NOTE: This feature is available in the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and myStratus Desktop.

• Combination
• Dollar Amount Off Per Item
• Flat Dollar Amount Off
• Percentage Off
• Free Product
• Loyalty Reward

Creating a Coupon in Your Price List

1. Open your price list.

2. Create a new group for coupons. Tip: Can hide a group.

3. Create a new item by clicking New Item on the ribbon.

4. Give the item an Identifier and Description. Note: The identifier is used to help you find the item when applying it to an invoice. The description will appear on the client's invoice.

5. Open the Item Type drop-down list and choose Promotional Item.
   

6. Choose any additional settings you need on the General tab. The Session Dates section allows you to choose if this promotion should only apply to certain session dates. If you're using this with Online Booking Promotions, it will limit the time slots a client can book online. You can also limit the availability of a promotion by using the Item Visibility date fields.

7. Now, to set up the specifics of the coupon, open the Promotional Item Details tab.
              

8. There are six Promotion Types to choose from. Your Promotion Options will vary depending on the type you choose. The options for each type are shown below.
   
   
   • Combination - Option of integrating two already created promotions into a single promotion. For example, using $50 off an Invoice of $200 or more AND 20% off of a single print. This can now be utilized as a combination promotion so a Client can receive two promotions at once.
   
   • Dollar Amount Off Per Item - Enter a Dollar amount and then choose which items are included in the promotion. Note: Item Tags are used when you want to limit the discount to specific items that aren't already grouped by Item Type, Product Line, or Group. For more about creating and using Item Tags, refer to the Item Tags topic.
   
   • Flat Dollar Amount Off - Use this type to give a flat amount off an order or a set amount for every $xx dollars a client spends on an order.
   
   • Percentage Off - Enter a percentage amount and then choose which items are included in the promotion. Note: Item Tags are used when you want to limit the discount to specific items that aren't already grouped by Item Type, Product Line, or Group. For more about creating and using Item Tags, refer to the Item Tags topic.
     
     
   • Free Item - Use this to offer a free item, like an 8x10 print. In addition to your own free item promotions, the Free Item type is also used with Groupons and other third-party coupons. See FAQ - Using Third-Party Coupons (Groupon) for more information.
     
     
   • Loyalty Reward - Use this type of promotion to issue a coupon for dollars off a client's next visit. The reward can be a flat amount or it can be a set amount for every $xx dollars a client spends (on the current order). These rewards can include an automatic expiration. Note: You can also use the software to issue rewards based on a client's total spending. Refer to Implementing a Loyalty Program for details.
     
     
     
     
9. Next, choose any Limitations for the coupon.
   
   
   
   

• Limit to one use per invoice - Do not allow the coupon to be added to an invoice multiple times. Note: This is required for a "Free Item" promotion.

• Limit to one use per client  - Limits the coupon to being only used one time per client.

• Limit to invoices with a subtotal of at least... - Limit the coupon to invoices over a certain dollar amount (before taxes). Enter the threshold amount.

• Limit to clients with a status of... - Limit the coupon to clients with a certain status. Choose the status from the drop-down list.

• Not combinable with any other offer - Prevent other coupons from being used with the coupon.

• Promotion not allowed to be entered directly - Limit this coupon so it cannot be added to an invoice individually. This coupon can only be used as part of a Combination Promotion Type. If this option is checked, this item will not be visible within its price list on an invoice.
  

• Limit to active subscription plan -  Limit this coupon so it can only be used for clients with a particular subscription.

• Limit uses per subscription year to - Limit the use of this coupon to a certain number of uses, per subscription plan year.

10. Next, set up your Coupon specifications. You can set coupon numbers to be required (optional). This will prompt the user to enter a coupon number when adding a promotional item to an invoice. You can also require this number to be unique and/or require the coupon number to come from a pre-existing list of number. 
    
    Select Maintain Coupon List to pull up a list of all valid coupon numbers for the selected promotional item. Numbers can be added manually, by typing them under the Coupon Number column and pressing the Enter key, or they can be imported from a .csv, .txt. or .xls document:
    
    
    
    When importing coupon numbers, only import the coupon numbers that pertain to the selected promotional item. Please note: Your spreadsheet must be formatted according to the instructions on the import screen. Check the box if the first row of your document contains headers rather than data. 
    
    Coupon numbers are an important part of any third-party coupon service, such as Groupon. For more about setting up this type of promotional item, see FAQ - Using Third-Party Coupons (Groupon).
    
    

11. Additionally, choose if this promotional item should be excluded from the Best Promotion Calculator and always be applied to an invoice. To enable the Best Promotion Calculator, visit Maintenance > Preferences > Company Preferences > Invoicing tab. When enabled, upon saving an invoice Spectra/myStratus will automatically cycle through all the promotional items on the invoice that do NOT have this checkbox checked and calculate which one is the best for the client and zero out all the other promotional line items. "Zeroed" line items will be displayed in red. See also: Company Preferences - Invoicing

12. In the final, Promotion Actions, section, you can select if you want this promotional item to auto advance the client's Lead Source. For instance, you can set up different promo codes for different outlets (e.g. Social Media, Magazine ads, SMS text, etc.). Use this option to have the software automatically advance when a client uses that specific promo code. This feature works great with Online Booking Promotions.

13. Save and close the item when finished.

Applying a Coupon to an Invoice

See also: Using Coupons

Reporting on Coupon Usage