Discounts & Coupons
This page explains how the POS turns a discount into money off. For how to apply one, see Discounts and Coupons & Promotions.
Flat and percentage discounts
| Kind | What you enter | What comes off |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | A dollar amount | That amount, as long as the order can carry it |
| Percentage | A number of percent | That percentage of the discountable subtotal |
Both are worked out on the discountable subtotal - the subtotal with deal items left out.
Deal items never earn a discount
A deal or combo is already a discounted price. Giving it a further discount would discount it twice, so the POS leaves deal items out of the calculation entirely.
Example - $100 regular item beside a $100 deal, 10% off:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Regular item | $100.00 |
| Deal | $100.00 |
| Subtotal | $200.00 |
| Discountable subtotal (deal excluded) | $100.00 |
| Discount at 10% | − $10.00 |
| Total | $190.00 |
The regular item carries the whole $10.00. The deal carries $0.00.
WARNING
This is the single most common source of "the discount looks too small". A 10% discount on a cart that is mostly deals takes 10% of the non-deal part only. If a customer expects 10% off everything, check what proportion of the cart is deals before promising it.
A discount can never exceed the order
A flat discount larger than the goods is reduced to the goods value. A $50 discount applied to $30 of discountable items takes $30 off, not $50 - the order can reach zero but never goes negative.
A percentage discount is capped at 100%. Enter more and the POS caps it and tells you.
When a discount and a coupon are both applied
A coupon and a manual discount can sit on the same order, but together they may not exceed the bill. The POS protects this automatically:
| Situation | What the POS does |
|---|---|
| The two together fit the order | Both apply in full |
| A flat discount no longer fits beside the coupon | The discount is reduced to what fits, keeping its reason and approval - "Discount reduced from $X to $Y to fit the order total." |
| The coupon already covers the whole order | The discount is removed - "Discount of $X removed - the applied coupon already covers the order total." |
| Nothing discountable is left in the cart | The discount is removed - "Discount removed as there are no discountable items left in the order." |
TIP
If a discount you applied earlier has shrunk or disappeared, look for a coupon that was added afterwards. The POS reduces the manual discount rather than letting the two overspend the bill.
How a coupon differs from a discount
Both reduce the bill, but they are spread differently:
| Order discount | Coupon | |
|---|---|---|
| Flat or percentage | Either | Always a flat amount |
| Deal items | Excluded | Included |
| Spread across | Non-deal items only | Every item |
A coupon is a whole-of-bill promotion, so it is shared across everything in the cart including deals. An order discount is relief on regular menu items, so deals are left out.
Loyalty rewards
A loyalty reward that takes money off the order is held together with the coupon amount internally, then shown separately on the receipt and the cart summary - so the customer sees Coupon and Loyalty on their own lines.
A loyalty reward that gives a free item works differently: the item is added at $0.00 and left alone. It is not a discount on the other items.
How the discount is shared across the items
The discount is not applied to the bill as one lump. Each item is given its own share, in proportion to its price, and those shares always add back to the discount exactly.
This matters for three reasons:
- Tax. Each item's tax is worked out on its price after its share of the discount.
- Split payment. Each person pays for their own items at the discounted price.
- Receipts. A per-person receipt can show the relief that person actually received.
Example - a $10 discount over three items at $33.33, $33.33 and $33.34:
Each item's share is $3.33, $3.33 and $3.34. Not $3.33 three times, which would be $9.99 and a cent short. See Rounding & Cents.
Common questions
Why did my 10% discount only take $10 off a $200 cart?
Half the cart is probably deal items. The discount is worked out on the non-deal part of the subtotal, so a cart of $100 regular items plus a $100 deal gives 10% of $100.
I applied a $20 discount but only $15 came off. Why?
A coupon on the same order took up part of the bill, so the discount was reduced to the amount that still fits. The POS shows a message when it does this. Remove the coupon if the full discount is the one you want.
Can a discount make the total negative?
No. A discount is capped at the value of the goods it applies to. The lowest an order can reach is zero.
Does a discount reduce the GST as well?
Yes, for tax added on top (exclusive tax). The customer is buying goods at the reduced price, so the tax is worked out on the reduced price. Tax already inside the menu price (inclusive) is unaffected. See Charges & Tax.
A percentage discount was applied automatically. Where did it come from?
An automatic discount rule set by your manager - these apply on set days or times. See Discounts.