A coupon is a reusable discount rule for membership orders. It does not lower a price on its own. The buyer redeems a coupon code at checkout, and that code points to the coupon. This article shows you how to create, review, change, and retire coupons in the Console. For the buyer experience, see Redeem a Coupon at Checkout.
What This Controls
A coupon controls four parts of the discount:
- Who qualifies — members joining for the first time, members renewing, or both.
- How the discount shows on the order — the coupon either lowers each matching line directly or adds one negative line with a Commerce discount product.
- The most it can ever take off — an optional dollar cap for the total discount.
- What it discounts, and by how much — up to four switchable sections: membership packages, chapter dues, section dues, and add-ons. Each section has its own fixed amount or percentage, plus an optional list of the specific products, types, chapters, or sections it discounts.
Warning
A coupon cannot start because a member chooses to auto-renew. You can tie a discount to a package, chapter, section, or add-on, but not directly to the auto-renewal choice.
Where to Find It
Go to Membership & Committees › Setup › Coupons. The Coupons list shows every coupon in your account, its status, and the date it last changed. Select Create Coupon to create a coupon, or select a coupon name to open its summary page.
Create or Edit a Coupon
- On the Coupons list, select Create Coupon, or open an existing coupon from its summary page and select its edit action.
- Enter a Name:. For a new or cloned coupon, the ID: fills in from the name; after the coupon is edited, you cannot change the ID.
- Choose the audience under What types of members should be discounted by this coupon? — New members, Renewing members, or Both new & renewing members (the default).
- Choose how the discount reaches the order under How should discounts from this coupon be applied to the order? — Inline (the default) lowers each matching line directly; Separate Discount Line Item adds a negative line using the discount product you choose in Select the Discount Product.
- Optionally set What is the maximum discount this coupon can yield? Leave it blank if you do not want a cap.
- Turn on one or more of Membership Packages, Chapter Dues, Section Dues, and Add On Dues. For each section you turn on, choose By a Fixed Amount or By a Percentage, then enter the amount. Leave the package, type, chapter, or section pickers blank to discount all of them.
- For Chapter Dues and Section Dues, optionally set the maximum number of chapters or sections the coupon can discount.
- Optionally add a description.
- Select Save Changes.
Result
After you save, Rhythm opens the coupon summary page. From there, you can edit the coupon again, delete it, or create a redemption code for it.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | New members, Renewing members, Both | Both | Limits the discount to the audience you choose. Treat this as the intended rule, because it has not been confirmed against every checkout path |
| Discount method | Inline, Separate Discount Line Item | Inline | Inline lowers each matching line price directly. A separate line adds one negative line using the discount product you choose, so you must choose a discount product for this method |
| Maximum discount | A dollar amount, or blank | No maximum | Caps the total amount the coupon can take off. You can enter a negative number, and Membership does not enforce the cap itself; checkout is expected to apply it |
| Membership Packages / Chapter Dues / Section Dues / Add On Dues (each a switch) | On, off | Packages on; the other three off for a new coupon | Turns that kind of discount on. If you turn a section off, Rhythm keeps its saved settings but stops that section from discounting |
| Method (per section) | By a Fixed Amount, By a Percentage | Fixed amount | Sets whether the amount is a flat figure or a percentage. Rhythm does not check an upper limit for a percentage |
| Amount (per section) | A number, 0 or more | Empty | Sets the discount amount for that section, using the unit you chose in Method |
| Package / type / chapter / section / add-on pickers | Multiple choice, or blank | Blank (applies to all) | Limits the discount to the records you choose. Rhythm does not check whether saved picker choices still point to existing records, so a coupon can keep pointing to a deleted package, chapter, section, or add-on |
| Maximum number of chapters / sections discounted | A number, or blank | Unlimited | Caps how many chapter or section dues lines this coupon discounts. Zero works the same as a blank field, so Rhythm treats it as unlimited. Rhythm does not check that the number is whole and non-negative |
| Status | Active, Inactive | Active | An inactive coupon gives no discount to anyone who redeems one of its codes |
| Deletion Protection | Locked, Unlocked | Unlocked | Only Rhythm staff see this setting. A locked coupon cannot be edited or deleted from the list |
Dependencies and Precedence
- Redemption codes are separate records. A coupon does not discount anything by itself; buyers redeem a coupon code, and that code points to the coupon. Create a code from the coupon summary page with Create Coupon Code, and review or change existing codes from that same page.
- More matching lines than your chapter or section limit allows. The coupon discounts the first matching lines in the order’s own line order and leaves the rest undiscounted.
- Cloning a coupon copies every discount setting from the source coupon into a new coupon, but leaves the new coupon’s ID: empty. You must change the name or enter an identifier before the clone will save.
- A discount product used by a separate-line coupon cannot be deleted while the coupon still uses it.
- To make an initiation fee discountable by a coupon, set the fee up as a membership add-on and bundle it with the package. Then configure the coupon to discount Add On Dues instead of Membership Packages. A coupon does not discount an initiation fee configured as a standalone miscellaneous product. Setting it up as an add-on lets the coupon reduce the bundled fee to zero while the rest of the package keeps its normal price.
- A workaround for a complimentary membership tied to a course purchase: generate a coupon code and email it after the course is paid for, then have the buyer apply that code during a separate membership application.
- Coupon codes come from a coupon code generation process. The default process generates randomized, single-use codes and cannot be removed, deactivated, or edited, including its confirmation email. To change the code format or the confirmation email a code triggers, create a new coupon code generation process instead of trying to edit the default one. A code created through a different, non-default process is not necessarily randomized the way the default one is.
Change Impact and How to Revert
- Changing a coupon’s rules takes effect the next time one of its codes is redeemed. It does not change orders that were already placed. The coupon's summary page keeps a Usages tab of orders that redeemed one of its codes. An order can stay listed there even after you add or tighten eligibility criteria that would keep it from qualifying today. If a code was ever accepted on an order it did not actually discount, that order can appear in the list with a $0.00 discount.
- Switching a coupon's Status to Inactive stops it from discounting without deleting it, so you can turn it back on later.
- Deleting a coupon removes the coupon record and cannot be undone in the product; the audit history keeps its last saved version. See Audit History. If you delete a coupon that still has live codes, Rhythm does not warn you or stop the delete. Anyone who tries to redeem one of those codes later gets an error at checkout.
Warning
Rhythm does not check whether a coupon you are about to delete still has redemption codes pointing to it. Before you delete a coupon, confirm on its summary page that no codes still depend on it, so a buyer’s code does not fail later.
Permissions
Membership Administrators can create, edit, clone, delete, and review coupons. Other Membership roles do not have access to the Setup pages that manage coupons.
Validation and Errors
| Message or symptom | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "You haven't entered a valid value for Name" or "…for Id" | The name or identifier is missing on a new or cloned coupon | Enter a name; the identifier fills in automatically |
| "You haven't entered a valid value for Discount Product" | Separate Discount Line Item is chosen without a discount product | Choose a discount product, or switch the method to Inline |
| "You haven't entered a valid value for Membership Package Discount Info" (or the Chapter Dues, Section Dues, or Add On Products equivalent) | A discount section is switched on without a method or amount | Enter an amount of zero or more for that section, or switch the section off |
| A red warning beside ID: reading "A record already exists with this name" | The generated identifier matches an existing coupon | This warning is advisory and does not block saving; change the identifier if you want a different one |
| Unable to save Coupon | The service refused the save | Correct what the message names, then save again |
| Unable to delete Coupon | The delete failed | Retry; if it continues, contact Support |
Related
- Charge the Right Price for a Package or Dues Line
- Dues Proration and Renewal Pricing Overrides
- Redeem a Coupon at Checkout