Troubleshooting discount codes

This guide covers troubleshooting tips for discounts in Recharge. For general information and questions, visit Discounts.

Sections

• Applying the discount code returns an error
• Recharge’s order total on a discounted order does not match Shopify
• Discount codes don’t work on the scheduled expiration date
• Unable to delete a discount code
• Recreating a discount
• There’s no option to add a discount code in checkout
• $0 discounts not displaying on orders

• My customers cannot see the coupon/discount code field in their cart

• My promotional banners are not appearing in the Recharge Checkout
• The discount code applied to an existing order shows up as N/A in Recharge
• My discount codes are enabled in Shopify and the discount is not applying on recurring orders
• I can't create a specific type of discount in Recharge

Applying the discount code returns an error

If an error appears when applying a discount code, check the existing discount settings.

1. In your merchant portal, select Discounts.
2. Search and select the discount you want to view. 

Some common reasons why a discount code will return an error response:

• The discount code was applied after the expiration date or before the start date.
• The discount is set for one application per customer, and the customer has used the discount code previously. 
• Customer is trying to apply the discount code in the customer portal but the discount code can only be used by first time customers at checkout.
• The discount code is being applied in a channel (i.e. the checkout or customer portal), that is disabled. 
• The cart total does not meet the discount's minimum purchase amount.

Recharge’s order total on a discounted order does not match Shopify

The order total displayed by Recharge can differ from the "Paid by customer" field in Shopify by exactly 1¢ for some discounted orders, though your customers have been charged the correct amount.

The difference is caused by a side effect of Shopify’s API. The order API only allows for two decimal places in the discount field, so while the discount itself was applied correctly at three decimal points, the display values are truncated in Shopify after only two decimal places. Recharge charges your customers the correct amount, but might round the displayed amount by 1¢.

For example, in the screenshot below, the $196.56 total is a Shopify display error. The $196.55 is the correct value and what the customer was charged. 

We recommend using Recharge's Charges - Processed export to perform your reporting and accounting as these values will be correct, and will match your payment processor’s values for reconciliation.

Discount codes are not working on the scheduled end date

Discount codes with a scheduled expiration date will stop working at the start of the expiration date. For example, if you want the discount code to be active through December 31st, set the expiration date for January 1st.

Unable to delete a discount code

You can not delete a discount code if it’s currently active on a customer’s account.

Recreating a discount

Deleting and recreating a discount code will generate a new Discount ID, and may cause some problems for a handful of third-party integrations that use this field. If you use a third-party app that affects discount codes or are unsure about the process, reach out to the Recharge support team first and we'll be happy to help.

Here's how we recommend deleting and recreating a discount code:

1. In your merchant portal, select Discounts.
2. Search and select the discount you want to recreate to open the discount code details page. 
3. Copy the discount code's name.
   
4. Click Fully disable discount code and select Fully disable in the popup. 
5. Click on Delete discount code and select Delete in the popup.
6. Back on the Discounts' page, click on Create discount code. 
7. Paste in the Discount code name you copied into the top field and set up the properties of the code.
8. Click Save once finished.

There’s no option to add a discount code at checkout

Recharge and Shopify will only display the input field for discounts during checkout if there’s at least one discount code created in your system. Once you create a discount code, the field will appear underneath the order on the right-hand side total during checkout.

$0 discounts are not displaying on orders

Recharge doesn’t process discount codes for $0 or 0% off. If a customer checks out with a discount code of either $0 or 0% off, the transaction will go through, however, the discount code will not be attached to the subscription or the order in Recharge.

Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce

Why can’t my customers see the coupon/discount code field in their cart?

In BigCommerce, when a customer has a subscription product in their cart, Recharge will automatically hide the Coupon Code, Subtotal, Shipping Estimate, and Estimated Tax fields. Once the customer clicks Checkout, they will see these fields and can add their coupon/discount code.

Discount codes must also be created within Recharge to apply to subscriptions or mixed carts.

My promotional banners aren't appearing in the Recharge checkout

Since subscription orders go through the Recharge Checkout on BigCommerce, promotional banners created for the checkout will not show at the Recharge Checkout. You can choose to show these banners on the homepage, product page, or cart page, to help customers see your message.

Shopify Checkout Integration

The discount code applied to an existing order shows up as N/A in Recharge

This is a display issue and does not affect your functionality. The discount was applied correctly and counted towards any limitations you may have set.

My discount codes are enabled in Shopify and the discount is not applying on recurring orders

If the settings in Shopify and Recharge are in conflict, on recurring orders Recharge will give precedence to the settings in Recharge. The discount code must be created in the merchant portal.

I can't create a specific type of discount in Recharge

There are some Shopify discount features that are not compatible with Recharge.

• Free Shipping - This is a limitation with the API, free shipping discounts created in Shopify will work on the checkout order, but not on recurring orders.
• Automatic Discounts - Shopify automatic discounts only work with one-time purchases and not subscriptions.
• Buy X, Get Y discounts - Shopify's Buy X Get X discounts aren’t supported by Shopify for Subscription products yet.
• Quantity-based discounts - Recharge doesn't support quantity-based discounts, but you can use product varients in Shopify to get the same effect. Method 2 on Offering quantity discounts has more information.