Why does checkout say “Code is not valid”?

The code does not exist in your store, or its discount is not running.

Why does checkout say “You’ve already used this discount”?

It is once per customer, and the email at checkout has used it before.

Sell online

Run a promotion from idea to checkout

A discount is a code shoppers type at checkout, or a deal that applies on its own. Set what it takes off, what it covers and when it runs, and every cart checks it for you.

On this page

Start a code or an automatic discount

Discounts

5 discounts · 3 live

Discount	How it applies	Used	Status	Runs
Welcome offerWELCOME1010% off the whole order	When the code is entered	38	Active	From Jun 17
Free shipping over $75Free shipping the whole order over $75.00	Automatically at checkout	118	Active	From May 2
Case of six, 15% off15% off 1 collection of 6+ items	Automatically at checkout	11	Active	From Aug 6
Holiday giftsHOLIDAY2020% off 1 collection	When the code is entered	0	Scheduled	Nov 27 to Dec 24
Spring tastingSPRING15$15.00 off the whole order over $60.00	When the code is entered	60 of 60	Expired	Apr 18 to Jun 12

Discounts for the wine shop. Choose New discount, pick Discount code or Automatic discount, give it a name and what comes off, then Create discount to add it to the list.

Open Discounts in the sidebar and choose New discount. The first choice decides how a shopper gets the deal. Everything after it works the same way for both.

Discount code

Shoppers enter a code at checkout.
It suits a reward you hand to some people, like a welcome offer in your newsletter.

Automatic discount

Applies on its own when the cart qualifies.
It suits a deal every shopper should find, like free shipping over $75.

The name is for you, because shoppers see the code or nothing at all. A new code discount comes with a code filled in, and Generate makes a fresh one. Each code is unique in your store, and shoppers can type it in capitals or not.

What comes off

A percentage off: Takes a percentage off what it applies to, up to 100.
A fixed amount off: Takes a set dollar amount off what it applies to.
Free shipping: Takes the shipping off. It needs no amount.

Create discount checks the form and names the first thing missing, such as “Enter what comes off.” A new discount is Active straight away, or Scheduled when its start is still ahead.

Choose what it covers and what the cart needs

Case of six, 15% off

Active · Used 11 times

Name

The name is for you. Shoppers see the code, or nothing at all when it applies on its own.

Name

What comes off

Kind

Percentage

Applies to

Collections

Reds

What the cart must meet

Leave it at nothing and the discount applies to any order.

Requirement

Minimum items

In short

Takes off15% off 1 collection of 6+ items

RunsNo end date

lowtidewine.example.com/cart

Your cart

Bordeaux Rouge 2021Red wine · $28.00
3
Pinot Noir ReserveRed wine · $42.00
2
Riesling Eola-Amity HillsWhite wine · $24.00
1

Subtotal$192.00

Free shipping over $75Free

Total$192.00

An automatic discount on Reds that needs six items, above the shop’s cart. Add a sixth red bottle and 15% comes off the reds in place of the shop’s free shipping. The white bottle never counts toward the six.

Applies to decides which products count: Every product, Chosen collections or Chosen products. What the cart must meet sets the bar: Nothing, A minimum spend or A minimum number of items.

The minimum counts only the items the discount applies to, and the discount comes off those items alone. Five red bottles and a white one do not meet a six item minimum on Reds. A sixth red bottle does.

Let a collection keep the list current

Point a discount at a collection filled by conditions. As products join and leave that collection, the discount keeps covering the right ones.

Set limits, dates and status

Welcome offer

Active · WELCOME10 · Used 38 times

Name

The name is for you. Shoppers see the code, or nothing at all when it applies on its own.

Name

Code

Letters and numbers. Shoppers type it at checkout.

How often it can be used

Total uses

Leave empty for no limit.

Once per customer

Each customer can use it one time.

When it runs

Leave both empty and it runs until you turn it off.

Starts

Ends

In short

Takes off10% off the whole order

RunsFrom Jun 17

Performance

Used38

StatusActive

Who can use it

Eligible

A saved discount code. Set Total uses or Once per customer, or change when it starts or ends and Save, and the status follows the dates. More actions turns it off whatever the dates say.

A promotion that never ends is not a promotion. These settings keep yours contained.

No limitTotal uses left empty

Fill it in and the cap applies across every customer.

1Use per customer

When Once per customer is on.

Total uses: A cap across every customer. Leave it empty for no limit. Once the uses run out, the discount stops working.
Once per customer: Each customer can use it one time. The store knows a customer by the email entered at checkout, so the discount asks for an email first.
Starts and Ends: Leave both empty and it runs until you turn it off. The end must come after the start.
Who can use it: Everyone, chosen customers found by name, or named segments, one per line.

Status follows the dates

You never set the status by hand. It follows the saved dates, and Turn off under More actions overrides them.

Scheduled: Its start is still ahead. When the start arrives it works at checkout on its own, with nothing to press.
Active: It is running and applies to carts that qualify.
Expired: Its end has passed. It stays in your list for the record.
Off: You turned it off, and it stays off whatever its dates say. Turn it on and the dates decide again.

What shoppers get at checkout

lowtidewine.example.com/cart

Your cart

Bordeaux Rouge 2021Red wine · $28.00
2
Pinot Noir ReserveRed wine · $42.00
1
Riesling Eola-Amity HillsWhite wine · $24.00
1

Subtotal$122.00

Free shipping over $75Free

Total$122.00

The shop’s cart with two automatic discounts. Add red bottles until six are in the cart and watch the discount switch. Try WELCOME10 with and without an email, then remove it and change the cart to get the automatic deal back.

A cart holds one discount at a time, and the store works out which one on every change.

The cart changesA shopper adds an item or changes a quantity.
Automatic discounts are checkedThe one that takes the most off the items applies.
A code takes overA code the shopper enters takes the place of any automatic discount.
The code comes offThe automatic discounts come back the next time the cart changes.

Free shipping only wins when nothing else takes anything off.

When a code is refused

A code has to pass the same checks before it applies. When a cart is short of the minimum, the store says how far off it is and what the minimum is. The other refusals say why.

Why does checkout say “Code is not valid”?: The code does not exist in your store, or its discount is not running.
Why does checkout say “Discount has expired”?: Its end has passed.
Why does checkout say “Discount usage limit reached”?: Its total uses have run out.
Why does checkout say “You’ve already used this discount”?: It is once per customer, and the email at checkout has used it before.

Orders keep their discount

Orders that already used a discount keep their prices, even if you delete the discount later.

Track and manage your discounts

Discounts

5 discounts · 3 live

Discount	How it applies	Used	Status	Runs
Welcome offerWELCOME1010% off the whole order	When the code is entered	38	Active	From Jun 17
Free shipping over $75Free shipping the whole order over $75.00	Automatically at checkout	118	Active	From May 2
Case of six, 15% off15% off 1 collection of 6+ items	Automatically at checkout	11	Active	From Aug 6
Holiday giftsHOLIDAY2020% off 1 collection	When the code is entered	0	Scheduled	Nov 27 to Dec 24
Spring tastingSPRING15$15.00 off the whole order over $60.00	When the code is entered	60 of 60	Expired	Apr 18 to Jun 12

The Discounts list. Search by name or code, filter by Kind or Status, and tick rows to turn them on or off or delete them.

The Discounts header counts your discounts and how many are live. Each row shows what the discount takes off, how it applies, how often it has been used, its status and when it runs. Open a discount for its Performance, where uses fill a bar toward the limit.

Used: How many times it has been used, with its limit beside it when it has one, like 60 of 60.
Kind and Status: Kind narrows the list to With a code or Automatic. Status narrows it to Active, Scheduled, Expired or Turned off.
Turn on and Turn off: Tick discounts to switch them together. Turning one back on puts its dates in charge again.
Delete: Codes stop working right away. Orders that already used them keep their prices.

Next, see how paid orders arrive in Orders.

Create a code from the chat

While you edit a page, ask the chat for a code in your own words, such as “create a 15% code SIP15 for the Red Wine collection, ending 31 Oct”. The code it creates is an ordinary discount in this list. Automatic discounts are still made here in Discounts.

What it can set. The code, a percentage, an amount off or free shipping, the collections it covers, a minimum order amount or number of items, a total use limit, once per customer, and start and end dates.
Dates in your store’s time zone. The chat knows today’s date where your store is, so “ending 31 Oct” or “starting Friday” means the day you meant. The code works through the whole of its end date, and a one day code can start and end on the same date. A code that starts later begins working at checkout on its own that day.
A draft first. The chat shows every one of those as a row, and nothing is created until you press the button on the draft, such as Create SIP15. A code you already have is refused before the draft.
Made once. Pressing the button twice creates one code. If the code was taken, a collection was deleted, or the end date passed by the time you press, nothing is created and the chat says why.
Drafts last a day. After 24 hours the button changes nothing and the chat asks you to ask again.

See every store change the chat can make in AI page edits.