This guide is for course providers. A Discount is a saved price reduction for selected courses. It applies Automatically when the booking qualifies, or only when the customer enters a promo code (discount code) at checkout. A Gift Card is different: it holds a balance. See Sell Gift Cards (Vouchers) for Your Courses.
Customers enter codes during a new public course checkout. In Admin, a System Admin adds a saved Discount to an order with Add Discount, without typing the code. Discounts reduce course prices only, never custom items under Other Items, such as room hire or an administration fee. If a Discount makes the course free, any custom charge on the order still has to be paid.
Open Discounts
You need the System Admin role to create, edit or delete Discounts. Discounts are available on every plan.
Open Discounts in the Admin dashboard. If it is not in the left menu, check More > Discounts.
Select New Discount, or Create Discount when the list is empty.
Example only: the list shows sample Discounts. New Discount and the Uses column are outlined.
Set Up a New Discount or Promo Code Step by Step
Work through the sections of the New Discount form in order, then save.
1. Add the Discount Name and Internal Note
In Basic Information, enter a Name your team will recognise. Optionally add an Internal Note for administrators. The wording customers see is set under Visibility.
2. Choose a Percentage or Fixed Amount Discount
Under Calculation > Discount Type, choose Percentage or Fixed Value, then enter a number greater than zero in Percentage Amount or Fixed Amount.
Percentage comes off each qualifying course in the order. For example, 10% off an order for two courses takes 10% off both.
Fixed Value is one amount off the whole order. When several qualifying courses are booked together, the amount is shared between them in proportion to their prices. It is not taken off once per course or once per person. For a reduction on each course, use a percentage.
A fixed amount is never converted between currencies: 10 takes £10 off a GBP price and €10 off a EUR price. Check it for each currency you sell in; see Choose the Currency for Your Course Prices.
When several Discounts apply, a percentage is worked out on the same course price each time, not on an already reduced price, and the total reduction never goes below zero. Check the final checkout total, including tax and fees.
3. Apply the Discount Automatically or Require a Promo Code
Automatically: no code needed. It applies when the course, dates and criteria qualify.
Require Promo Code: enter the Promo Code. The customer must enter it at the Payment step of checkout and still meet the other rules.
4. Choose Which Courses the Discount Applies To
Under Applies To, choose All courses, All courses except... (select them under Exclude these courses), Specific courses only (select them under Select courses) or Courses in specific collections (select them under Select collections). A Discount applies to whole courses and all their dates and price options; it cannot be limited to one price option.
5. Add Discount Conditions Such as Group Size, Basket Total or Tags (Criteria)
Leave Criteria empty if you do not need any extra conditions. To add one, select Add Condition, choose a field under Select Field…, then choose how to compare it.
Checkout Total checks the price options and add-ons in the basket before discounts, fees and added VAT. Cademy uses the amount in the checkout currency without converting it.
Checkout Spaces checks the total number of spaces in the basket.
Contact Tag checks the tags on the contact making the booking.
Organisation Tag checks the tags on the organisation linked to that contact.
For a number, choose equals, does not equal, is more than, is at least, is less than or is at most. Type the number and press Enter. For tags, choose is any of or is none of and select tags, or use is empty or is not empty to check whether any tags are present. Cademy checks the current tags at checkout, so changing them can change who qualifies. See Add Tags to Contacts and Bookings.
Select Add Condition for each extra condition. With two or more rows, use the And or Or button beside the second row to change how the rows are matched. And requires all of them to match. Or requires at least one to match.
Use Add Group to put conditions together. Use the group’s own Add Condition button to add to it. A group with two or more rows has its own And or Or setting. The editor checks the group as a single row alongside the conditions outside it.
If Create Discount or Save Discount shows a message under a row, follow the message to fix the field, comparison or value. For an Add a value. message, open the value box and enter or select the missing value. Remove the row if you do not need it, then try saving again.
6. Set the Discount’s Start and End Dates (Availability)
Fixed Dates has From, to and a timezone. Leave both dates empty for no start or end date.
Confirm exact start and expiry times with Support before advertising a timed offer. Do not assume the offer lasts to the end of the end date. If an existing Discount's dates look blank or differ from the list, ask Support before saving.
Relative to Course Start uses Available starting and Available until, in whole days before the course start. For example, enter 30 and 7 for an offer from 30 days to 7 days before the course. Available starting must be the same as or more than Available until, a blank field removes that limit, and 0 means the course start time. It needs a selected course date, so use Fixed Dates for courses without one.
7. Limit How Many Times a Discount Can Be Used
Under Usage Limit, tick Limit how many times this discount can be used and enter Maximum Uses: a whole number of at least 1. Leave it unticked for unlimited use. It works for automatic Discounts and promo codes.
One use is one discounted course space, not one order or one person. With a limit of 5, an order for 3 discounted spaces uses three and leaves two. The limit is shared by everyone and every qualifying course. Existing qualifying orders count when you add a limit later. For a single-use code, choose Require Promo Code and set Maximum Uses to 1: it then covers one space, not one order of any size.
8. Change the Discount Text Customers See (Label and Description Fields)
Under Visibility, choose Show discount on qualifying course page and Show discount on qualifying course checkouts. A new Discount shows on checkouts but not on course pages. Enter the wording customers see in Label, such as "Early Bird: 10% Off", and an optional Description, shown when someone points at the label. If Label is blank, Cademy shows the amount instead, such as 100% off.
These settings only advertise the Discount. A hidden automatic Discount still applies. A shown offer is still checked at checkout against the basket, the booker's tags and the uses left. Promo code Discounts are shown too when these boxes are ticked, so untick both for a code you give only to certain people.
9. Save, Edit or Delete a Discount
Check the amount, method, courses, criteria, dates, usage limit and public wording, then select Create Discount and look for Discount created.
To change a Discount, open it from Discounts, make the changes and select Save Discount. Look for Discount updated and reopen it to check.
To delete one, open it, select Delete and confirm with Delete in Delete Discount.
Does Deleting Old Discount Codes Affect Orders and Reports?
Deleting a Discount stops it being used and removes it from Discounts. Orders already placed keep their reduced prices and discount amounts, so revenue and order totals in reports do not change. Invoices and the customer's order details keep the discount name.
Some places stop showing the deleted Discount's name: the order side sheet shows "Discount", the Discount Code column on Orders is blank (the discount amount stays), the name and percentage are blank in order CSV exports, and you cannot filter reports by it. Export the orders that used a code first if you need its name. The dialog says deletion cannot be undone.
Why a Discount or Promo Code Won’t Apply at Checkout
When a code is refused, the customer sees one of these messages:
Invalid voucher code: the code is wrong, the Discount was deleted, it is outside its dates, none of the booked courses qualify, or the criteria are not met.
Promo code limit reached: the code has no uses left, or fewer uses left than the spaces in the basket. The check counts every space in the basket, even on courses the code does not cover.
Promo code no longer available, Discount no longer available or Discounts no longer available at Payment: the last uses ran out while the customer was paying. Checkout removes it, and they choose a payment method again.
If a discount was shown and then disappeared, check whether the latest booking details still meet its conditions. For example, if the basket drops from three spaces to two, it no longer meets a three-space minimum. Ask the customer to check the total at Payment before continuing.
Work through these checks:
Open the Discount and compare the Promo Code with what the customer typed.
Check Applies To includes the course, and the dates under Availability cover today, or the selected course date for Relative to Course Start.
Check Criteria against the latest basket and the contact making the booking. Check whether all or at least one of the rows needs to match, including any groups.
Check Usage Limit for uses left.
Ask the customer to enter the code at Payment in a new booking from your course page, under Apply promo code or gift card. Codes cannot be entered on an invoice or payment link.
An automatic Discount that does not appear has failed one of the same checks, or needs more uses than are left; it is never applied to only part of the basket. For an order already placed, add the Discount yourself as described in "Apply a Discount to an Order" below, and do not ask the customer to book again.
Discount Code Applied Only Once on an Order for Two Courses
A promo code is accepted when at least one course in the basket qualifies, and it then applies to every qualifying course. How much comes off depends on the Discount Type:
Percentage: the percentage comes off each qualifying course.
Fixed Value: the amount comes off once for the whole order, shared between the qualifying courses. For example, a fixed 20 on an order for two £100 courses takes £10 off each, £20 in total.
If the reduction should apply to each course, use a percentage. If only one course got a reduction, check that Applies To includes the other course.
Can I Discount Only One Person in a Group Booking?
A saved Discount cannot be assigned to a named participant. It reduces the qualifying course amounts on the order. When two participants share the same price option, the reduction is shared between their places.
First decide whether you need a lower combined bill or a different price against one person:
Lower combined bill: a Fixed Value Discount can take off the intended amount once. It does not record that reduction against one person’s name.
Different price for one person: if that person already has a separate offer row covering just their one place, you can change that row’s unit price through Change Places, Prices or Amounts on an Order. Changing a unit price affects every unit on that row. Do not lower a shared row’s price expecting only one participant to change. If the person does not have a separate one-place row, ask Cademy Support to check the intended change with your order reference.
Example: Reduce a Group Booking Total by the Discount for One Place
For example, two places at £140 total £280. To reduce the combined bill by the equivalent of 10% off one place, use a fixed £14 reduction: £280 − £14 = £266. For two equal places on the same price option, the saved participant amounts are £133 each, rather than £140 for one person and £126 for the other. A 10% Discount on both places would take off £28 and leave £252. This example has no other discounts, added tax or fees; check the actual order’s final total.
For an existing order, a System Admin can apply the fixed reduction only while order-level discounts are editable. They are locked after payment or credit is applied to an issued invoice, or when there is more than one issued invoice. A redeemed gift card counts as payment. Do not remove a payment or credit to unlock the controls. Follow When the Discount or VAT Option Is Locked for the credit-note or refund routes.
Create a separate Discount using the setup steps above. Choose Fixed Value and enter 14 in Fixed Amount for this example. Leave any reusable percentage Discount unchanged.
If staff will select it manually, choose Require Promo Code, enter a code kept by your team and untick both Visibility boxes. Choose the intended course under Specific courses only, check the remaining settings and select Create Discount. These settings do not bind it to one order or participant; anyone with the code can use it when the rules allow.
Open Orders, find the order and select Edit Order. In the totals, remove the existing order Discount if replacing it, then select Add Discount and choose the saved fixed Discount. Staff select it from the list without typing the code.
Select Review Changes… beneath the totals. Check the proposed total, invoice result and customer-email choice before confirming. Reopen the saved order and check its participant amounts and invoice. For the complete steps and restrictions, follow Add a Discount to an Existing Order.
Do not add a positive Custom Item called “discount” to reduce the bill. A custom item is an extra charge and increases the amount due.
Discount and Promo Code Examples for Course Bookings
Automatically Apply a 10% Discount When a Booking Includes 3 or More People
Create a Discount with Percentage and Percentage Amount 10.
Choose Automatically and the courses under Applies To.
Under Criteria, select Add Condition. Choose Checkout Spaces, select is at least and enter 3.
Save it. Bookings of 3 or more spaces in one checkout get 10% off the qualifying courses.
Can I Discount a Bundle of Courses?
There is no bundle product. Create a Discount with Specific courses only and the bundle's courses, applied Automatically or with a promo code. Cademy does not check that every course in the bundle is booked: the Discount applies to whichever of those courses are in the basket. A Fixed Value is shared across them, as described in step 2.
Can a Promo Code Unlock a Hidden Ticket or Price Option?
A price option cannot be hidden until a code is entered. To give certain people a lower price, create a Require Promo Code Discount for the course and untick both Visibility boxes. For a lower price on every place, use a Percentage: for example, 20% off a £300 course gives code holders £240 a place, for 1 place or for 3. A Fixed Value comes off once per booking, not per place: 50 off a booking for one £300 place leaves £250, but a booking for 3 places pays £850. Add Maximum Uses if the code should cover only a set number of places.
Can a Course Link Apply a Promo Code Automatically?
No link applies a promo code for the customer, and a code cannot be added to a course link. Send the course link together with the code, and ask people to enter it at Payment under Apply promo code or gift card.
Check a Discount's Usage and Change Its Limit
In Discounts, the Uses column shows the spaces using each Discount, such as 3 / 5 for a limited one. Open a Discount to see, for example, Used 3 of 5 so far. 2 uses remaining. When the limit is reached, the list shows Limit reached and new checkouts cannot use it.
To allow more uses, increase Maximum Uses. To remove the cap, untick Limit how many times this discount can be used.
Select Save Discount, then reopen it to check.
You can lower the maximum below the uses already taken. Existing orders stay unchanged, and new customer checkouts cannot use it.
What Counts Towards a Discount's Usage Limit?
Discounted course spaces on current orders count, including orders still being paid. Custom items do not.
Cancelling an order, or removing a discounted space from it, releases those uses. Cancelling only a registration does not, while the space stays on the order.
A refund, even in full, does not release uses while the order is active.
An unfinished payment holds its uses until Cademy marks the checkout as abandoned.
For cancelling and refunding, see Cancel a Booking or Part of an Order and Refund a Customer in Full or in Part.
What Customers See When You Offer a Discount
What a Discount looks like on your course page and at checkout.
Why a Booking Page Shows a 100% Discount Customers Cannot Use
With the Visibility boxes ticked, the course page shows the Label in a box, and checkout shows it under Available Discounts with "Discounts and vouchers are redeemed in the final step." Nothing is shown for a free course or a Discount with no uses left. If customers ask about an offer, such as 100% off, that they cannot use, it is usually a promo code Discount with a box ticked: untick both boxes, or add a clear Label and Description.
Use a Promo Code During Public Checkout
Start a booking from your public course page, choose the course and price option, and a date if needed.
Continue to Payment.
Open Apply promo code or gift card, enter the code in Enter code... and select Apply.
Check for Voucher applied successfully! and the new total.
Pay any amount due, or select Continue if the total is zero.
Example only: the sample code TEAM10 is applied, and Your Basket shows the deduction and the new Total.
Cademy checks discount conditions again when the customer completes their details and when the order is placed. If the basket or the booker’s details change and the discount no longer qualifies, Cademy can remove it. Review the discount and the final total before continuing.
One promo code or Gift Card can be entered at a time; automatic Discounts can apply as well. With nothing to pay, the code field is hidden unless a code is already applied. To show a customer how to enter a code, send them Book a Course for Yourself or Other People.
At Payment, automatic Discounts appear under Discounts Applied: with the deductions in the summary. Deposits and monthly instalments are worked out on the total after Discounts; see Take a Deposit and Collect the Balance Later and Offer Payment Plans (Monthly Instalments).
What Happens If a Promo Code Has Fewer Uses Left Than Spaces Booked?
Promo code limit reached says either "This promo code has been used the maximum number of times and can no longer be applied." or, for example, "This promo code has 2 use(s) left, but your order is for 3 space(s)." Applying a code does not reserve uses: if they run out before the order is placed, checkout removes the Discount and the customer chooses a payment method again. If a free booking stops at Your Details instead, they should go back to the basket and check their bookings before trying again.
Apply a Discount to an Order
A System Admin can add a saved Discount to an order with Add Discount, including a promo code Discount, without typing the code. Gift Cards are not listed.
Check eligibility and uses left yourself. The selector checks the course and dates only, not the Criteria, and the usage limit does not block orders made by staff, through the Public API or by accepting a course request. Their discounted spaces still count, so usage can show 6 / 5.
Add a Discount When Creating an Order
Before you create the order, select Add Discount in the totals and choose the Discount. See Create an Order to Book a Customer Onto a Course.
Add a Discount When Editing an Existing Order
To add a discount to an order that was already made, see Change an Existing Order.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a Discount and a promo code?
A Discount is the saved rule. A promo code is what the customer types to use a Discount set to Require Promo Code.
Can a customer enter a promo code on an invoice or payment link?
No. Add the saved Discount to their order yourself while editing it; see Change an Existing Order. This is not possible after a payment or credit is recorded.
Can several Discounts apply together?
Yes. Eligible automatic Discounts combine with one entered code at checkout. Add Discount in Admin adds one Discount.
Can I apply a gift card with Add Discount on an order?
No. Gift Cards have their own redemption steps; see Sell Gift Cards (Vouchers) for Your Courses.
Can a hidden Discount still apply automatically?
Yes. Visibility only controls whether it is advertised.