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How to Create and Use Discount Codes (including Limited Use Codes): https://help.patronmanager.com/a/858003
Want to create a discount, promo, or comp codes for your patrons to use? In this article, we'll cover
- The types of Discount Codes you can create
- How to create a new Discount Code (including Limited Use Discount Codes)
- How to define which events, Retail items, or Memberships the Discount Code is valid for
- a.k.a. Associating Price Levels
- How to define which Benefit Levels should be able to use this code automatically
- a.k.a. Associating Benefit Levels
- How your staff will apply a Discount Code to an order
- How your patrons will use Discount Codes online
Finally, we'll cover some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
1. Discount Code types
There are four types of Discount Codes you can create.
- Flat: a specific dollar amount off the face value of the ticket, e.g. "$15 off"
- Percentage: a percent off the face value, e.g. "15% off"
- Fixed Price: changes ticket price to a set amount, e.g. "All tickets $15"
- Buy X, Get Y Free:, e.g. "BOGO Sale"
- Note: this type of discount cannot be assigned to a Benefit Level
- This Discount Code will apply to the least expensive tickets first - so if a patron uses this when purchasing an Adult and less expensive Child ticket, the Child ticket will receive the discount and be free
How Discount Codes interact with Subscriptions:
- "Flat", "Percentage" and "Fixed Price" type discounts are applied to the overall Subscription package price, excluding fees.
2. How to create a new Discount Code
Know which kind of discount you want to create and what you plan to use it for? Great! Creating a new Discount Code is easy-peasy.
If a Discount Code already exists with the same Price Level and/or Benefit Level associations, you don't need to start from scratch! Head over to this article to learn how to clone a Discount Code.
2.1. Go to Discount Codes
You can get there from the PatronTicket Hub
Or the Membership Hub
Or by searching in the App Launcher
2.2. Click "New Discount Code"
2.3. Create your discount!
There's a lot to unpack, so let's go through each field:
- Name: give your Discount Code a descriptive name so you know what it is
- Note: this is visible to your buyers on the Public Ticketing Site checkout page
- Code: the code buyers will use to get this discount on the Public Ticketing Site; codes aren't case sensitive, just pick something that people will be able to remember
- Active: make sure this box is checked in order for the Discount Code to be used
- Discount Type: remember these from the beginning of the article? See above for details
- Discount Amount: depending on the Discount Type you chose, the flat/percentage discount, or the fixed price of the ticket
- Note: for Buy X, Get Y Free discounts, you'll use the Paid Item Count ("Buy X") and Free Item Count ("Get Y Free") fields instead
- Start Date (optional): the first date and time that you want this Discount Code to be available for use
- End Date (optional): the date and time that you want this Discount Code to expire
- Member Usage Limit (optional): limits the number of times a discount can be used by patrons with Benefits when they purchase through Patron Portal
- Note: this cannot be used at the same time as the Single Transaction Limit or the Global Usage Limit
- Minimum Number of Tickets (optional): sets a minimum number of tickets your patrons need to purchase to use this code, e.g., "when you purchase at least four tickets, get this discount"
- Note: this is only enforced on ticket orders placed online.
- Minimum Number of Unique Events (optional): sets a minimum number of unique Ticketable Events your patrons need to purchase to use this code, e.g. "when you purchase tickets to two different shows, get this discount"
- Note: this is only enforced on ticket orders placed online.
- Single Transaction Limit (optional): limit the total number of tickets on a given order that can use the discount, e.g. "get 50% off your first ticket"
- Note: this cannot be used at the same time as the Member Usage Limit
- Global Usage Limit (optional): limits the number of times a discount can be used in total, e.g., after this discount has been used 100 times it can no longer be used by anyone
- Note: this cannot be used at the same time as the Global Usage Limit
- Note: if a Global Usage Limit is set for a Discount Code with the Discount Type of "Buy X, Get Y Free," each item counts towards the Global Usage Limit
- For example, if you set a "buy 2, get 1 free" discount, then each time the Discount Code is used it will use up 3 of the Global Usage Limit
- Click Save!
To create a Limited Use Discount Code for your members, use the Member Usage Limit field - not the Single Transaction Limit field.
3. Associate Price Levels
Now it's time to tell the system which tickets this Discount Code can be used for. Specifically, we need to tell the system which Price Levels the discount can be used on. That way, we can be as broad or as specific as we want ("every possible ticket someone could buy this entire season" v.s. "only for Adult-priced tickets, only for balcony seats, and only on matinee performances").
Price Levels with the PWYW box checked cannot be associated with Discount Codes!
3.1. Click "Add Price Levels"
3.2. Use filters to see the events you want this code to discount
For this example, we're going to apply this discount code to all Adult tickets in the Orchestra allocations for all performances of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Use the filters to get a manageable list, and then select the rows you want:
If you'd like to make a Discount Code applicable to Retail, you can do so. You'll still use the same filter page to find the Price Levels you want to associate with the Discount Code.
- Ticketable Event maps to Retail Category
- Event Instance maps to Product Type
- Ticket Allocation maps to Product Stock
- Ticket Price Level maps to Price Level for Retail
- Instance Start Date and Instance End Date don't map to anything for Retail, so these filters shouldn't be used
If you'd like to make a Discount Code applicable to Memberships, you can do so. You'll still use the same filter page to find the Price Levels you want to associate with the Discount Code.
- Ticketable Event maps to Membership Name
- Event Instance maps to Membership Name
- Ticket Allocation maps to Membership Name
- Ticket Price Level maps to Membership Price Level
- Instance Start Date and Instance End Date don't map to anything for Membership, so these filters shouldn't be used
Because Ticketable Event, Event Instance, and Ticket Allocation all map to the Membership Name, you can use any or all of these filters to filter by Membership Name!
If you'd like to make a Discount Code applicable Price Levels for an Event Builder Template, you can do so. You'll still use the same filter page to find the Price Levels you want to associate with the Discount Code.
- Ticketable Event is a constant; always Event Builder Templates
- Event Instance maps to Template Name
- Ticket Allocation maps to Ticket Allocation
- Ticket Price Level maps to Price Level
- Instance Start Date and Instance End Date don't map to anything for Event Builder Templates, so these filters shouldn't be used
3.3. When you've checked off the price levels you want, click "Associate Selected Levels" and then click "Done"
3.4. When you go back to the discount code page, the associated price levels will be listed at the bottom
4. Associate Benefit Levels
If you've created a Benefit Level for a Membership, you can associate this Discount Code with that Benefit Level. Any patrons with that Benefit will have the Discount Code applied to their orders automatically (via the PatronManager Box Office or the Public Ticketing Site).
To learn more, hop on over to this article to learn how to add a discount to a Benefit Level.
5. How you and your staff applies a Discount Code to an order
Make sure you and your box office users know how to apply a Discount Code for in-person or over-the-phone orders with this step-by-step guide.
Pro-tip: Be sure to let your staff know if you're using Benefits, since some of your patrons will automatically have discounts applied to their orders - it's always better to know ahead of time than find out on the fly!
6. How your patrons apply Discount Codes to online orders
Your patrons can use Discount Codes on your Public Ticketing Site (PTS) in one of two ways:
- If your organization - or your patron - doesn't have Portal, they'll need to apply the Discount Code manually
- If you have PatronPortal - and your patron has a login - they'll get any discounts on their Benefit Level automatically
Let's see what the patron experience is like when:
After adding tickets to their cart, buyers can enter the discount code on the Discount page, and it will be applied to the appropriate items. Here's a Buy One, Get One Free example:
If they want to use a Flat, Fixed, or Percentage discount in the same order as a Buy X, Get Y Free discount, they should apply the Buy X Get Y discount last.
If there's a limit on how many Ticket Order Items the Discount Code can apply to, the system applies the discount to the most expensive tickets first.
Can patrons use more than one Discount Code on an order?
A patron can enter as many codes as they like, but each ticket can only have one code applied to it.
So if a patron has three tickets in their cart with a unique Discount Code for each, they can use three Discount Codes on an order. But a single ticket cannot have two of the Discount Codes applied to it.
If there's a conflict between discount codes, the system will use the most recently applied code.
The system will give your patron the best discount automatically. If there are multiple codes, the best discount code will "win" any conflicts.
Can patrons using PatronPortal enter additional Discount Codes manually?
Yup! Note a manually applied code will override any discounts in the patron's cart, even if it isn't a better discount.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you can't find the Price Level you want to add to your Discount Code using the filters, go to the Event Instance and make sure that your Price Level is active.
If the Price Level is active, make sure that you're spelling the name of the Price Level correctly when you search for it with the filters.
If a Price Level was associated with a Discount Code, but shouldn't be anymore, you can disassociate it with the following steps.
1. From the Discount Code, select View Price Levels
2. Optionally, use the filters to find the Price Levels you need to remove
In this example, we're removing any Price Levels named "Cheap."
3. Remove the Price Levels from the Discount Code
3.1. If you're removing all of the Price Levels, click "Remove All [#] Price Levels"
3.2. If you're removing some of the Price Levels, select the ones to remove and click "Remove Selected Price Levels
If a Discount Code has never been used before then you can delete the Discount Code!
If you try to delete a Discount Code that was used for a ticket, you'll receive the following error:
This Discount Code cannot be deleted because it is associated with one or more Ticket Order Items. You may deactivate it by unchecking the "Active" box instead.
If you receive this error, uncheck the "Active" checkbox for the Discount Code instead.
If a Discount Code was used for a ticket, and then that ticket is refunded, it still counts as using the Discount Code.
Absolutely! To do so, you'll set up your Discount Code the same way as you would for tickets.
We have tips on associating Retail Price Levels with Discount Codes too.
This can happen if there are either tickets in another patron's cart or if there's a limited number of Discount Code usages left.
So, for example, if there are only 2 usages left and someone adds 3 tickets to their cart, only 2 would have the Discount Code applied.
Or if there are only 5 usages left and Alex has 4 tickets in their cart with the Discount Code, then Pat adds 2 tickets to their cart and applies the Discount Code, Pat will only see 1 ticket get discounted.
Yes! During the exchange, make sure to select at least one New Item and click Manage Discounts.
From there, you can select from available Discount Codes applicable to the new ticket, or apply an ad-hoc discount.
Yes! If an active Discount Code is applicable to their new tickets, the patron will be prompted to see if they'd like to enter a Discount Code during the Self-Service Exchange.
