Applying a discount to specific categories only, without creating automated discounts.

[longroadkyle]

I've shared this feedback with our account manager and other customer support folks, but unfortunately, it doesn't sound like this is a feature Square currently allows.

The gist: We would like to be able to apply a discount to a check but ONLY have it apply to designated categories.

It appears that the only way to have a discount apply to specific categories is to create an automatic discount for a specific time period. However, this would apply to all transactions during a period at that location. 

It would be incredibly helpful if we could change the settings of a discount to:

• Only apply to specific categories or items on a bill (without the need for an automatic discount, since we only want it to apply to some guest checks)
• Disable some categories from being discounted
• Disable the ability of stacking discounts

The first item is the most pressing need. We have a membership program that entitles members to receive 50% off cocktails and 25% off food on Wednesday nights. We have discounts for each created, but since it is not an automatic discount, we cannot designate which categories this discount may be applied to. In an effort to be efficient, servers/bartenders will often just apply the 50% off and 25% off discount to a guests check, assuming it will only apply to the appropriate categories. However, it will first apply the 50% discount to all items, then apply a 25% discount to all items, on top of the first discount. This should be something we can control with discount settings, rather than trying to train staff to take all the additional steps to click on individual items within a guest check, modify and apply a specific discount to each item. It's tedious and doesn't make much sense to them. Help!

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @longroadkyle.  I’m glad that you said that the first item is the most pressing need.  I think I have a work-around.

Why don’t you create coupons for your team to apply, instead?  With coupons (found at Marketing > Coupons) you can restrict the discounts to categories or items.  This will actually eliminate the need for your second request since ONLY the categories/items specified will be discounted, period.  Of course, that won’t fix the stacking issue, but that’s another rather large can of worms, eh?

And, before you ask, your team CAN enter coupons from the Square Restaurants POS, though it is by no means obvious how to do it.  LOL.  They would click on Actions > Rewards, then click the “Apply coupon” button in the upper right-hand corner and enter the coupon code. 

I think that will at least get you moving in the right direction.

[longroadkyle]

Oof - seems like it's a step in the right direction, but as you said, will not be as obvious to our employees who are used to applying discounts. And, do they need to actually punch in a coupon code, rather than selecting from a list of coupons? That alone may drive the employees crazy...

[TheRealChipA]

Agreed.  But you can make it a short code, easily remembered, and even tape it to the cash drawers or POS devices.  Honestly, it is just a matter of training and of course overcoming resistance to change, which is a rather dumb human trait, anyway.  LOL. I think that they will find that it makes more sense than straight discounting, anyway.  It IS more obvious.

[longroadkyle]

And for my own clarity, it can be blanket applied to the whole check and only apply to specified categories/items? 

I suppose my fix would be to remove the discount codes for our membership guests from our list of discounts, which would force them to use the new solution. Thanks for the tip!

But, Square, if you're listening, you still need to make this feature update for discounts. 

[TheRealChipA]

@longroadkyle NEVER MIND!  I just tried a test and found out that coupons will not work for you!!!!!  My apologies.  Coupons only work for one item in a transaction, which is not at all what you want.  My deepest apologies for getting your hopes up.

[longroadkyle]

Dang! Just discovered that myself! arghhh

[TheRealChipA]

Again, my apologies.  That leaves us with only one option — you need to submit a feature request to the POS team.  You can do that here.  When you do, please post the link here and I, for one, will definitely upvote it.

I will say that a few years ago I suggested that coupons and discounts be merged into one master discount list that could be shared everywhere — POS, online stores, etc.  But there has been no movement on that I am aware of, sadly.  What we need is one list of all possible discounting actions that share the same rules and such.  Maybe one day before I retire I’ll get to see that.  Ha.

[longroadkyle]

Feature request has been submitted: https://community.squareup.com/t5/Square-for-Restaurants/Additional-Discount-Settings-to-Limit-them-...

[Candlestore]

@longroadkyle and @TheRealChipA ;

I have been thinking of ways to make this work or a work around and I already upvoted the Ideate above.  

I just tried :

Having a Group : New Customers and discount items from Category..... can not be done as the Group the discount applies to changes to Category.   Which seems dumb since one is not related to the other.

I tried creating a 25% off for New Customers that bought 1 candle from category 28oz for example and could not do it.  

Then I tried editing the Customer Group to add Category and it replaced the Customer Group filter making everyone get the discount as mentioned before.

Now I can limit this to 1 by having the $ limit to $5.25 for this discount since all my 28oz candle are the same price to start and 25% off is 5.2475 or $5.25 rounded in Square but if your cocktails were all slightly different you would have compounding problems if the most expensive is double you least expensive.  You can not limit the discount to X times per transaction but only by $ amount. 

I am at a loss on this which is not normal for me.