Creating and managing discount vouchers

What is a discount voucher?

A discount voucher is a promotional code with its own URL and QR code. Someone scans the code, lands on a voucher page and books with a discount. The voucher itself has no value in euros: it is a discount that only counts at the moment of booking.

That is the difference from a gift card. A gift card is prepaid credit that someone buys and uses later. Nobody buys a voucher, you hand it out yourself as a marketing tool: on flyers, business cards or in a campaign. See Managing gift cards for the credit story.

How do you create a voucher?

1. Go to Admin → Vouchers and click Create new voucher.
2. Fill in a Name (it appears on the voucher page). Based on it, Golfly suggests a Code, which you may change.
3. Optionally add a Description.
4. Choose the Discount type: Free, Percentage or Fixed amount.
5. For Percentage, fill in a value between 1 and 100. For Fixed amount, fill in the amount in cents: 5 euros is 500.
6. Optionally set a lesson type, expiry date, maximum and the active switch (see below).
7. Click Create voucher. You land on the detail page with the URL and QR link.

The three discount types

• Free: the booked lesson becomes completely free. Handy for an intro lesson.
• Percentage: a percentage discount on the lesson price, for example 25%.
• Fixed amount: a fixed amount off, for example 5 euros discount. Note: you fill in this field in cents, so 500 for 5 euros.

With a free voucher the student pays nothing. With a percentage or fixed amount the discount is deducted from the price and they pay the rest via iDEAL, or on location if you have pay on location switched on and they choose that.

Limiting, letting expire and capping

On the create and edit page you set a few conditions. All optional.

• Lesson type: choose a lesson type to make the voucher apply only to that. If you leave it on All lesson types, the discount works on every lesson.
• Expiry date: after this date the voucher has expired and can no longer be redeemed.
• Maximum number of redemptions: fill in a number to limit the voucher. If you leave it empty, it can be used without limit.
• Active: switch it off to stop a voucher temporarily without deleting it.

Sharing the voucher URL and QR code

On the detail page, under Voucher URL, is the link you share. The pattern is yoursite.nl/voucher/CODE. Click Copy to take it over.

Use this URL to generate a QR code for flyers and business cards. Golfly also makes ready-made print files with the code and QR on them. See Printing business cards via your vouchers. Note: the print templates currently only render for free vouchers. For a percentage or fixed amount a message appears saying that will follow later.

What the student sees and how the discount is applied

After scanning, the student lands on a voucher page in the form of a ticket: your name and photo, the discount large in view and a button Plan my free lesson (or a similar text). That button opens your booking flow with the code and, if you linked a lesson type, the right lesson type already filled in.

Because the code is passed along automatically, the student does not have to type anything. If they only have the code, they type it on your booking page under Have a gift card or discount code?. When completing the booking, Golfly applies the discount:

• Free: the lesson is completely free, no payment is needed.
• Percentage or fixed amount: the discount is deducted from the price, they pay the rest via iDEAL or, if you have pay on location switched on and they choose that, at the lesson. From the lesson day such a lesson counts in Outstanding, with the amount after discount, until you mark it as paid with Mark as paid.

If the voucher has expired or the maximum is reached, the page shows that the voucher is no longer valid and the student can still book a regular lesson.

Tracking redemptions, editing and deactivating

At the top of the detail page are four tiles: Redemptions, Limit, Discount and Expires. Under Redemptions you see per redemption the date and the name of the participant. The View booking button takes you to your bookings list; search there for the name to open the booking. In the list at Admin → Vouchers the counter is shown per voucher as used / maximum.

If you want to change something, use the Edit block on the detail page and click Save changes. If you want to take a voucher out of circulation, click Deactivate. The voucher remains for your records, but can no longer be redeemed. In the list you filter on Active, Inactive, Expired or All.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a voucher and a gift card?

A voucher is a discount code that you hand out yourself as marketing and that has no value in euros. A gift card is prepaid credit that someone buys and uses later. You use a voucher to bring people in, a gift card to give a present.

Can a student use a voucher more than once?

That depends on your settings. If you set a maximum number of redemptions, the voucher stops as soon as that number is reached. Without a maximum it can be used without limit.

Can I limit a voucher to one lesson type?

Yes. Under Lesson type choose the desired lesson type. The discount then only works for that lesson type. If someone tries to use the voucher for another lesson, the booking blocks that with a message.

How do I make a QR code of the voucher?

Copy the voucher URL from the detail page and paste it into a QR generator, or use Golfly's ready-made print files. See Printing business cards via your vouchers.

Good to know: the voucher page shows your client the same cancellation terms as the rest of your site, including the cancellation period that you set yourself under Settings, Cancelling and rescheduling.

Related

• Printing business cards via your vouchers
• Managing gift cards
• Creating and managing lesson types