Discounts: Everything You Need to Know (But Were Afraid to Ask)

A new article has been posted to the TAM Retail Blog by Jennifer Chan:

The Holiday season is a special time of year.  It is often the time you reward your members and employees with discounts.  There are different ways to do this, depending on how you have yours set up.  Questions to ask yourself: Do I want to increase an existing discount?  Do I want the discount to be automatically applied?  Do I want a button on the POS Register?

You will need to review your discount options in TAM Office, under Point of Sale, Non-Merchandise.  There are a variety of different types of discount options included with TAM Register.  In general, we advise our customers to modify the existing discounts, before creating new ones.  Once created, a discount cannot be deleted.

If it has been a while since you have looked at your non-merchandise options, here is a refresher on the information fields:

• The Type of Discount – Discounts can be done by the transaction (tran) or by the line. A discount can also be a specified (default) percentage, a customized (custom) percentage that can be manually entered in at the Register during the sale, or a custom dollar amount that can be manually entered in at the Register during the sale.  Note that discounts can also be setup through memberships or customer profiles.
• Each Discount needs a Description (name) and Short Code (abbreviated name)
• There’s an option to increase the number of Receipt Copies printed, if needed
• The Default Percentage of the discount (0% if not applicable)
• Check the box for Allow at Point of Sale if you want the discount to appear as a button on the Cash Register
• Check the box for Validate Form if you want a prompt at the Register for the Associate to mark/check/punch (etc.) a form for the discount.
• Check the box to Prompt for Additional Information if there’s information you need from your customer related to the discount. It will prompt the Associate to ask for the information, and allow the associate to enter it.
• Check the box to Require Manager Authorization if you want only managers to enable the discount

To change an existing discount, select the discount you wish to change, make your changes (ie., update the Default %, or make something visible at the POS) and hit “Apply”.

To create a new discount, add the name in the “Enter Non-Merchandise” field, review the information fields and make selections as needed.  When you are finished, hit “Apply”.

If you want to update or add a discount to your online store, the steps are a little different.  These discounts are maintained in TAM Office under Sales Management, Ad Campaigns.  The Web Promotion tab is where you check the box to enable the “ad” as a web promotion code, input what the discount will be.  Note that all online discounts are transactional, and can be either a percentage or dollar amount, as well as free shipping.  You’re also able to set an expiration date for your discount code.  As with brick-and-mortar stores, modify existing discounts when and where you can before you create new ones.

To create a new online discount code, add the code you want in the Enter Ad Code field, and add a short description of the discount in the Description field.  The Cost and Quantity/Circulation fields must also be completed, as well as Ad Type.  If you have not previously created an Ad Type, this dropdown field will be blank.  Ad Types need to be created in a separate tab under Sales Management.

If you’re interested in adjusting the discount percentages for your members, that would be done in TAM Office, under Membership, Membership Levels.  You would need to select each membership level individually, in the Membership Level Description field, and adjust the Discount Percentage field.  Also remember to review the Ignore on Web checkbox to see whether the discounts for each membership level can be applied to online purchases.

As a reminder, you can view training videos anytime through Academy Ocean.  There’s link at the sign-in page to reset your password if you’ve forgotten it.  If you need access to the training website, contact the TAM Help Desk at 866-435-7826.