# Apply a discount at checkout

> To apply a discount at checkout in Velarya, open the unpaid visit's billing, its checkout panel or a New Transaction, enter the code in Discount code and select Apply. Enter an amount in Custom Discount ($) to take money off by hand. Velarya reprices the sale before payment and tells you when a code is not used.

- Source: https://velarya.com/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout
- Who can do this: Admins and roles with Discounts at checkout set to Apply or Override (Override for the Pricing row)
- Plans: Basic, Scale, Branded, Connected
- Time: 2 minutes
- Last verified: 2026-10-01

## Before you begin

- For a discount code, the code is active in Organization settings > Discounts & Offers: Create a discount code.
- The visit or sale has a patient and has not been paid yet. Discounts go on before you take payment.
- Your role holds Discounts at checkout, as the Admin, Location Manager and Front Desk roles do: Loyalty roles and permissions.

## Apply a discount code to a visit

You apply a Velarya discount code to any unpaid visit from its billing: the appointment's panel on **Front Desk** or **Calendar**, or its sale in **Transactions**. Velarya prices the visit on its server, so the patient pays the same total wherever they pay.

> **Good to know:** Discount codes and birthday pricing are on the Scale, Branded and Connected plans. On every plan, including Basic, you can take a dollar amount off with **Custom Discount ($)** and switch a visit's pricing with the **Pricing** row, as described below.

1. Open the visit. On **Front Desk** or **Calendar**, select the appointment to open its panel. In **Transactions**, select the sale.
2. Select the pencil next to **Transaction** in the panel, or next to **Billing** on the sale. The treatments open for editing, with any code the visit already holds.
3. Type the code in **Discount code** and select **Apply**. The code turns into a badge with **Discount applied**, and each treatment shows its new price.

![Billing on an unpaid sale: SPRING20 applied under Discount code, and the Hydrafacial repriced from $450 to $360](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/billing-code-applied-ebd9105a.webp)

4. Select **Save**. The visit shows a **Discount** line above its new total, ready to check out, and the code's use is reserved for the patient.

To take a code off before payment, select **Remove** next to it, then **Save**. Velarya gives the code's use back. The **Discount code** field works once the visit or sale has a patient and a treatment.

## When does Velarya not use a code?

Velarya uses a discount code only when it lowers the price. After **Apply**, a message under the code says when it was not used, and after **Save** a notice says when an edit removed it. Neither counts a use.

| Message | Why |
|---|---|
| "SPRING20 wasn't applied: the patient's member price saves as much or more" | The code does not combine with member pricing, and the member price saves the same or more |
| "SPRING20 wasn't applied: the patient's birthday discount saves as much or more" | The same, for a birthday discount |
| "SPRING20 wasn't applied: the patient's member and birthday prices save as much or more" | The same, for both |
| "SPRING20 wasn't applied: it takes nothing off this sale" | No treatment is left for the code to lower: vouchers pay for every treatment, or the sale holds products or custom items and no treatment |
| "SPRING20 was removed because this sale no longer meets its minimum" | An edit took the visit below the code's minimum |
| "SPRING20 was removed because it no longer applies to any treatment on this sale" | An edit removed every treatment the code covers |

![Billing for a member's $405 Hydrafacial: VISIT10 was not applied because the member price saves as much or more](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/code-not-used-c4c3e4d1.webp)

To let a code add to a member or birthday price instead, tick **Member pricing** or **Birthday discounts** on the code, as [Create a discount code](https://velarya.com/help/create-a-discount-code) shows.

## Apply discounts while taking payment

The **Discounts** block in the Velarya checkout panel takes a discount code and a **Custom Discount ($)** right before payment, and every change reprices the sale on Velarya's server. Open the visit's checkout first: select **Open Checkout** in a completed visit's panel, drag its card into **Completed** on **Front Desk**, or select **Collect payment** on the sale in **Transactions**.

1. Under **Discounts**, type the code in **Discount code** and select **Apply**. A **Code SPRING20** row appears in the **Transaction Summary**, with the new **Total due**.
2. Enter an amount in **Custom Discount ($)** and select **Apply**. A **Custom discount** row appears.

![Checkout panel with Code SPRING20 -$90 and Custom discount -$20 rows, and the Discounts block below outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/checkout-panel-discounts-6b90cfa8.webp)

3. Select **Apply voucher** on any treatment that shows **Voucher available**. A **Vouchers** row appears, and the code is worked out again on what is left.
4. Take payment as usual.

The **Discounts** block shows while the sale is unpaid, for roles with **Discounts at checkout**. To clear a custom discount, empty the field and select **Apply**.

## Take a dollar amount off a new sale

**Custom Discount ($)** on a **New Transaction** takes a set amount off a sale you ring up at the desk, such as a goodwill gesture, and **Discount code** sits above it.

1. Select **Transactions** in the left sidebar, then **New Transaction**.
2. Under **Customer**, search for the patient and select them.
3. Select **Add service**, choose the treatments and select **Done**. Velarya prices each treatment for this patient: their member price, or their birthday price while a birthday discount is active, whichever is lower, with the regular price struck through. While it prices the sale, **Subtotal** and **Total due** read "Calculating…" and **Complete Transaction** waits.

![New Transaction Line Items for a member: Hydrafacial at the $360 member price, with the $450 regular price struck through](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/new-sale-member-price-29968637.webp)

4. Under **Payment & Totals**, type a code in **Discount code** and select **Apply**, if the patient has one.
5. Enter the amount in **Custom Discount ($)**. The summary lists the **Subtotal** at regular prices, a row for each saving, such as **Code SPRING20** and **Custom discount**, and the lower **Total due**.

![New Transaction Payment & Totals: SPRING20 applied, $20 in Custom Discount ($), and a $450 subtotal down to $340 due](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/new-sale-discounts-310e02c3.webp)

6. Choose a **Payment Method** and select **Complete Transaction**, or **Charge on reader** for **Card reader**. "Transaction completed successfully" appears. With **Card**, Velarya creates a payment link, and the sale is paid when the patient pays through it.

The custom discount can be up to what is left to pay after every other saving. **Save for Later** keeps the custom discount with the draft. Enter the discount code when you resume the draft, so a parked sale never ties up one of the code's uses.

## Switch the pricing for one visit

The **Pricing** row at the top of the Velarya checkout panel charges one visit at non-member prices, or at the prices of any membership plan in your practice. It starts on what Velarya detected for the patient, such as "Detected: Essentials member" or "Detected: Non-member".

1. Open the visit's checkout, as described above.
2. Open the menu next to **Pricing** and choose **Non-member** or a plan. **Override membership pricing?** opens, naming the patient and the pricing you chose.

![Checkout panel Pricing row reading Detected: Non-member, with the pricing menu button outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/checkout-pricing-row-7cf2ebd9.webp)

3. Select **Apply pricing**. "Pricing updated for this visit" appears, and the **Transaction Summary** shows the new total.

![Override membership pricing? asking to apply Radiance Annual pricing to a non-member's visit, with Apply pricing outlined](https://velarya.com/assets/help/apply-a-discount-at-checkout/override-pricing-dialog-d9fad6ea.webp)

To return a visit to automatic pricing, choose the patient's own plan, or **Non-member** for a patient without a membership. Velarya switches back at once, without asking you to confirm. The **Pricing** row shows while nothing has been paid on the visit.

## Which discount does the patient get?

Velarya applies savings in one fixed order: each treatment's lower member or birthday price, then vouchers, then one discount code, then any **Custom Discount ($)**. A code adds to a member or birthday price only when it is set to combine with it; otherwise the patient gets whichever saves more.

The first three examples use a sample menu: a $450.00 Hydrafacial in Facials and a $950.00 Neuromodulator, with a plan that takes 10% off every treatment and a birthday gift of 20% off Facials. [How discounts combine](https://velarya.com/help/how-discounts-combine) works through each one treatment by treatment.

| The visit | The patient pays |
|---|---|
| A member with a birthday gift and a 15% code that combines with nothing | $1,190.00: the code saves more on the regular prices, so it replaces the $1,215.00 member and birthday total |
| A member without a birthday gift and a 10% code that combines with member pricing | $1,134.00: 10% off the $1,260.00 member total |
| A member with a birthday gift and a 10% code that combines with both | $1,093.50: 10% off the $1,215.00 member and birthday total |
| A member on a 15% plan with a Hydrafacial voucher and a $380.00 chemical peel, a $50.00 code that combines with member pricing, then $20.00 in **Custom Discount ($)** | $253.00: the voucher pays for the Hydrafacial, and both discounts come off the $323.00 member price of the peel |

## How do checkout discounts behave?

A Velarya discount code applied at checkout stays on the visit through every edit, at the terms it was applied with.

| Situation | What Velarya does |
|---|---|
| You edit the visit's treatments after applying a code | Keeps the code and reprices the new treatments with it. If the visit falls below the code's minimum, or keeps no treatment the code covers, removes it and says so |
| The code ends, is turned off or reaches its limit after a visit or saved sale got it | Keeps the visit's discounted price |
| The code ends, is turned off or reaches its limit before you complete a **New Transaction** | Says why under **Discount code**, and **Complete Transaction** waits until you select **Remove** next to the code |
| The visit is cancelled or marked a no-show before anything is paid | Gives the code's use back |
| The patient's birthday discount ends between booking and checkout | Keeps the birthday price the visit was booked with |
| You change the **Pricing** row on a visit with a code | Keeps the code and works it out again with the new prices |
| A patient is charged non-member prices | Still gives them their birthday discount, as described in [Set up a birthday gift](https://velarya.com/help/set-up-birthday-gift) |
| A deposit was paid at booking | Takes discounts off as long as the new total stays at or above what was collected |
| The visit is completed but not paid | Applies the code. At a location connected to **E-invoicing**, apply it before you mark the visit completed |

Velarya counts points on what the treatments cost after every discount, before wallet credit: a $450 Hydrafacial with a $50 **Custom Discount ($)** and $25 of credit earns points on $400.00, which is 2,000 points at an **Earning Rule** of 5 points per $1. [How points work](https://velarya.com/help/how-points-work) covers the rest of the points rules.

## Who can apply a discount at checkout?

**Discounts at checkout** in **Roles & Permissions** decides who lowers prices at the desk, at each location where the staff member works.

| What staff do | Roles that can by default |
|---|---|
| Apply a discount code in billing, the checkout panel or a new sale | Admin, Location Manager, Front Desk |
| Enter a **Custom Discount ($)** in the checkout panel or on a new sale | Admin, Location Manager, Front Desk |
| Change the **Pricing** row | Admin, Location Manager |

A custom role needs **Discounts at checkout** at **apply** for codes and custom discounts, or at **override** to change the **Pricing** row as well. The role editor turns on **Transactions / orders** at **edit** with it, which also lets staff apply vouchers, as [Loyalty roles and permissions](https://velarya.com/help/loyalty-roles-and-permissions) shows. The **Discount code** and **Custom Discount ($)** fields appear only for roles that hold **Discounts at checkout**.

## What do patients see?

Patients see a discount your front desk applies in Velarya on the payment link, the receipt and the visit in the patient app.

- A payment link you send lists each treatment, then the **Subtotal**, the **Discount** and the total, before they pay.
- The receipt, printed or opened from **View your receipt** in the receipt email, lists each treatment, then **Subtotal**, **Discount**, any **Credits Applied** and **Total Paid**.
- In the patient app, the visit in their **Activity** opens with its services, the **Discount**, the **Total** and the **Points Earned**.

## If something goes wrong

**"Invalid discount code", "This discount code is not yet active", "This discount code has expired", "This discount code is not valid at this location" or "This discount code has reached its usage limit".** The code is misspelled, inactive, deleted, outside its dates, used up or limited to other locations. Check it on **Discounts & Offers**.

**A new sale won't complete, and Discount code says why the code stopped working.** The code ended, was turned off or reached its limit after you applied it on a **New Transaction**. Select **Remove** next to the code, then **Complete Transaction**.

**"Too many discount code attempts. Please try again in a few minutes."** Thirty codes you entered within 15 minutes came back "Invalid discount code", such as misspelled, turned-off or deleted codes, with every try counted. Velarya then refuses every code you enter for the rest of those 15 minutes. Codes that apply, or that are refused for another reason, never count, and your teammates' accounts are unaffected.

**"This patient has already used this discount code", "This discount code is for new patients only, and this patient has visited before" or "This discount code is for members only, and this patient has no active membership".** The code's **Who can use it** or one-use setting leaves this patient out. A code for chosen plans names them, such as "This discount code is for Essentials or Radiance Annual members only".

**"This discount code doesn't apply to any treatment on this sale" or "This discount code needs a visit of $300.00 or more ($250.00 on this sale)".** The code covers other treatments, or the visit is below its minimum, counted at the patient's own prices.

**The Discount code field is grayed out, or "Choose a patient before applying a discount code."** Choose the patient and add at least one treatment first. On a **New Transaction**, also finish each treatment's options.

**"Your role can't apply discount codes", "Your role can't add a custom discount" or "Your role can't change this visit's pricing".** Your role lacks **Discounts at checkout** at **apply** or **override** at the visit's location. Ask an Admin to update your role, or have a Location Manager finish the sale.

**"Can't be more than $360.00, the amount left to pay".** The custom discount is larger than what is left after the other savings. Lower it; **Complete Transaction** waits until you do.

**"This sale is settled, so its discounts can no longer change" or "This order is settled and its items can no longer be changed".** The sale was paid, perhaps at another desk. To give money back, ask an Admin or Location Manager to refund it in **Transactions**, as [Refund a payment](https://velarya.com/help/refund-a-payment) shows.

**"The total can't go below the $311.25 deposit already collected".** The discount would take the total below the deposit. Take less off.

**"A completed or cancelled visit on this order can't be changed" or "This transaction has a tax document, so its lines cannot change. Issue a refund to correct it with a credit note."** You changed a completed visit's treatments, or the visit's tax document is recorded. For the first, select **Cancel** and apply only the code. For the second, take payment and correct it with a refund.

**"1 service still needs its options configured".** A treatment needs its **Variation** or another option. Select the pencil on its line, choose the option, select **Done**, then try again.

**There's no Pricing row.** The row appears with **Discounts at checkout** at **override** (Admins and Location Managers by default), on a visit with nothing collected yet.

## Frequently asked questions

### When can staff add a discount to a visit?

Any time before the visit is paid, in its billing or in the checkout panel. At a location connected to E-invoicing, add it before you mark the visit completed, which records the visit's tax document. Once a visit is paid its prices are locked. To give a patient money back afterwards, ask an Admin or Location Manager to refund the sale in Transactions; refunds take Issue refunds. A full refund also gives the code's use back.

### What does the Discount line on a receipt include?

The member, birthday, code and custom savings together. At checkout, Velarya lists each saving on its own row, such as Membership savings, Birthday gift, Vouchers, Code SPRING20 and Custom discount. On the receipt, all but Vouchers make one Discount line below the Subtotal, followed by any Credits Applied and Total Paid, and a treatment a voucher pays for is listed at $0.00. The patient app shows the same Discount figure under the visit's services, above its Total.

### Can a custom discount and member pricing apply to the same sale?

Yes. A Custom Discount ($) always applies on top of member pricing, a birthday discount, vouchers and a discount code. A member whose plan takes 10% off a $450.00 Hydrafacial pays $405.00, and a $50.00 custom discount brings that to $355.00. The amount can be at most what is left to pay, so a sale never goes below $0.00.

### Does changing the Pricing row change the patient's membership?

No. The Pricing row changes the prices of one visit only. The patient keeps their membership, its billing, credits and vouchers, and earns points at their usual rate. The choice stays with the visit if you edit its treatments later, and choosing the patient's own plan again, or Non-member for a patient without one, returns the visit to automatic pricing.

### Does editing a visit use up another discount code use?

No. Velarya counts one use of a discount code per visit, however often you edit its treatments. The code stays on the visit at the terms it was applied with and reprices the new treatments, even if the code has since ended. Removing the code before the visit is paid gives its use back, and an edit that leaves the code below its minimum removes it for you.