A coupon sets the discount amount, discount type, and any purchase requirements. Customers redeem a coupon by entering a coupon code, and each code is tied to one coupon. Saving the coupon does not make the discount available, so you need to create at least one coupon code before anyone can use it.
This article covers setting up the coupon. You create and assign the codes customers redeem from the coupon’s record page. Rhythm does not apply coupons automatically for a date range. You configure the coupon and its codes, then a customer or staff member applies a code manually during checkout.
Where to Find It
Go to Setup › Coupons & Discounts › Coupons. The list is headed Manage Coupons. Coupons you create here are shared discount records, not settings on one selling screen. After you save a coupon, the same coupon can apply to orders from other Rhythm applications that sell products, not only Orders & Inventory.
Prerequisites
- You hold a permission matching
commerce:admin:coupons. Only the Commerce Administrator policy grants this by default.
Create or Edit a Coupon
- Go to Setup › Coupons & Discounts › Coupons.
- Press
Create Coupon, or use a row'sCloneorEditicon. - Enter a
Name:. Rhythm suggests theID:from the name, and you can change it on a new or cloned coupon before you save. After you save, the ID locks. - Under
Discount Type:, choose what the discount does. See the table below for each option. - Enter the amount or percentage required for the discount type you chose.
- If you chose a fixed amount off the whole order, choose a
Discount Product:. See Discount Products. - Set any limits you need under
Coupon Restrictions. - If a purchase will issue this coupon's codes automatically, add coupon-specific wording under
Code Generation Confirmation Email Content. Rhythm adds that wording to the buyer's code email. See Code Generation Processes. - Press
Save Changes.
Result
Coupon '[name]' saved successfully. You land on the coupon's record page, where you can create codes for it.
Discount Types
| Discount Type | What it takes off | Needs a Discount Product? |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed amount off the order total | A flat amount from the whole order | Yes |
| A fixed amount off each item in the order | A flat amount from each qualifying line | No |
| A percentage off each item in the order | A percentage from each qualifying line, 0–100 | No |
| A fixed amount off the shipping total | A flat amount from shipping | No |
| Free Shipping | The full shipping amount | No |
For a percentage discount, set a Maximum Discount when you want to limit the total amount the coupon can remove. Leave it blank if you do not want a maximum.
A coupon applies one configured amount or percentage to everyone who qualifies. It cannot deduct one amount for members and a different amount for non-members. It also cannot automatically apply two different fixed amounts to the same offering because of regional pricing or a buyer's group. If an offering needs different discount amounts for different prices, create a separate coupon for each price and give each one its own Maximum Discount.
Tip
To give a coupon-based discount on a sponsorship order, create a discount product for sponsorships. Then set the coupon's discount type to A fixed amount off the order total and choose that discount product. Other discount types do not carry through to a sponsorship order.
A percentage discount works the same way no matter which currency the order uses. A fixed amount off the order and Maximum Discount are entered as a plain number with a USD suffix on the form. That suffix is only a display label, so it does not change with your account's currency, and the amount does not convert between currencies. Keep this in mind if your Rhythm account takes orders in more than one currency.
Restrictions
| Restriction | Effect |
|---|---|
Limit to purchase over a specific amount | The coupon gives a discount only when the order lines it applies to meet this minimum. For free-shipping and shipping-amount coupons, Rhythm checks the minimum against the shipping total instead of the merchandise total. |
Limit to certain product categories | The coupon discounts only items in the selected categories. |
Limit to certain products | The coupon discounts only the selected merchandise items. |
This coupon applies to miscellaneous products | The coupon can also discount miscellaneous product lines. |
Product and category restrictions only discount merchandise order lines, no matter which categories or products you choose. If a listed item or category is later deleted or switched off, it stays in the coupon's restriction list until you remove it.
Warning
The coupon form also offers This coupon applies to career center packages. Turning it on does not change which purchases the coupon discounts right now. Commerce coupons do not discount Career Center packages, whether or not this box is checked.
Tip
If you need to give an organization a shared fund that can only be spent on your own products and stays within your account, model it with a merchandise item that automatically generates coupon codes instead of issuing store credit. You can restrict the resulting coupon to specific products or categories, cap its Maximum Discount, and make its codes single-use or multi-use and limited to people in the purchaser's organization. Store credit cannot carry those restrictions.
Switching a Coupon on or Off
Use Status: to pause or resume a coupon without deleting it. You must choose whether the coupon is active before you can save it. Switching a coupon off does not automatically switch off the codes that belong to it.
Changing or Deleting a Coupon
You can change a coupon's discount type, amount, restrictions, or wording at any time. Codes already issued and past orders that used them are not affected, and your changes apply going forward. If you change the discount type away from a fixed amount off the order, the coupon's Discount Product: stays on the record even though it no longer applies. Because of that, a coupon that changes types more than once can keep a leftover discount product.
You cannot delete a coupon while any coupon code points to it, or while an order has used it. Delete the coupon's codes first from its record page, then delete the coupon.
Viewing a Coupon's Activity
The coupon's record page shows its codes, how many times each code has been used, and the total discount each code has given. It also includes tabs for the coupon's codes and the orders that used them. If a cancellation or void releases a use, Rhythm removes that use from the total.
To audit usage across many coupons at once, such as every coupon created within a date range, combine two queries instead of using the record page. Use the Coupon Codes query to find the codes created in that period. Then use the Coupon Code Usages query and match rows by coupon code to review each usage. See Orders & Inventory's Report Starting Points.
The Portal
Coupon-code elements on your Portal pages, where members enter or see a coupon code, are placed and linked through your Portal page designer like any other Portal page element.
Permissions
A permission matching commerce:admin:coupons is required to view, create, or change coupons and their codes. Matching permissions for commerce:admin:coupon-code-gen-processes and commerce:admin:discount-products cover those related screens. Staff without a matching key cannot reach the coupon or coupon-code screens.
Validation and Errors
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The save is refused for a name or identifier problem | Name: or ID: is empty, or the identifier is already used | Fill in the missing field, or choose a different identifier |
| A fixed amount off the order will not save | No Discount Product: is chosen, or no discount product is active in your Rhythm account | Create or activate a discount product first |
Unable to save Coupon | The save was refused | Check the message shown and correct the field it names |
Unable to delete Coupon | A coupon code still points to this coupon, or an order used it | Delete the coupon's codes first |
Related
- Discount Products: the product a whole-order coupon's discount is posted to.
- Code Generation Processes: the template and email used when a product hands out this coupon's codes automatically.
- Merchandise Categories and Shared Options: the categories a coupon can be restricted to.
- Merchandise Items: Create, Edit, and Find: the items a coupon can be restricted to.