Coupons and discounts
A coupon is a code a guest enters to get money off. The screen is Discount Management, with the heading Coupons, and its description is “Create codes guests can redeem at checkout or on the storefront.”
- Plans
- Bistro, Brasserie, Signature, Enterprise
- Can it be switched off?
- Yes — an owner or manager can turn it off under Setup → Features.
- Needs first
- Menu catalogue. This stays off until all of them are in your plan and switched on.
Two switches, not one
Section titled “Two switches, not one”Coupons need both of these before the screen appears:
- The Coupons and promotions feature has to be in your plan and switched on under Setup → Features.
- Enable coupons has to be on under Setup → Tax and pricing → Promotions.
The second one exists because plenty of restaurants have the feature but do not want their staff applying codes at all. Its hint spells out what switching it off does: “When off, Coupons is hidden from the menu and staff cannot apply coupon codes on Register or checkout.” The section introduction says the same: “Control whether coupon codes appear in the dashboard and can be applied at checkout.”
So if Coupons has vanished from your sidebar, check that setting before you suspect your plan.
Creating a coupon
Section titled “Creating a coupon”Add Coupon, then:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Code | What the guest types. |
| Name | Your own label for it. |
| Discount Type | Percentage or Fixed. |
| Discount Value | The number. |
| Minimum Order Value | The coupon does nothing below this. |
| Usage Limit | “Leave empty for unlimited”. |
| Max Discount Amount | A ceiling. Mostly for percentage coupons. |
| Expires At | Leave empty and it shows as Never. |
Max Discount Amount earns its keep
Section titled “Max Discount Amount earns its keep”A “20% off” coupon with no ceiling is 20% off a $400 function booking. Setting Max Discount Amount to $15 keeps the offer you intended and removes the one you did not. Fixed-amount coupons do not need it.
Usage Limit
Section titled “Usage Limit”Unlimited is shown as Unlimited in the list, and is right for a public campaign. A limit of 1 makes a one-shot apology voucher. The Usage column tracks redemptions against the limit, which is how you tell a dead campaign from a popular one.
Switching one off without deleting it
Section titled “Switching one off without deleting it”Every coupon has an Active / Inactive status you can flip from the list. That is the right move for a campaign that has run its course — the usage history stays, and you can bring it back for the same promotion next year. Deleting asks Delete coupon “SUMMER20”? and does not keep a copy.
Coupons versus a manual discount
Section titled “Coupons versus a manual discount”A coupon is a code with rules attached. A manual discount is a staff member deciding to
take money off this one order — and that needs the separate tenant.orders.discount.apply
permission. See Change an open order.
Use a coupon when the discount should be the same for everyone who has the code. Use a manual discount when a manager is making a judgement call about one table.