Discount codes and store credit
Two different things that both reduce what somebody pays, and why the difference matters.
Store adminsThese get lumped together and should not be. One is a discount — it reduces the price. The other is a tender — it pays part of the bill, like cash.
Discount code
A code somebody types at checkout. It comes off the price, before tax is worked out.
SPRING20 · Percentage or amount · Usage limits
Store credit
A balance held against a person. It is applied after tax, the way cash would be.
A yearly allowance · Per person · Spent down over time
What a discount code can do
- A percentage off, or a fixed amount.
- A minimum spend before it applies.
- A total usage cap, and a separate per-person limit.
- An expiry date.
- One-time codes issued as a batch, rather than one code everybody shares.
How store credit behaves
A balance sits against a person on your store. At checkout it comes off what they owe, and whatever is left over stays for next time.
The balance is reserved the moment they start paying, so the same balance cannot be spent twice in two browser tabs. If an order fails, the reservation is released.
Both are shown on the order
An order records its full price, the discount applied, the credit spent and what the buyer actually paid. Nothing is folded away into a single number, which is what makes the paperwork reconcile later.