Invoice Discount Promotions
Invoice Discount is the simplest and most commonly used promotion type in AccuArk. It applies a flat dollar amount or percentage discount to the entire invoice when the customer's subtotal meets or exceeds a minimum purchase threshold. This article walks through every field in the Promotion Editor for invoice discounts, provides a worked example, and shares tips for testing and activation.
Opening the Promotion Editor
To create a new invoice discount, navigate to Marketing > Promotions from the main menu. This opens the Promotions browser, which lists all existing promotions. Click the New button to open the Promotion Editor form.
The Promotion Editor is used for all eight promotion types. The fields displayed change dynamically based on which type you select, so you will see only the fields relevant to invoice discounts once you choose that type.
Selecting Invoice Discount
At the top of the Promotion Editor, locate the Promotion Type dropdown. Select Invoice Discount from the list. The form will update to display the configuration fields specific to invoice discount promotions. If you switch the type later, the form reconfigures to match the newly selected type.
Fields Walkthrough
The following fields are available when configuring an invoice discount promotion:
Name
Enter a descriptive name for the promotion. This name appears in the Promotions browser, in reports, and on the invoice at the POS as the discount line item description. Choose a name that clearly communicates what the promotion does — for example, "10% Off Orders Over $50" or "Summer $5 Off Coupon."
Priority
The priority is a positive integer that controls the evaluation order of this promotion relative to other active promotions. Lower numbers are evaluated first. If this invoice discount has priority 1 and a tiered spend promotion has priority 5, the invoice discount is evaluated and applied before the tiered spend.
Priority matters because stacking rules may cap total discounts. A promotion that is evaluated first is more likely to apply before the cap is reached. Set your most important promotions to the lowest priority numbers.
Discount Method
Choose how the discount is calculated:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Percent | The discount is a percentage of the invoice subtotal. For example, 10% off a $80 subtotal gives an $8 discount. |
| Amount | The discount is a fixed dollar amount. For example, $5 off regardless of the subtotal (as long as the minimum purchase is met). |
The discount method determines what the Discount Value field represents.
Discount Value
Enter the numeric value of the discount. If the discount method is Percent, this is the percentage (e.g., enter 10 for 10%). If the discount method is Amount, this is the dollar amount (e.g., enter 5.00 for $5 off).
For percentage discounts, the engine calculates the discount as: invoice subtotal multiplied by (discount value / 100). For amount discounts, the full amount is subtracted from the invoice total as long as the customer qualifies.
Minimum Purchase
Set the minimum invoice subtotal required for the customer to qualify for this discount. The subtotal is calculated as the sum of all item line totals before tax and before other discounts (unless stacking rules change this behavior).
If you set the minimum purchase to 50.00, the customer must have at least $50.00 in items on the invoice before the discount activates. Set this to 0.00 if you want the discount to apply to every invoice regardless of amount.
Start Date and End Date
Define the active period for the promotion. The promotion will only be evaluated by the engine between the start date and end date (inclusive). Outside of this window, the promotion is ignored even if its status is Active.
- Start Date — The first date and time the promotion becomes eligible
- End Date — The last date and time the promotion remains eligible
Leave the end date empty to create an open-ended promotion that runs indefinitely until you manually pause or deactivate it.
Location Scope
Choose where this promotion applies:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| All Locations | The promotion applies at every POS location in your business. |
| Specific Locations | The promotion applies only at the locations you select from a checklist. |
When Specific Locations is selected, a list of all locations appears. Check the boxes next to each location where this promotion should be active. Transactions at unchecked locations will not trigger this promotion.
Usage Limits
Usage limits control how many times the promotion can be redeemed:
| Limit | Description |
|---|---|
| Max Total Uses | The maximum number of times this promotion can be applied across all customers and all locations combined. Set to 0 for unlimited. |
| Max Uses Per Customer | The maximum number of times a single customer can receive this discount. Requires a customer record on the invoice to track. Set to 0 for unlimited. |
When a usage limit is reached, the promotion stops applying to new invoices even if it is still within its active date range. The promotion engine checks the redemption count before applying the discount.
Status
The promotion status controls visibility to the POS engine:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | The promotion is not visible to the POS engine. It will not be evaluated or applied to any invoice. Use Draft while you are still configuring and testing. |
| Active | The promotion is visible to the POS engine and will be evaluated on every invoice (subject to date range and location scope). |
| Paused | The promotion is temporarily suspended. It will not be evaluated until you change the status back to Active. Pausing preserves all settings and usage counts. |
Always create new promotions in Draft status. This gives you the opportunity to review all settings and test in the Promotion Sandbox before the promotion goes live.
Example: 10% Off Orders Over $50
Here is a complete example configuration for a common invoice discount:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | 10% Off Orders Over $50 |
| Priority | 1 |
| Promotion Type | Invoice Discount |
| Discount Method | Percent |
| Discount Value | 10 |
| Minimum Purchase | 50.00 |
| Start Date | 2026-03-01 00:00:00 |
| End Date | 2026-03-31 23:59:59 |
| Location Scope | All Locations |
| Max Total Uses | 0 (unlimited) |
| Max Uses Per Customer | 0 (unlimited) |
| Status | Draft (change to Active after testing) |
With this configuration, any invoice with a subtotal of $50.00 or more will automatically receive a 10% discount during March 2026 at all locations. A $75 invoice would receive a $7.50 discount, bringing the pre-tax total to $67.50.
Testing with the Promotion Sandbox
Before activating a new promotion, use the Promotion Sandbox to verify it works correctly:
- Save the promotion in Draft status
- Open the Promotion Sandbox from Marketing > Promotions (the Sandbox button is on the toolbar)
- In the sandbox, build a simulated invoice by adding items and setting a subtotal
- The sandbox evaluates all promotions (including drafts) against your simulated cart and shows which would apply and what discount they would give
- Verify the discount amount and qualification threshold match your expectations
- If everything looks correct, return to the Promotion Editor and change the status to Active
The sandbox is a safe testing environment. No real invoices are created and no usage counts are incremented.
Tips
- Start with Draft — Always create promotions in Draft status. This prevents an incomplete or misconfigured promotion from affecting live transactions while you are still setting it up.
- Use meaningful names — The promotion name appears on the invoice and in reports. A descriptive name like "10% Off Orders Over $50" is much more useful in reports than "Promo 1."
- Set priority intentionally — If you have multiple active promotions, think about which ones should apply first. The lowest priority number wins when stacking caps are in play.
- Test before activating — The Promotion Sandbox exists to prevent surprises. Always run a few test scenarios before going live.
- Monitor after launch — Check the promotion reports within the first few hours of activation to make sure the promotion is applying as expected and discount amounts look correct.
Related Articles
- Getting Started with Marketing & Promotions (Article 96) — Overview of the entire marketing module
- Understanding Promotion Types (Article 97) — Comparison of all eight promotion types
- Tiered Spend Discounts (Article 100) — Graduated discounts based on spend thresholds
- First-Time Customer Discounts (Article 101) — Welcome offers for new customers