How Promotions Apply Automatically at the POS

One of AccuArk's most powerful features is its automatic promotion engine at the Point of Sale. Cashiers do not need to remember which promotions are active, manually calculate discounts, or apply coupon codes for standard promotions. The system handles all of this automatically, in real time, as items are added to the invoice. This guide explains the entire automatic evaluation flow, what the cashier sees on screen, how priority determines which promotion wins, and how the engine responds when the cart changes.

The Automatic Evaluation Flow

Every time the cart changes at the POS, the promotion engine runs a complete evaluation cycle. Here is the step-by-step process that happens behind the scenes:

Step 1: The Cashier Adds Items to the Invoice

The process begins with normal POS operations. The cashier scans or selects items, adjusts quantities, or removes items from the invoice. Each of these actions triggers the promotion engine.

Step 2: The Promotion Engine Evaluates the Cart

After each item change (add, remove, or quantity change), the promotion engine automatically evaluates the entire cart. This is not a one-time check — it runs every single time the cart contents change. This ensures that discounts are always accurate and reflect the current state of the invoice.

Step 3: Load Active Promotions and Check Eligibility

The engine loads all promotions that are currently in Active status and checks each one against a series of eligibility criteria:

• Date range — The current date and time must fall within the promotion's start and end dates. Promotions that have not started yet or have already expired are excluded.
• Location — The promotion must be valid at the current POS location. If the promotion is scoped to specific locations, only those locations qualify.
• Customer segment — If the promotion targets a specific customer segment (e.g., VIP customers, first-time buyers, loyalty tier members), the customer on the invoice must belong to that segment. If no customer is attached to the invoice and the promotion requires a segment, it is excluded.
• Usage limits — The engine checks whether the promotion has reached its maximum total uses, maximum uses per customer, or maximum uses per day. If any limit is reached, the promotion is excluded from this evaluation.

Only promotions that pass all eligibility checks proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Sort by Priority

Eligible promotions are sorted by their priority value. In AccuArk, a lower priority number means higher priority. For example, a promotion with priority 1 is evaluated before a promotion with priority 10. This ordering is critical when stacking rules limit the number of promotions that can apply to a single invoice.

Step 5: Evaluate Against Cart Items and Subtotal

Each eligible promotion is evaluated in priority order against the cart contents:

• Item-level promotions (BOGO, bundle, category discount, item discount) are checked against the specific items in the cart. The engine determines whether the required items, quantities, or categories are present.
• Invoice-level promotions (invoice discount, tiered discount, first-time customer, happy hour, flash sale) are checked against the invoice subtotal or other invoice-wide conditions such as the time of day or customer status.

If a promotion's conditions are met, it is marked as applicable and its discount amount is calculated.

Step 6: Apply Stacking Rules

Before finalizing the discounts, the engine applies the stacking rules configured in your system:

• Maximum promotions per invoice — If the stacking configuration limits the number of promotions (e.g., max 1 or max 3), only the highest-priority promotions up to that limit are kept. The rest are discarded for this invoice.
• Discount caps — If a maximum discount percentage or maximum discount amount is configured, the engine ensures the total automatic discount does not exceed the cap.
• Mutual exclusions — If two promotions are configured as mutually exclusive (they cannot combine), and both are eligible, only the higher-priority one applies.
• Combination restrictions — Some promotions may be configured to not stack with manual discounts, coupons, or loyalty redemptions. The engine respects these restrictions.

Step 7: Apply the Resulting Discounts

The final set of approved discounts is applied to the invoice automatically. The cashier sees the discount lines appear on the invoice display without any manual intervention.

What the Cashier Sees

From the cashier's perspective, the promotion engine is seamless. As items are scanned or added to the invoice, discount lines appear automatically on the invoice display. Each discount line shows:

• The promotion name — so the cashier (and customer) can see which promotion is being applied.
• The discount amount — the dollar amount being deducted from the invoice.

The cashier does not need to select, activate, or approve the promotion. It simply appears when the cart meets the promotion's conditions, and it disappears if the cart changes in a way that no longer qualifies.

Promotion Priority: Which Promotion Wins

When your stacking rules limit the maximum number of promotions per invoice (for example, a limit of 1), only the highest-priority promotion applies. Priority is determined by the priority number assigned to each promotion during creation:

• Lower number = higher priority. A promotion with priority 1 beats a promotion with priority 5.
• Tie-breaking — If two promotions have the same priority number, the one that was created first (earlier creation date) wins.

This means you have full control over which promotions take precedence. When designing your promotion strategy, assign lower priority numbers to the promotions you want to apply first. For example, if you have a store-wide flash sale and a loyalty member discount, and only one can apply, give the flash sale a lower priority number if you want it to take precedence.

When the stacking limit is higher (e.g., max 3 promotions), the top three eligible promotions by priority are applied and the rest are discarded.

Item-Level vs. Invoice-Level Display

How a promotion's discount appears on the invoice depends on the promotion type:

Invoice-Level Discounts

The following promotion types apply their discounts as a single line on the invoice, showing the total discount amount across all qualifying items or conditions:

• Invoice Discount — A flat or percentage discount on the entire invoice subtotal.
• Tiered Discount — A discount that increases with the invoice subtotal (e.g., 5% off orders over $50, 10% off orders over $100).
• First-Time Customer Discount — A discount for customers making their first purchase.
• Happy Hour Discount — A time-based discount active during specific hours of the day.
• Flash Sale Discount — A short-duration, high-impact discount.

These all appear as a single discount line at the bottom of the invoice, below the item list. The line includes the promotion name and the total dollar amount discounted.

Item-Level Discounts

The following promotion types apply their discounts to individual items, and the adjustments are visible on the affected line items:

• BOGO (Buy One Get One) — The free or discounted item shows its adjusted price on its own line.
• Bundle Discount — Items that are part of the bundle show their adjusted prices individually.
• Category Discount — Items in the qualifying category show their discounted price per unit.
• Item Discount — The specific discounted item shows its adjusted price.

Item-level discounts make it clear to the customer exactly which items are being discounted and by how much, providing full transparency at the line-item level.

Re-Evaluation When Items Change

The promotion engine does not evaluate the cart only once. It re-evaluates the entire cart every time the cart changes. This includes:

• Adding an item — The new item might qualify for a promotion that was not previously applicable, or it might push the subtotal past a tiered discount threshold.
• Removing an item — Removing an item might disqualify a promotion that was previously applied. For example, if a BOGO requires two items and the customer removes one, the BOGO discount disappears.
• Changing a quantity — Increasing or decreasing a quantity can trigger or remove promotions. For example, increasing a quantity to meet a bundle minimum triggers the bundle discount.

This means the discount display is always live and accurate. The cashier and customer can see in real time how adding or removing items affects the total discount. There is no need to finalize the cart before discounts are calculated — they update continuously.

Example Scenario

Consider this scenario with two active promotions: a BOGO on shirts (buy 2 get 1 free, priority 1) and a 10% invoice discount on orders over $100 (priority 2), with a stacking limit of 2 promotions:

1. The cashier scans one shirt ($30). No promotions qualify yet (BOGO needs 2, subtotal is under $100).
2. The cashier scans a second shirt ($30). The BOGO now qualifies — a discount line appears for the free shirt.
3. The cashier scans a jacket ($50). The subtotal is now $110 (before the BOGO discount). The 10% invoice discount also qualifies. Both promotions are within the stacking limit of 2, so both apply.
4. The cashier removes the jacket. The subtotal drops below $100, so the 10% invoice discount disappears. The BOGO remains because two shirts are still in the cart.

Every change triggers a fresh evaluation, and the invoice display updates instantly to reflect the current state.

What to Read Next

• Discount Breakdown on Invoices — Learn how to read the full discount breakdown including manual discounts, promotions, coupons, and loyalty redemptions.
• Stacking Rules and Discount Caps — Configure how many promotions can combine and set maximum discount limits.
• Promotion Sandbox Testing Tool — Test your promotions in a simulated cart before they go live.