Creating Discounts

How to create a new discount

To create a new discount simply navigate to the menu on the left hand side, select Products > Discounts and Coupons and then click on the button which says 'Create Your First Discount and Coupon'.

Creating a discount is a four step process whereby we'll ask you to;

• Tell us the basics
• Select which plans this discount can be applied to
• Pick a discount type
• Let us know what the discount deduction will be

In the section titled, 'Tell us the basics', you will need to provide a name for your discount. The name you choose will be shown in the Billsby control panel and on your customer's invoices, so it should be something your customers will easily understand, such as 'Loyalty Discount'.

In this section, you will also need to decide whether you want to 'Allow this discount to be used in conjunction with others'. If you do, simply set the toggle to on.

Here's an example of how one discount may be used in conjunction with another; if you had a 10% discount for all email newsletter subscribers, you may still want to employ a one-off or seasonal discount to reward your loyal customers. To do this, you would simply need to set the toggle to on for both discounts so that you may use them in conjunction to one another. Simple!

Next, you'll need to 'Select which plans your discount can be applied to'. You can apply the discount to all plans, or choose to limit it to specific plans.

Let's say, for example, you were setting up a SaaS platform, you may decide that you want to create a discount specifically for customers who subscribe to your premium plan. This would incentivise customers to choose the more expensive plan by offering better value for their money.

In this case, you would select, 'The discount can only be applied to specific plans' and then select 'Add a plan' and choose whatever premium plan(s) you have available.

If you decide, however, that you want the discount to be available across multiple plans and not just a few specific ones, select 'This discount can be applied to all plans'. This option enables the discount to be applied to as many plans as you'd like, including any plans that you create in the future.

Once you have completed this step, you will be asked to 'Pick a discount type'.

There are two types of discounts available with Billsby:

• Monetary
• Percentage

Monetary discounts entail price reductions of set amounts, for example a customer could receive $5 off their order if they subscribed to a specific add-on.

Percentage discounts, however, entail set reductions calculated by percentage, such as a customer being entitled to receive 10% off their subscription for the entire month of May.

Once you select a discount type you cannot change it. If you wish to change the discount type, you'll need to create a new discount altogether.

The fourth and final step of creating your discount will ask you to 'Let us know what the discount deduction will be'. You can choose whether you want the deduction to be 'taken from the plan only', or 'taken from the entire subscription'.

If you choose the latter, then we will calculate the deduction from the plan + add-ons + base cost of allowances (not including overage).

If you choose to deduct from the plan only, then the discount will be applied to the plan - not the add-ons or allowances.

For percentage based discounts you will only need to enter the percentage amount. For example, '10' for a 10% discount, and this will be the same across all the plans you assign to it.

Monetary discounts, on the other hand, will need to be configured based on currency. If all your plans are assigned to the same currency, then you will only need to enter the value of the discount in that same currency. However, if you have attached the discount to multiple plans with multiple different currencies, then you will need to configure the discount amount in each currency by using the tabs provided.

Please note, discounts will never be deducted from allowances overage or set-up fees.

If you have a discount that is available for all your plans and you decide to create a new product with a currency that has not yet been configured for your discount, you will need to edit the discount and add the monetary amount for the new currency.

Before you do this, you'll need to make sure you create your plans first.

How to edit a discount

To edit a discount simply navigate to the menu on the left hand side, select Products > Discounts and Coupons and then find the discount you want to modify and hit 'Edit'.

You can edit any aspect of the discount except the 'Discount type' which cannot be changed. If you wish to make any changes to how the discount is offered, you'll need to make a new discount entirely as once you select this option it cannot be changed.

Once you've completed your edits, make sure to select 'Save changes to the discount' to ensure that your work is saved.

FAQs

Can I change the discount type?

No, once you've selected discount type you can't change it - unless you make a new one!

Can discounts be used in conjunction with others?

When you're creating your discounts you can make sure that they aren't to be used in conjunction with other discounts you've created. In step 1 of creating a new discount, you'll see a toggle to 'Allow this discount to be used in conjunction with others'. By default, the toggle is deselected so any coupons associated with the discount can't be used in conjunction with others.

What's the difference between a plan only and an entire subscription discount?

When a deduction is taken from the entire subscription it means the plan + add-ons + base cost of allowances. With plan only, it'll be solely the plan that the discount is applied. As it states, discounts will never be deducted from allowances overage or set-up fees.

Can I create a set-up fee discount?

Right now, it's not possible to create a discount or coupon code that will remove/deduct the setup fee. This is a feature though that we hope to add to our discounting tool soon.

For now, we'd advise creating a discount/coupon that will take the value of the set-up fee for a one cycle period. So say your setup fee is $20, create a discount of value $20 and create a coupon of length 1 month. It's worth noting that this method will only work if the setup fee costs less than the monthly recurring fee on the Billsby plan.

What is the discount ID?

You'll notice if you head to Products > Discounts and Coupons that all of the discounts that you've created have a discount ID associated with them. When you create a discount, Billsby automatically creates this ID as a unique identifier for each discount. This means that when you have lots of discounts, you can search by discount. Or if you have a discount of the same name, you can identify one from the other. If you need to delete a discount, you'll need this ID to validate the right discount.