen an application appear in the Draft folder even when the buyer saw a coupon or order-processing error. When that happens, you need to move the application manually to its next status. If a coupon error leaves you unsure whether the application went through, check the Draft folder before assuming nothing was saved.
Application, Course, and Exam Fees Are Checked Separately
You can set up one coupon to discount application fees, course fees, exam fees, or any combination of the three. Rhythm checks each fee type against its own option and rules:
- Application fees. Rhythm checks application fees only when the coupon’s application-fee option is switched on. A fee line gets the discount only when its fee, program, and application process match the specific fees, programs, and processes named on the coupon.
- Course fees. Rhythm checks course fees only when the coupon’s course-fee option is switched on, and only for the fees, courses, course types, and programs named on the coupon.
- Exam fees. Rhythm checks exam fees only when the coupon’s exam-fee option is switched on, and only for the fees, exams, and programs named on the coupon. If an exam offering charges a retest fee that belongs to a different exam, Rhythm checks the coupon’s exam rules against that other exam, not the exam the candidate is taking.
If any of these three checks runs into an unexpected problem, the entire coupon evaluation fails. No line gets a discount, even if the other checks would have allowed one.
Tip
If a program or fee named on your coupon has been deleted, that part of the coupon can no longer match an order. Rhythm does not reject the coupon for that reason; it simply stops discounting lines that used to qualify through the deleted program or fee.
Limiting an Application-Fee Coupon by Kind of Applicant
You can also limit an application-fee coupon to certain kinds of applicant, such as renewing applicants only. A transfer application does not have its own option for this restriction, so a coupon limited by applicant kind never excludes a transfer application.
Warning
If an application-fee coupon is limited to certain kinds of applicant and the order has no application process attached, checkout fails outright. This is different from most other reasons a line does not qualify, which leave the line at full price instead of stopping checkout.
Why a Buyer’s Coupon Might Not Have Discounted a Fee
Rhythm checks the coupon fresh against each specific order, so a coupon that does not discount one order is not necessarily broken. The same code can work on a newly created order, or for a different registrant, while the original order still does not qualify. For example, the original order may be missing an application process, may name a program or fee that was removed from the coupon, or may not include any line the coupon is set up to discount. Before you assume the coupon code is the problem, check whether the coupon names the specific fee, program, course, exam, or process on that order, and whether the order includes everything the coupon’s rules require.
A few other checkout-level coupon rules can also explain why a code does not discount an order the way you expect:
- Contact restrictions. A coupon can be limited to a list of specific contacts. If the buyer is not on that list, the coupon does not apply to their order even though the code itself is otherwise valid.
- Already redeemed. A single-use coupon code cannot be redeemed again by the same person once Rhythm's usage history shows they have already used it.
- Total usage limit reached. A coupon can also have a maximum total number of uses across every buyer. Once that count is reached, the code stops working for everyone. This is separate from limiting usage by organization or individual, which controls who can use the code and how often, not a shared maximum total discount amount across every order.
- Credit memos don't adjust coupon usage totals. If an order that used a coupon is later corrected with a credit memo, the coupon's reported usage and discounts-given totals do not reflect the credit. Do not rely on those totals alone to judge how much of a coupon's usage limit is left after refunds or credits.
Order review at checkout shows each fee's price, but it does not show a separate line for a special pricing rule's name or an endorsement-specific charge. A coupon discount reduces the order total without appearing as its own named line item.
Related
For coupon codes, use limits, and how the discount amount is calculated and capped, see How Coupons Are Applied to an Order and How a Coupon Discount Is Calculated and Applied to an Order. For help setting up a Certifications coupon’s rules, see your administrator’s coupon configuration.