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How to Apply a Coupon in the POS

MultiPOS uses your existing WooCommerce coupons. There is no separate POS coupon system, which means a code that works on the website works at the counter.

Step 1: Create the coupon in WooCommerce

Section titled “Step 1: Create the coupon in WooCommerce”

Go to Marketing → Coupons and create one as normal. Give it a code, then set Discount type and Coupon amount on the General tab of the Coupon data panel.

The WooCommerce coupon form with the code field and the General tab of Coupon data

Percentage or fixed, cart-wide or per product, with whatever usage limits and restrictions you want. Usage restriction and Usage limits on the left of that panel work the same at the counter as they do on the website.

Nothing extra is needed to make it work at the POS.

Keep the code short and unambiguous. A cashier types it under time pressure, and SUMMER10 beats summer-promo-2026-instore.

Step 2: Build the cart at the POS

Section titled “Step 2: Build the cart at the POS”

Open the terminal and add the customer’s items.

The POS cart with two items, subtotal, tax and the total

An empty cart cannot take a coupon. Pressing Coupon on one raises Empty Cart, reading Please add products in the cart to apply coupon.

Step 3: Press Coupon

Section titled “Step 3: Press Coupon”

Coupon is the first of the three cart actions, under the totals.

The Coupon button in the POS cart actions

Step 4: Type the code and press Add

Section titled “Step 4: Type the code and press Add”

The Apply Coupon box opens with the cursor already in it.

The Apply Coupon popup with a code typed into it and the Add button live

Type the code and press Add. Enter does the same thing, which is the faster habit to teach.

Add stays greyed out until you have typed something. Leaving the box empty and pressing it does nothing; the button is disabled rather than raising an error.

Codes are not case sensitive, so a customer reading one off a phone in capitals is fine.

Step 5: Read the new total back

Section titled “Step 5: Read the new total back”

The code lands on the Applied Coupon(s) row with the amount it took off, and Proceed to Pay falls by that much.

The POS cart with coupon1 on the Applied Coupon(s) row and the total dropped to $25.30

In that shot a $10 cart discount on a $33.00 subtotal takes Proceed to Pay from $36.30 to $25.30.

Two details in that picture are worth naming, because both surprise people.

  • The tax moves too. It goes from $3.30 to $2.30, because the discount comes off before tax is worked out. The receipt shows the recalculated figure, not the original one.
  • The Discount row does not move. It stays at $0.00 even though a discount has plainly been applied. That row is for a manual discount a cashier types in, which is a separate Pro feature. A coupon always shows on Applied Coupon(s), never on Discount.

Read the new total back to the customer before taking payment. It is the fastest way to catch a coupon that applied to fewer items than either of you expected.

More than one coupon can go on the same cart, and each one shows in the list with its own value.

How to take a coupon back off

Section titled “How to take a coupon back off”

There is a small bin icon inside the Applied Coupon(s) value, immediately before the code.

The delete icon inside the Applied Coupon(s) row that removes a coupon

Press it and the coupon comes off, the total goes back up, and the POS confirms with Coupon Removed. It does not ask twice.

It is 14 pixels wide and carries no label, so point it out during training. A cashier who cannot find it resets the whole cart instead and rings the sale up again.

When a coupon is rejected

Section titled “When a coupon is rejected”

The POS raises a Coupon Error with the reason from WooCommerce. Every restriction on the coupon applies here exactly as it does online:

  • Expiry date passed
  • Usage limit reached, overall or per customer
  • Minimum spend not met
  • Product or category restrictions not matched by what is in the cart
  • Individual use only, when another coupon is already applied
  • Email restrictions, which need a customer set on the cart

Applying the same code twice gets its own message: Coupon is already applied in the cart.

The email restriction catches people out. A coupon limited to specific email addresses cannot validate against the guest account, so set the real customer first from the Customers screen.

The POS customers screen with the customer list and the add customer form

Coupons need a connection

Section titled “Coupons need a connection”

A coupon cannot be applied while the terminal is offline. Validating a code, its usage count and its restrictions all need the server.

The POS says:

Coupon cannot be applied in offline mode, please apply after getting online.

There is no queue for this. A customer with a code either waits for the connection or does not get the discount.

Usage counts include POS sales

Section titled “Usage counts include POS sales”

A coupon used at the counter counts against its usage limit like any other. A code limited to a hundred uses does not get a fresh hundred in store.

The count moves when the order is placed, not when the code is applied. Applying a code and then resetting the cart costs the coupon nothing.

That is usually what you want. Watch it on a code you meant for online only, because there is no setting that keeps a coupon off the POS.

Restrict such a code to products you do not stock in store, or use a separate code.

Reading it back later

Section titled “Reading it back later”

The applied coupons and the discount show on the order in WooCommerce, and on the order detail panel in the POS.

The order details panel in the POS showing totals and change

For discount totals across a period, use the Discounted Orders and Gross Discounted charts in Reports.

The Discounted Orders and Gross Discounted charts on the reports screen

Where to go next

Section titled “Where to go next”