A coupon is the rule behind a Certifications discount. It controls which fees receive the discount, such as application fees, course fees, exam fees, or any combination of them. It also controls which programs, applicants, courses, or exams qualify, and how much the discount removes. Buyers do not enter a coupon directly; they enter a code that points to one.
What It Controls
A coupon answers four questions:
- How does the discount appear on the order? The discount either reduces each qualifying line as an inline discount, or adds one separate negative line using a product you choose.
- What is the most the coupon can take off one order? You can set an optional dollar cap. This cap applies per order and per code; Certifications coupons do not support one shared maximum discount that all redemptions draw from across multiple orders.
- Which fees does it discount? You can turn on up to three sections: application fees, course fees, and exam fees.
- Within each section, which records and how much? You choose a fixed amount or percentage, then optionally limit the discount to specific programs, fees, application processes, applicant kinds, course types, courses, or exams.
You can save a coupon with no sections turned on, but it will not discount anything.
Where to Find It
Go to Certifications › Setup › Coupons. The Manage Coupons list shows every coupon in your account, including its status and the date it last changed. From there:
- Create Coupon opens a blank coupon form.
- A row’s Clone icon creates a new coupon copied from that coupon.
- A row’s Edit icon opens that coupon so you can change it.
- A row’s name opens the coupon page, where you create the codes buyers redeem. The Usage tab on that page is the source of truth for whether a code has already been redeemed: it shows the redemption count and, for each redemption, who used the code.
- A row’s Delete icon removes the coupon.
A coupon code can have a contact or organization restriction and a total-use limit at the same time. If a code is already limited to a specific contact list, a separate total-use cap is often unnecessary because the contact restriction already controls who can redeem it.
Prerequisites
You need the coupon permission from your administrator. Without it, you cannot open the coupon screens.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discount method | Inline, or a separate discount line item | Inline | Inline reduces each discounted line directly. A separate line adds a negative line using the product you choose |
| Discount product | Any product you name | None | Required only for the separate-line method. You cannot delete the product while a coupon still names it |
| Maximum discount | A dollar amount, or none | No maximum | Limits how much this coupon can take off one order, no matter what its amounts and percentages add up to |
| Application Fees switch | On, off | Off | Discounts application fees when on |
| Course Fees switch | On, off | Off | Discounts course registration fees when on |
| Exam Fees switch | On, off | Off | Discounts exam and retest fees when on |
| Discount type (per section) | Fixed amount, or percentage | Fixed amount | Sets whether the section discounts by a dollar amount or a percentage |
| Program, fee, process, course type, course, or exam lists (per section) | Leave blank for all, or choose specific records | Blank (applies to all) | Limits the section’s discount to the records you choose |
| Applicant kinds (application fees only) | New applications, renewing applications, reinstatement applications | All ticked | Sets which application kinds the discount applies to. Transfer applications are always discounted |
| Status | Active, inactive | Active | Only an active coupon discounts anything |
Dependencies and Precedence
- Buyers use a coupon’s discount by entering one of its codes at checkout. Creating the coupon does not create a code; open the coupon page to create one.
- If you choose the separate discount line method, the discount product must already exist. You cannot delete that product while any coupon uses it for its discount line.
- A coupon can name programs, fees, processes, course types, courses, and exams, but Rhythm does not protect those records from deletion. If you delete one, Rhythm does not block the deletion or warn you, and the coupon discounts fewer records going forward.
- Application, course, and exam fees are created and priced in their own Setup areas.
Warning
A membership coupon cannot appear on the course registration page, so you cannot offer a complimentary membership inline during course checkout. Instead, generate the coupon in a follow-up email after the course is paid for, and have the buyer redeem it in a separate order when they apply for the membership package. This flow depends on a cross-application setup: after you configure the membership package and its coupon, you still need to link the course to that membership coupon before the follow-up email can offer it.
Certifications does not have a dedicated email that automatically targets a coupon to non-members who buy a specific course. If you need that kind of targeted delivery, a common workaround is to put the coupon code in the course description or send it yourself after the purchase, rather than relying on an automated Certifications notice.
Change Impact and How to Revert
Warning
Deleting a coupon is permanent, and there is no undelete. If you only want to pause a promotion, change the coupon’s Status to Inactive instead. Changing it back restores the same discount and codes.
- Changing a coupon to Inactive stops every code that points to it from discounting anything, without deleting the codes. Changing it back to Active restores the discount for those same codes.
- Changing a coupon’s amount, percentage, or restrictions changes what its codes do the next time someone uses one at checkout. It does not change orders that were already placed.
- If you delete a coupon while codes for it still exist, those codes stop working the next time someone tries to use them.
Permissions
You need the coupon permission from your administrator to view, create, edit, or delete coupons. Built-in roles without a Certifications administrator grant cannot open the coupon screens.
Validation and Errors
- To save a coupon, you must enter a name and choose a discount method. If you choose the separate-line method, you must also choose a discount product.
- If you turn on the Application Fees, Course Fees, or Exam Fees section, you must enter that section’s amount before you can save.
- If you delete a program, fee, course type, course, exam, or process that a coupon still names, the coupon is narrowed. It simply stops discounting for the record you removed.
Related
See "Related" in the sidebar for application, course, and exam fees, and for how custom fields work in general.