Coupon

Path

iVendNext Desk → Retail → Setup → Coupon Type

Coupon Ledger: iVendNext Desk → Retail → Reports → Coupon Ledger

Prerequisites

Before you create coupon types and run coupon campaigns, ensure the following are in place:

• You have the Retail Manager role in iVendNext Desk.
• The items, item groups, or brands that will be eligible for coupon discounts are configured in iVendNext.
• The stores where coupons will be redeemable are configured in iVendNext.
• If you plan to issue coupons as promotion rewards, the relevant promotional campaigns are configured and active. Coupon issuance is triggered by the promotions engine — a coupon type alone does not issue coupons until a promotion is set up to use it.
• If you plan to use per-customer redemption limits or birthday/anniversary restrictions, customer records must exist in iVendNext with the relevant profile information.

How to Create a Coupon Type

1. Navigate to Coupon Type in the Retail Setup section of iVendNext Desk.
2. Click New to open a blank Coupon Type form.
3. Enter a Coupon Type Name that clearly identifies the campaign — for example, "Summer15" or "BirthdayReward10".
4. Set the Discount Type — select Percentage to apply a percentage reduction, or Fixed Amount to apply a specific currency value.
5. Enter the Discount Value — the percentage or amount to be deducted from qualifying items.
6. Set the Minimum Trigger Quantity — the number of qualifying items that must be in the basket before the coupon activates. Enter 1 if there is no minimum quantity requirement.
7. Set the Applicable Quantity — the maximum number of qualifying items the discount applies to, even if more are in the basket.
8. Set the Valid From and Valid To dates to define the redemption window.
9. Optionally, configure Day of Week and Time of Day restrictions to limit redemption to specific periods within the validity window.
10. In the Stores table, add the stores where this coupon can be redeemed. Leave the table empty to allow redemption at all stores.
11. In the Item Eligibility table, add the items, item groups, or brands the discount applies to. Use the Exclude flag on individual rows to carve out exceptions within an eligible group.
12. Set Serial Managed to Yes if each issued coupon should receive a unique serial number and be limited to a single redemption. Set to No for shared-code coupons controlled by caps and limits.
13. Configure the usage limits — Per Store Redemption Cap, Per Customer Once Only, and Per Transaction Limit — as required for the campaign.
14. If certain customer groups should be ineligible, add them to the Excluded Customer Groups table.
15. If the coupon is a birthday or anniversary reward, configure the Lifecycle Event Type and the validity window (number of days either side of the event date).
16. Set Lowest Value First to Yes if the discount should apply to the cheapest qualifying items first. Set Exclude Discounted Items to Yes if items already carrying a discount from another source should not be eligible.
17. Save the record. The coupon type is now available to be assigned to a promotional campaign for issuance.

Image suggestion 1: Screenshot of the Coupon Type form in iVendNext Desk showing the Discount Type selector, Discount Value field, Minimum Trigger Quantity and Applicable Quantity fields, Valid From and Valid To dates, and the Serial Managed toggle — with the Item Eligibility child table visible below.

Features

Coupon Type as Campaign Template

A Coupon Type is the template from which individual coupon instances are created and issued. Defining the coupon type is a one-time configuration step. Once the type exists, it can be linked to one or more promotional campaigns. Each time a qualifying transaction fires the promotion, a new coupon instance is generated from the type — inheriting all its rules, restrictions, and discount behaviour.

Percentage and Fixed-Amount Discounts

The Discount Type field determines how the reduction is calculated at the point of redemption. A percentage discount reduces each qualifying item's price by the configured percentage. A fixed-amount discount distributes a specific currency value across the qualifying items in the basket, with the system ensuring no individual item's value falls below zero. Both types respect the Applicable Quantity limit — if the coupon is configured to discount a maximum of three items and the basket contains five qualifying items, only three receive the discount.

Validity Windows and Time Restrictions

Every coupon type has a Valid From and Valid To date range outside of which the coupon is inactive regardless of its other settings. Within that range, you can apply further restrictions by day of week and time of day — for example, limiting a coupon to weekends only, or to the hours between 4 PM and 7 PM. The POS enforces these restrictions automatically at the point of redemption. Cashiers do not need to check validity — the system either applies the discount or delivers a specific rejection message explaining why the coupon cannot be used right now.

Store Targeting

The Stores table on the coupon type restricts redemption to specific locations. A coupon configured for a regional campaign will be rejected at stores outside the region, even if the coupon code is technically correct. If no stores are listed, the coupon is accepted at all locations. This control is particularly useful for franchise operations, regional promotions, or pilot campaigns that should not bleed across store boundaries.

Item Eligibility and Exclusions

The Item Eligibility table defines which items, item groups, or brands qualify for the discount. Items outside this list are not discounted — the coupon calculates only against qualifying lines in the basket. Individual rows in the table can be flagged as exclusions, allowing a category-level rule to carve out specific items. For example, you can make all beverages eligible while explicitly excluding a specific premium product line within that category.

Serial-Managed vs Non-Serial Coupons

The Serial Managed setting is the most important fraud-prevention control on the coupon type. When enabled, every issued coupon receives a unique serial number recorded in the coupon ledger. The serial number can only be redeemed once — the system checks the ledger at validation time and rejects any serial number that has already been used. Photocopying or sharing a serial-managed coupon provides no benefit because the serial is marked redeemed the moment it is first used.

When Serial Managed is disabled, the coupon uses a shared code. Redemption is then controlled by the per-store cap, per-customer once-only setting, and per-transaction limit. Non-serial coupons are simpler to operate for mass-distribution campaigns but offer less individual traceability.

Issuance from Promotions

Coupons are not issued manually — they are generated automatically when a qualifying transaction triggers a configured promotion. When a customer's basket meets the promotion's conditions, the promotions engine fires and creates a coupon instance in the coupon ledger. For serial-managed coupons, a unique serial number is generated at this point. The POS presents the coupon details to the cashier — coupon name, discount, code, serial number if applicable, and validity period — so the cashier can communicate the reward to the customer. A single transaction can trigger multiple promotions and issue multiple coupons simultaneously, each with its own ledger entry.

Image suggestion 2: Screenshot of the POS transaction screen showing a promotion notification indicating that a coupon has been issued, with the coupon code and validity information visible in the notification area.

Redemption Validation at POS

When a customer presents a coupon on a future visit, the cashier enters the coupon code — by scanning or typing — into the coupon field on the POS. For serial-managed coupons, the serial number is entered alongside the code. The system runs all eligibility checks simultaneously: active status, date and time validity, store eligibility, item eligibility, minimum trigger quantity, serial number validity, per-customer limit, per-store cap, and per-transaction limit. If every check passes, the discount is applied to the qualifying items immediately and the transaction total updates. If any check fails, the cashier receives a specific rejection message explaining the exact reason — not a generic "coupon not valid" response.

Coupon Ledger

Every coupon instance — from the moment of issuance to the moment of redemption — is recorded in the coupon ledger. At issuance, a ledger entry is created with the status of Issued, capturing the coupon type, serial number, source transaction, store, customer if assigned, and timestamp. At redemption, the same entry is updated to Redeemed with the redemption transaction details, store, cashier, and discount amount applied. For serial-managed coupons, the Redeemed status permanently prevents re-use of that serial number.

The ledger gives head office teams real-time visibility of every coupon campaign. Finance can see how many coupons have been issued, how many have been redeemed, and how many remain outstanding — the outstanding issued coupons representing the potential discount liability still to be realised. Marketing can calculate coupon conversion rates by comparing issuance and redemption counts, providing a direct measure of campaign effectiveness.

Removing a Coupon from a Transaction

If a cashier applies a coupon and then needs to remove it — because the customer changed their mind or qualifying items were removed from the basket — the coupon can be cleared from the transaction. The discount is fully reversed, all line prices return to their pre-coupon values, and the coupon returns to its Issued status in the ledger. It can be used again on a future visit. This reversal is complete and automatic.

Image suggestion 3: Screenshot of the Coupon Ledger report in iVendNext Desk showing columns for Coupon Type, Serial Number, Issued Date, Source Transaction, Store, Customer, Status, Redemption Transaction, and Discount Amount — with rows showing a mix of Issued and Redeemed entries.