Discount
This guide explains how discounts work in Hivive from a merchant point of view. It focuses on what you can set up, how discounts combine, and what customers will see at checkout.
Discount Types
Hivive supports four common discount types.
Product Discounts
Product discounts reduce the price of selected products or selected collections.
Examples:
- 10% off all drinks
- $2 off selected lunch items
- 20% off products in the "Desserts" collection
Product discounts apply to the food item price only. Modifier and option prices, such as extra cheese, oat milk, add-ons, or toppings, stay at full price.
Example:
- Burger: $10.00
- Extra cheese: $2.00
- Product discount: 20% off
The discount is calculated from the burger only:
$10.00 burger
-$2.00 discount
+$2.00 extra cheese
= $10.00 final item price
Buy X Get Y Discounts
Buy X Get Y discounts apply when the cart contains enough eligible buy items, then discount the eligible get items.
Examples:
- Buy 1 coffee, get 1 coffee free
- Buy 2 mains, get 1 dessert free
- Spend $30 on pizzas, get 50% off garlic bread
The system applies Buy X Get Y discounts to the cheapest eligible get items first. For same-product offers, such as "buy 1 coffee, get 1 coffee free", the customer must have two separate units. One unit counts as the buy item and the other unit gets discounted.
If a product discount and a Buy X Get Y discount both apply, the product discount is applied first, then the Buy X Get Y discount is applied to the remaining item price.
Order Discounts
Order discounts reduce the whole order after item prices have been calculated.
Examples:
- 10% off the order
- $5 off orders over $50
- 15% off when customers buy at least 4 items
Order discounts use the cart subtotal after product and Buy X Get Y discounts have already reduced item prices.
Custom Discounts
Custom discounts are manually applied by staff at POS.
Examples:
- Manager-approved $10 discount
- Staff discount
- Service recovery discount
Custom discounts reduce the order total, not individual item prices.
Discount Codes
Discount codes can be attached to product discounts, Buy X Get Y discounts, or order discounts.
Codes are matched without caring about upper/lowercase. For example, SAVE10, save10, and Save10 all match the same code.
Before a customer or staff member applies the code, the discount does not affect the cart. After the code is applied:
- Product discount codes reduce eligible item prices.
- Buy X Get Y codes reduce eligible get item prices.
- Order discount codes reduce the order total.
The same code cannot be applied twice to the same cart.
Minimum Requirements
Discounts can require a minimum spend or minimum quantity.
For product discounts and Buy X Get Y discounts, the requirement only counts eligible products.
Example:
- Discount: 10% off desserts when the customer buys 3 desserts
- Cart: 2 desserts and 2 drinks
The discount does not apply, because only 2 eligible dessert items are in the cart. The drinks do not count toward the dessert discount.
For order discounts, the requirement counts the whole discounted cart subtotal or total cart quantity, depending on how the discount is configured.
Scheduling
Discounts can be active during a date range, on recurring days, and during specific times.
Examples:
- Only from 1 May to 31 May
- Every Monday to Friday
- Happy hour from 3:00pm to 5:00pm
- Late-night deal from 10:00pm to 2:00am
Discount scheduling uses Melbourne time.
How Discounts Combine
Item prices are calculated first, then the order total is calculated from the discounted subtotal.
- Start with the food price.
- Apply product discounts to the food price.
- Apply Buy X Get Y discounts to the remaining food price.
- Add options and modifiers at full price.
- Calculate the discounted subtotal from the final item prices.
- Calculate surcharges from the discounted subtotal.
- Calculate order discounts, custom discounts, and loyalty rewards from the discounted subtotal.
- Add surcharges and subtract total-level discounts to get the final total.
Order discounts are not calculated from the surcharged total. Surcharges and total-level discounts are calculated separately from the discounted subtotal, then combined at the end.
What Customers See
Product discounts and Buy X Get Y discounts are reflected in the item price or line total.
Order discounts, custom discounts, and loyalty rewards appear as discounts on the order total.
Receipts and order details should not subtract product discounts or Buy X Get Y discounts a second time, because those discounts are already included in the item prices.
Common Examples
20% Off A Product With Options
Cart:
- Pasta: $20.00
- Extra prawns: $5.00
- Product discount: 20% off pasta
Calculation:
$20.00 pasta
-$4.00 product discount
+$5.00 extra prawns
= $21.00 final item price
The option is not discounted.
Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Cart:
- Coffee x 2
- Coffee price: $5.00
- Deal: buy 1 coffee, get 1 coffee free
Calculation:
First coffee: $5.00
Second coffee: $0.00
Total: $5.00
If both coffees are on one cart line, the line may show an average item price:
Coffee x 2 at $2.50 each = $5.00
Product Discount Plus Buy X Get Y
Cart:
- Smoothie x 2
- Smoothie price: $10.00
- Product discount: $2.00 off each smoothie
- Deal: buy 1 smoothie, get 1 smoothie free
Calculation:
Each smoothie after product discount: $8.00
One smoothie becomes free
Total: $8.00
The Buy X Get Y discount applies after the product discount.
Order Discount After Item Discounts
Cart:
- Item subtotal after product discounts: $50.00
- Order discount: 10% off
Calculation:
$50.00 subtotal
-$5.00 order discount
= $45.00 total before surcharges or loyalty
The order discount uses the already-discounted subtotal.
Best Practices
- Use product discounts for simple item or collection promotions.
- Use Buy X Get Y for bundle-style offers.
- Use order discounts for whole-cart promotions, such as "10% off orders over $50".
- Use discount codes when the discount should only apply after the customer or staff enters a code.
- Keep names clear, because discount names can appear in POS views, checkout flows, reports, or receipts.
- Test same-item Buy X Get Y deals with quantities like 1, 2, 3, and 4 before launch.
Quick FAQ
Do discounts apply to modifiers or options?
Product discounts and Buy X Get Y discounts do not discount modifiers or options. Options stay at full price.
Can more than one product discount apply to the same item?
Yes. Eligible product discounts stack together, but the food price cannot go below zero.
Can a Buy X Get Y discount reuse the same item as both buy and get?
No. The buy item and get item must be separate units.
Can customers apply the same code twice?
No. A discount code can only be applied once per cart.
Why does a Buy 1 Get 1 item sometimes show as half price?
When two units are grouped on one line, the system may show the average item price. For example, one $5 item and one free item can appear as 2 items at $2.50 each.
Why is an order discount smaller than expected?
Order discounts are calculated after item-level discounts. If product discounts already reduced the subtotal, the order discount uses that reduced subtotal.