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Lesson 11 of 15

Applying promo codes at the box office

Box OfficeVenue AdminSuper Admin

If a patron has a discount code, enter it before completing the sale — the server validates it and updates the total.

  1. With seats or a GA quantity selected, find the Code field in the order summary.

  2. Start typing to search the venue's active codes for this performance — each result shows what it does (e.g. "SENIOR — $5 off", "STAFF — 100% off"). Pick one, or if the patron's code isn't in the list, keep typing and choose Enter code manually.

    Promo code applied with discount line showing in the order summary
    2Applied confirmation
    1Discount/Promo code
    Promo code applied with discount line showing in the order summary
  3. Press Enter or click Apply. Picking a code from the list and typing one manually go through the exact same validation — the errors below apply either way.

The list only shows codes that are currently active, in their sale window, and not already used up for this performance — it does not check whether the code applies to the specific seats/tickets in the cart (tier or category restrictions, minimum ticket counts). Those rules are still enforced when you apply the code, same as always.

If the code is rejected

The server tells you exactly why:

| Message | Meaning | |---|---| | That code is not valid for this event | Code doesn't exist for this event/venue | | This code is no longer active | Code was deactivated | | This code is not active yet | Code's start window hasn't opened | | This code has expired | Code's end date has passed | | This code has reached its redemption limit | Usage cap hit — can't be overridden from the box office | | This code requires at least N tickets | Cart doesn't meet the minimum ticket count | | This code doesn't apply to the tickets in your cart | None of the selected tickets are eligible | | A membership benefit is already applied — remove it to use a code | The buyer's active membership discount is already in effect | | That code is not valid | Generic fallback |

A membership discount and a promo code never stack — if the buyer's membership benefit is already applied, the code is blocked until the benefit is removed.

When the code doesn't change the price

Applying a code always shows a result even when it doesn't help the patron:

  • Code applied — no discount for this cart — the code is valid but doesn't beat the price already in effect.
  • Code applied — N of M tickets discounted — only some of the selected tickets qualified.
  • Code applied — the full discount applied cleanly.

Staff can't stack two codes on the same order, and a redemption-limit rejection can't be overridden at the box office — if a patron insists a code should still work, check with a venue admin.

Open this topic in the help center

Try it

Start a box-office sale for an event that has a promo code, type the code in lower case in the order summary and press Apply. Confirm the discount line appears and the total updates, then try a second code on the same order and read the message you get.

Checkpoint

Answer all 3 questions correctly to mark this lesson complete.

  1. 1. A patron with an active membership benefit wants to add a promo code. What happens?

  2. 2. A code returns "Code limit reached". What can box-office staff do?

  3. 3. The pricing category already costs less than the promo discount would make it. What does the server do?