September 06 2010  Support Center » Knowledgebase » How do I create a Coupon?  How do I create a Coupon? Solution You can easily create a very simple or complex coupon using the Coupon Manager in your store. Coupons are actual discounts on the purchase price, and are not considered a payment method. With that, a coupon has no actual ?balance,? meaning there?s no running balance left if the order is completely covered by the coupon. SOLUTION First we need to go to the Coupon module in your store. 1. Log-in to your stores Administration Area. 2. Click on the Stores Arrow 3. Click on the Arrow next to your store name 4. Click on Order Fulfillment Configuration. 5. Click on Coupons. Generating Coupon Keys To add coupons, in Order Fulfillment click on the Coupons tab, and the yellow add coupon icon . There are 3 tabs for the various possible coupon settings. Main Settings Clone From - This allows you to copy all the coupon settings for an existing coupon. To copy the settings, enter the coupon code, and click the Load button. Coupon Code - A unique code for this coupon. Coupon codes may be up to 35 characters. Note: Colons : are not allowed in coupon codes. Valid Starting - The starting date the coupon is valid for. Coupons are valid beginning midnight of the start date. Valid Thru - The last date the coupon is valid for. Coupons are valid until midnight of the thru date. Amount- Discount amount for the coupon. You may use either a fixed or percentage amount. For percentage amounts, check the Percent box. Free Shipping - If checked, after entering the coupon a new shipping option will appear in the select shipping drop down box for free shipping. The text configured in the Shipping Method field will display in the drop down. Note: If you enable Free Shipping, the amount field is optional. A coupon could allow free shipping and give an additional discount like any other coupon, or be used strictly for free shipping. May Be Used In Conjunction With Other Coupons - If unchecked, the coupon can only be used by itself and not with any other coupons. If checked, the coupon may be used with other coupons up to the amount specified in the Maximum Additional Coupons field. Leave the Maximum additional coupons to zero for no limit. One/Customer - If checked, the module will attempt to limit the coupon to one use per customer. 3 types of checks are used. 1. Cookies - The module will check if the cookie Merchant sets matches one that has already been used when redeeming the coupon. 2. Ship-To Address -- If no cookie match is found, the full address will be checked. 3. Customer ID - If still no match is found, the customer ID will be checked (the customer ID is a unique number Merchant uses for keeping track of customer accounts.). Note: Please keep in mind even with all these checks a customer COULD bypass a one/customer restriction (by deleting cookies, changing a minor detail of their address, and using a different account, etc.). There simply is no full proof way to ensure a customer doesn't re-use a coupon (outside of setting the maximum uses to one). Note:To save disk space, the module only logs this verification info for coupons that are already marked as one/customer. If you create a coupon that is not one/customer, then later change it to one/customer, the restriction will not apply to any uses of that coupon in the past. Maximum Uses - The maximum times a coupon may be redeemed. For example, you can offer a coupon only to the first 10 shoppers that use it. This option is commonly used for offering one time coupons to just one customer for customer service issues, etc. Leave at zero for unlimited uses. Minimum Subtotal - The minimum order subtotal (before tax, shipping, and other charges/discounts) that must be met before the coupon can be redeemed. Leave at zero for no minimum. Maximum Discount - The total maximum allowable discount. Leave at zero for no maximum. Reduce Tax - If checked, any sales tax will be applied after the discount. If unchecked, the tax is applied to the actual subtotal without taking into account the coupon. Whether you should reduce tax depends on your state laws and the type of coupon. For instance, manufacturers coupons may not be taxable but other coupons may be. Notes - This is just a memo field that can be used for notes (e.g. the purpose of the coupon). Advanced Settings Optional Product Settings - Advanced Settings Optional Only For Qualifying Product(s) - If checked, the coupon may only be redeemed if one or more specific products are ordered. Note: All product settings below here only apply if Only For Qualifying Product(s) is checked. Qualifying product(s) - Enter the product(s) that must be ordered to redeem the coupon. For multiple products, separate each product code by a pipe |. You can also use * for a wildcard. For example, to mark all products beginning with 123 as qualifying, use 123*. This works for all products starting with a specific code, but not for individual characters within a code. 123*567 would still signify all products starting with 123 even if they didn't end with 567. You can mark all products as qualifying with a single *. Included vs Excluded - If included (default) is selected, only products listed will be considered qualifying. if excluded is selected, all products in the store except those listed will be considered qualifying. Excluding products is useful when you want a coupon to apply to all products in your store except one or a few. Wildcards may be used with both included and excluded lists. Minimum Quantity - The minimum quantity of qualifying products that must be ordered. Leave at zero for no minimum. Minimum Subtotal - The minimum subtotal of qualifying products that must be ordered. Leave at zero for no minimum. Base Discount On Quantity Ordered - This setting only applies if using a flat rate in the Amount field above. If checked, the amount will be multiplied by the quantity of qualifying products ordered until the maximum quantity has been reached. For example, suppose you have a $2 off coupon for all blue widgets. If this option is checked, and the customer orders 4 widgets, she will receive an $8 discount. If not checked, the discount would be $2. You can also set a maximum quantity after which the amount will no longer be increased. Using the same example, if you want to limit the total discount to $10, you would set the maximum quantity to 5. Leave the maximum quantity at zero for no limit. Apply Discount To Entire Subtotal - This setting only applies if using a percent rate in the Amount field above. If checked, the percentage discount is applied to the entire subtotal. If unchecked, it is only applied to the price of qualifying product(s) ordered. Ship-To Settings - Advanced Settings Optional Only For Qualifying Countries - If checked, the coupon may only be redeemed if the ship-to country matches one defined in the Qualifying Country Codes list. Separate multiple country codes with a a pipe | character. Only For Qualifying US States - If checked, the coupon may only be redeemed if the ship-to country matches one defined in the Qualifying States list. Separate multiple states with a pipe | character. Only For Qualifying Zip Code(s) - If checked, the coupon may only be redeemed if the ship-to zip code matches one defined in the Qualifying Zip Codes list. Separate multiple zip codes with a a pipe | character. Group Settings - Advanced Settings Optional Restrict To Availability Group - If an availability group is specified here, the coupon may only be redeemed for customers assigned to that group. Restrict To Price Group - If a price group is specified here, the coupon may only be redeemed for customers assigned to that group. Article Details Article ID: 13 Created On: January 01 2005 08:50 PM  This answer was helpful  This answer was not helpful  Back  Login [Lost Password]  Email: Password: Remember Me:    Search -- Entire Support Site -- Knowledgebase Downloads  Article Options  Print Article  PDF Version  Email Article  Add to Favorites