Using the Stacking Inspector

The Stacking Inspector is a read-only diagnostic tool that shows you the current state of all active promotions, the global stacking rules in effect, and any mutual exclusion relationships between promotions. It is designed to help you quickly answer questions like "Why did this promotion not apply?" or "Can these two promotions work together?" without needing to open multiple editors and cross-reference settings manually.

Opening the Stacking Inspector

Navigate to Marketing > Stacking Inspector to open the tool. The inspector loads the latest data from the system and displays it in three organized panels.

What the Inspector Shows

The Stacking Inspector is divided into three main sections, each providing a different view of your promotion and stacking landscape.

Active Promotions List

The first panel displays all currently active promotions in the system. For each promotion, the following information is shown:

• Name — The promotion's display name as configured in the Promotion Editor.
• Type — The promotion type (invoice discount, BOGO, bundle, category discount, tiered spend, etc.).
• Discount — The discount value or rule summary (e.g., "10% off," "$5.00 off," "Buy 2 Get 1 Free").
• Date Range — The promotion's start and end dates, showing when it became active and when it will expire.
• Priority — The numeric priority value assigned to the promotion. Lower numbers indicate higher priority.
• Campaign — The name of the campaign the promotion is linked to, if any. Standalone promotions show no campaign.
• Status — The promotion's current status (active, and whether the parent campaign is also active).
• Usage — The current usage count versus the maximum total uses, if a usage limit is set (e.g., "47 / 200").

The list is sorted by priority (highest priority first) by default. You can use this list to get a quick overview of everything that is currently live in your system and could potentially apply to a transaction.

Current Stacking Rules

The second panel displays the global stacking settings currently in effect. This is a summary view of everything configured in the Stacking Rule Editor, presented in a compact, easy-to-scan format:

• Max Promotions Per Invoice — The current limit (e.g., "2" or "Unlimited").
• Max Discount Percent — Whether enabled and the percentage value (e.g., "30%" or "Disabled").
• Max Discount Amount — Whether enabled and the dollar value (e.g., "$50.00" or "Disabled").
• Allow Coupon With Promotion — "Yes" or "No."
• Allow Loyalty With Promotion — "Yes" or "No."
• Allow Loyalty With Coupon — "Yes" or "No."
• Allow Item and Global Stack — "Yes" or "No."
• BOGO Replaces Item Discount — "Yes" or "No."
• Tier Threshold Uses Original — "Yes" or "No."
• Precedence Order — The ordered list of promotion types showing evaluation priority from highest to lowest.

This panel lets you quickly verify the current rules without navigating to the Stacking Rule Editor. It is especially useful during troubleshooting when you need to see both the promotions and the rules on the same screen.

Mutual Exclusions

The third panel shows pairs of promotions that cannot apply together on the same invoice. Mutual exclusions can arise from several sources:

• Stacking rule restrictions — When "Allow Item and Global Stack" is disabled, item-level promotions and invoice-level promotions form implicit mutual exclusion pairs.
• Campaign stackability — When a campaign's "Is Stackable" toggle is disabled, promotions from that campaign are mutually exclusive with promotions from other non-stackable campaigns.
• Same-type conflicts — In some configurations, two promotions of the same type targeting the same items may conflict.

Each exclusion pair is displayed as two promotion names side by side with the reason for the exclusion (e.g., "Item/Invoice stack disabled" or "Non-stackable campaigns"). This makes it immediately obvious which promotions will never coexist on the same invoice.

Using the Inspector to Diagnose Issues

The Stacking Inspector is most valuable when something unexpected happens at the POS and you need to understand why. Here are the most common diagnostic scenarios:

"Why Didn't My Promotion Apply?"

When a promotion that should have applied to a transaction did not, check the following in the inspector:

1. Is the promotion in the Active Promotions list? — If it is not listed, the promotion may be inactive, expired, or linked to a campaign that is not active. Check the promotion's status and its parent campaign's status.
2. Check the priority and precedence order — If the max promotions per invoice is set to a low number (e.g., 1), a higher-priority promotion may have taken the slot. Look at which promotions have higher priority (lower number) and whether they target the same transaction conditions.
3. Check usage limits — Look at the Usage column. If the promotion has reached its maximum total uses, it will no longer apply to new transactions even though it appears in the active list.
4. Check mutual exclusions — Look in the Mutual Exclusions panel for the promotion in question. If it is paired with another promotion that was applied instead, the exclusion rule prevented both from applying.
5. Check the stacking toggles — If the missing discount was a coupon and "Allow Coupon With Promotion" is set to No, the coupon may have been blocked because automatic promotions were already on the invoice.

"Why Is the Discount So Small?"

When the discount amount on a transaction is lower than expected, check for discount caps:

1. Check Max Discount Percent — If enabled, the total discount may have been capped at the configured percentage. Calculate what the percentage cap produces for the transaction's subtotal and compare it to the discount shown.
2. Check Max Discount Amount — If enabled, the total discount may have been capped at the configured dollar amount.
3. Check which cap is more restrictive — If both caps are enabled, the smaller of the two applies. The inspector shows both values so you can calculate which one limits the discount for any given invoice size.

"Can These Two Promotions Work Together?"

To determine whether two specific promotions can apply to the same invoice:

1. Check the Mutual Exclusions panel — If the two promotions appear as an exclusion pair, they cannot apply together. The reason column explains why.
2. Check "Allow Item and Global Stack" — If one promotion is item-level and the other is invoice-level, and this setting is disabled, they cannot coexist.
3. Check the max promotions per invoice — Even if the two promotions are not mutually exclusive, the max promotions limit may prevent both from applying if other promotions are already taking up the available slots.
4. Check campaign stackability — If the promotions belong to different campaigns and one or both campaigns have "Is Stackable" set to disabled, the promotions cannot combine.

Read-Only Nature

The Stacking Inspector is strictly read-only. It displays the current state of promotions and stacking rules but does not allow you to make any changes. This design is intentional — the inspector is a diagnostic tool, not an editor.

To make changes based on what you discover in the inspector:

• Modify stacking rules — Open the Stacking Rule Editor (Marketing > Stacking Rules) to change global stacking settings.
• Edit a promotion — Open the Promotion Editor (Marketing > Promotions) to change a specific promotion's configuration, priority, or status.
• Edit a campaign — Open the Campaign Editor (Marketing > Campaigns) to change campaign settings, stackability, or status.

Refresh Button

The data shown in the Stacking Inspector is loaded when you first open the tool. If you make changes to promotions or stacking rules in another window and want to see the updated state, click the Refresh button at the top of the inspector. This reloads all three panels with the latest data from the database.

The refresh is useful during active troubleshooting sessions where you are switching between the inspector and the editors, making changes and then checking the results.

Tips for Effective Use

• Open the inspector before launching a new campaign — Before activating a new campaign, open the inspector to see how the new promotions will interact with existing active promotions. Look for potential mutual exclusions and verify that the stacking rules will produce the desired behavior.
• Use it during staff training — The inspector provides a clear, visual summary of the promotion landscape. Walk new marketing staff through the three panels to help them understand how promotions, stacking rules, and exclusions work together.
• Check after stacking rule changes — After modifying stacking rules, open the inspector and review the Mutual Exclusions panel. Changes to stacking toggles can create new exclusion pairs or remove existing ones. Verify that the exclusions match your intentions.
• Bookmark it for quick access — If your business runs many promotions simultaneously, keep the Stacking Inspector readily accessible. It is faster to check the inspector than to open individual promotion and campaign editors when answering quick questions about promotion compatibility.