Discount rules that apply themselves
Run a promotion without asking staff to remember it. Set the rule once in the back office, with what it covers and when it runs, and SeroPOS applies it to matching items.
Automatic discounts in SeroPOS
Rules by product or range
Target specific products and variations, a whole brand or a whole category.
Per location
Run a promotion at one store or another, each rule tied to a business location.
Start and end dates
Give each rule a start and end, so a weekend sale switches on and off by itself.
Priority settles overlaps
When two rules match the same item, priority decides which one wins.
Price and customer groups
Choose whether a rule also applies to selling price groups and customer groups.
Fixed or percentage
Each rule takes a fixed amount or a percentage off, and can be switched off at any time.
Why automatic discounts
Manual discounts depend on the cashier remembering the promotion, applying it the same way every time and not applying it when it has ended. That rarely holds up during a busy week. Automatic discounts move the decision to the back office. You describe the promotion once as a rule, and the system applies it to the items it covers while the rule is active.
This suits planned promotions: 20 percent off a brand for a month, $2 off pastries on weekends, a launch price on a new product, or a clearance on a category. Staff ring up items as normal and the right price appears. Your reports still show the discount, so you can judge whether the promotion paid off.
Building a discount rule
Discount rules live in the web back office on the Discounts screen. Each rule has a name and a discount type, fixed or percentage, with an amount. Then choose what it covers: particular products and their variations, a brand, or a category. Pick the business location where it applies, set a start and end date and time, and mark it active.
Priority settles overlaps. If a product is covered by a category rule and a brand rule, the rule with the higher priority is used, so you can stack a short flash sale on top of a long-running promotion without the two fighting. Two further options decide whether the rule also applies in selling price groups and in customer groups.
- Name
- Products and variations, brand or category
- Business location
- Priority
- Fixed or percentage, and the amount
- Starts and ends
- Apply in selling price groups
- Apply in customer groups
- Active
Managing promotions over time
Because rules have dates, you can set up a whole season of promotions in advance and let each one switch on and off by itself. The Discounts list shows every rule with its dates and status. When a promotion should stop early, untick Active; to end several at once, select them and use mass deactivate.
Rules are tied to locations, so a store running a local event can have its own promotion while other stores sell at normal prices. If you use selling price groups for wholesale or VIP customers, decide on each rule whether those customers get the promotion on top of their usual price or are left out of it.
Automatic and manual discounts together
Automatic rules handle planned promotions; manual discounts at the till handle everything else. A cashier can still apply a line discount for a damaged item, or a manager can approve an order discount for a complaint, on top of the automatic price. Role permissions and per-user limits still apply to those manual discounts.
Discounts from both sources are recorded on the sale and appear in the daily sales report and the back office discount figures. Compare sales of the promoted products during the rule's dates with the weeks before, using the product sales report, to see whether the promotion brought in more business or simply gave margin away.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up an automatic discount in SeroPOS?
In the web back office, open Discounts and add a rule. Name it, choose fixed or percentage and the amount, select the products, brand or category it covers, pick the location, set the start and end dates and save it as active. Tills pick it up with the catalogue.
Can a discount run only on certain dates?
Yes. Every rule has a start and an end, so a weekend sale or a month-long promotion switches on and off by itself. Set up future promotions in advance and they activate on their start date without anyone remembering to turn them on.
What happens if two discounts match the same product?
Each rule has a priority. When more than one active rule covers a product, the rule with the higher priority is used. This lets a short flash sale take over from a longer promotion on the same items without editing either rule.
Can I run a promotion at one location only?
Yes. Each rule is tied to a business location, so you can discount at one store while others sell at normal prices. Create the same rule for several locations if you want the promotion to run in more than one place.
Do automatic discounts apply to wholesale customers?
You choose. Each rule has options for selling price groups and customer groups. Leave them off and customers on a special price group keep their own pricing without the promotion; turn them on and they get the promotion too. Decide this rule by rule.