Offers and Promotions
Promotions are discount rules you set up once that the system applies automatically every time you bill an item that meets their conditions: the same item (or item class), the same customer (or customer class), a minimum quantity and a valid date. It's not a document you issue yourself; it's a configuration catalog that then acts on its own inside your quotes, sales orders and invoices.
What is it and what is it for?
With this option you configure different types of sales promotions so they apply on their own, without the person billing the customer having to remember to grant them manually. Each promotion has a name, a validity period (start date and, optionally, an end date) and who and which items it applies to.
When you enter an item's line on a credit invoice, a cash invoice, a quote or a sales order, the system checks whether an active promotion exists for that item, that customer and that quantity on the document's date, and if it finds one it automatically adds or adjusts the line: it adds the free item, subtracts the discount amount, or fills in the line's discount percent, depending on the promotion type.
The 3 promotion types
Each promotion is one type only; you can't combine all three in the same promotion.
| Type | How it works | What you must specify |
|---|---|---|
| Buy X, Get Y | For every multiple of the purchased quantity, it automatically adds a line with free items at zero cost. | The promotion name, the Quantity the customer must buy for it to apply, and the Promotion Quantity to be given away for free. |
| Volume Discount | Adds a negative discount line for a fixed amount, multiplied by the quantity purchased. | The promotion name, the minimum Quantity, the Currency and the Discount Amount per unit. |
| Percent Volume Discount | Automatically fills in the item line's discount percent field. | The promotion name, the minimum Quantity and the Discount Percent. |
These three shortcuts are available from the New button on the list; each one preselects the matching type when the form opens.
Screens in this area
| Screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| Promotion list | Lists every configured promotion, with filters by start-date range, item class, customer class and inactive promotions. You can customize the visible columns and save your layout. From here you create, edit, delete or mark a promotion as inactive. |
| Create / Edit | The promotion's form, with its item, customer and exception tabs for each. It also lets you duplicate an existing promotion to quickly build a variant. |
| Details | The same promotion in read-only mode, with the list of included and excepted items and customers, and the activity history. |
How to create a promotion step by step
- Open the list and click New, and pick one of the three promotion types ("Buy X, Get Y", "Volume Discount" or "Percent Volume Discount"). You need the "add" level of the "Promotions" permission.
- Enter the promotion's name and its Initial Date; the End Date is optional — if left blank the promotion is considered valid indefinitely.
- Enter the minimum Quantity the customer must buy for the promotion to apply, and, depending on the type, the Promotion Quantity, the Discount Amount with its Currency, or the Discount Percent. Optionally set a Maximum Quantity to cap how many units it applies to.
- Restrict which items it applies to (optional): pick an Item Class, or, on the Items tab, select specific items. If you leave both blank, the promotion applies to every item.
- Restrict which customers it applies to (optional): pick a Customer Class, or, on the Customers tab, select specific customers. If you leave both blank, the promotion applies to every customer.
- Add exceptions if you need them on the Customers with Exception or Items in Exception tabs, to exclude specific customers or items from within the chosen class or item class.
- Save. The system validates that the promotion type is complete and doesn't contradict another one. From then on, the promotion applies on its own inside your sales documents.
How it applies automatically on your sales documents
When you add or edit an item's line on a quote, a sales order or an invoice (credit, cash or promotion invoice), the system looks for an active promotion for that item, that customer and that date, and compares the entered quantity against the configured minimum Quantity:
- Buy X, Get Y: adds a separate line with the free item (the same item purchased, or the Item or Service specified on the promotion) at zero price, or at the item's regular sales price if the promotion uses the Use Sale Price as Discount Amount option. The free quantity is proportional to how many times the minimum quantity is met.
- Volume Discount: adds a discount line for the Discount Amount multiplied by the quantity purchased.
- Percent Volume Discount: automatically fills in the item line's discount percent field with the promotion's Discount Percent.
- If you reduce the quantity below the minimum, the system removes the free line or the discount it had applied automatically.
- The promotion's Quantity and Max Quantity are configured in the item's sales unit of measure. If you enter the line in a different unit, the system automatically converts the entered quantity to the sales unit using the item's UOM plan before comparing it against the promotion.
Key fields
| Field | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the promotion; it can't repeat another promotion's name. |
| Initial Date / End Date | The promotion's validity period. With no end date, it's considered valid indefinitely. |
| Quantity | The number of items that must be billed for the promotion to apply. |
| Maximum Quantity | An optional cap on how many units the promotion applies to. |
| Promotion Quantity | Only for "Buy X, Get Y": the number of items awarded with a 100% discount. |
| Discount Amount and Currency | Only for "Volume Discount": the discount amount for every unit purchased, in the specified currency. |
| Discount Percent | Only for "Percent Volume Discount": the percentage that will be applied to the item's line. |
| Item Class / Item or Service | Which items the promotion applies to, or which item is given away for free. With no selection, it applies to every item. |
| Customer Class | Which customers the promotion applies to. With no selection, it applies to every customer. |
| Subsidiary | If your company has subsidiaries enabled, restricts the promotion to one of them; with no selection, it applies to all of them. |
| Use Sale Price as Discount Amount | Only for "Buy X, Get Y": when enabled, the free item is added at its regular sales price instead of at zero price. |
| Items / Customers (tabs) | Specific lists of items or customers the promotion applies to, as an alternative to the item class or customer class. |
| Items / Customers in Exception (tabs) | Items or customers the promotion should not apply to, even though they belong to the selected item class or customer class. |
| Notes | Free-form information about the promotion. |
| Inactive | Marks the promotion as inactive without deleting it; it stops applying on sales documents. |
Validations when saving
- Name required and unique; it can't repeat another promotion's name.
- Quantity greater than zero, and it can't be negative.
- You must specify exactly one promotion type: Promotion Quantity, Discount Amount or Discount Percent. You can't specify more than one, nor leave all of them at zero.
- Maximum Quantity can't be less than the configured minimum Quantity, when specified.
- Currency required if you specify a Discount Amount.
- You can't combine a Discount Amount or Discount Percent with "Use Sale Price as Discount Amount" on the same promotion.
- You can't specify an Item Class and also specific items on the Items tab (nor a Customer Class together with specific customers on the Customers tab).
- You can't list the same item or the same customer twice on their respective tabs.
- On "Volume Discount", the Item or Service field is required and must be a Service, not a physical item.
Availability and permissions
- This feature requires the Enterprise plan. On Enterprise deployments set up for billing only (without the full Sales/Accounting module active), the option isn't available.
- Access is controlled with the "Promotions" permission of your user group, with separate levels to browse, add, edit and delete.
- With subsidiaries enabled, you can restrict each promotion to a specific subsidiary; with no restriction, it applies to all of them.
Tips and common mistakes
Don't set up two active promotions for the same item and customer at the same time. If, while billing, the system finds more than one active promotion that applies, it blocks the line with a message stating that item has more than one active promotion configured, because only one active promotion is supported at a time per item.
Use the Item Class or the Customer Class for broad promotions, and reserve the specific item and customer tabs for particular cases; that way you avoid maintaining long lists by hand.
Is your percent discount not adding up with the customer's discount? Check the "Sum Discount Percentages in Sales Transactions" option under Preferences: when it's on, the promotion's percentage adds up with the one configured on the customer and their item class; when it's off, only the percentage configured on the promotion applies.