How to use coupons
Learn how to use Stripe coupons and promotion codes on payment and subscription forms.
Introduction
A coupon is a code created by the seller, and the buyer can apply the code on the checkout page to get a discount.
As an example, if a membership website subscription is $100 / month, and the seller created a coupon (10PERCENTOFF) which is 10% off, after the buyer applies the coupon code 10PERCENTOFF, then the buyer just needs to pay $90, rather than $100.
In this article we’ll show you how to use Stripe coupons and promotion codes in WP Full Pay.
Stripe coupons and promotion codes - what is the difference?
Coupon codes are used to apply discounts to subscriptions and one-off products you offer. You can use coupons to create promotion codes to share with your customers.
In other words, a coupon is the basic building block of a discount, and a promotion code is the customer-facing manifestation of a coupon.
There are some differences between coupons and promotion codes, detailed in following table:
| Characteristic | Coupon | Promotion code |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe Billing required | No | Yes |
| Inline form support | Yes | Yes |
| Checkout form support | No | Yes |
| Case sensitive | Yes | No |
How to set up coupons
In a nutshell, you need to complete the following steps to use coupons:
- Create a coupon on the Stripe Dashboard
- Create a promotion code for the coupon (if need be)
- Enable the coupon field on your form
The following sections will describe these steps in detail.
How to create a coupon
1) Choose the API mode in which you’d like to create the coupon in the top-left corner of the Stripe dashboard:
2) You can create a coupon on the Products / Coupons page of the Stripe dashboard, press the +New button:
3) On the “Create a coupon” page, enter the coupon’s parameters:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the coupon that customers can use to redeem the coupon. It will appear on receipts and invoices as well. |
| ID | Enter the name of the coupon here is well. (Otherwise the plugin won’t be able to find this coupon) |
| Type | Determines whether a coupon discounts the price by a fixed amount or by a percentage. |
| Percentage off or Discount amount | Indicates how much the coupon actually discounts. If you sell in multiple currencies, a single coupon can define different discount amounts for different currencies. |
| Apply to specific products (optional) |
Limits the type of items that the coupon can apply to. |
| Duration | Indicates how long the coupon is valid for. |
| Redemption limis (optional) |
Allows you to limit when a customer can redeem the coupon and the number of times a coupon can be redeemed. |
| Codes (optional) |
Allows you to create promotion codes for the coupon. |
Once a coupon is created, you’d need to enable the coupon field on the form, see below.
How to create a promotion code
You can create a promotion code as part of the coupon creation process, see above. You can also add a promotion code to an existing coupon, follow these steps:
1) Go to the Products / Coupons page on the Stripe dashboard.
2) Click on the coupon you’d like to add the promotion code to.
3) On the “Coupon details” page, press the +Add a promotion code button:
4) In the “Add promotion code” dialog, enter the promotion code’s parameters:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | The name of the promotion code that customers can use to redeem the code. |
| Eligible for first-time order only (optional) |
This code will be eligible for customers who have never made a purchase |
| Limit to a specific customer (optional) |
Select the only customer who can redeem the code |
| Limit the number of times this code can be redeemed (optional) |
Enter how many times the code can be redeemed |
| Add an expiration date (optional) |
Set the data and time of the expiry |
| Require minimum order value (optional) |
The promotion code is rejected unless the order value reaches this amount |
Once a promotion code is created, you’d need to enable the coupon field on the form, see below.
Enable the coupon field on your form
The last is to enable the coupon field on the payment or subscription form.
You can enable the coupon field on the “Form fields” tab of the form, turn on the “Show coupon field” option:
Troubleshooting
The coupon code cannot be redeemed
Please check the following:
1) Make sure that the coupon has been created in the API mode the plugin is in right now.
2) Coupons are case-sensitive, please check the coupon code.
3) The coupon might be applicable only to specific products, please check the coupon settings.
4) Make sure that the coupon hasn’t expired yet, please check the promotion code settings.
The promotion code cannot be redeemed
1) Make sure that the coupon of the promotion code has been created in the API mode the plugin is in right now.
2) Make sure that the promotion code hasn’t expired yet, please check the promotion code settings.