Who doesn’t like Discounts in the Dynamics 365 Retail Channel?

Bosses, that’s who! Despite the possible rebuke from CFO’s around the globe, we are risking wage garnishment to publish this article to help the user understand each of the many discount options available in Dynamics 365.

There are Four types of retail discounts available for use: Discount (Simple), Mix and Match, Quantity, and Threshold. Before we get too far down the discount highway, we recommend that anyone looking to implement discounts, first start with a formal strategies strategy session prior to implementing a change to fully understand the desired outcomes. This should include reviewing or creating organization naming conventions.

To get to the retail discounts, proceed to Modules > Retail and Commerce > Pricing and discounts > All discounts or search All Discounts. From this page, the user can view or create all four types of discounts shown above. Once a choice is made, the system will take the user to the individual form. Let’s start with the basics first! Note: Some of the setup is redundant and is only detailed in the first section.

Discount (Simple) – This discount is directly tied to a product by a percentage or static dollar amount. The Discount ID will auto-populate, leaving the user to fill in a meaningful description for the discount. Even though this is titled “simple”, keep in mind that discounts that are more complex can be created by manipulating the values per line.

On the General fast tab there are a few key fields:

• Status is Enabled or Disabled. Once a discount is “Enabled” edits can no longer be made. Note: This applies to all the Discount types.
• Discount concurrency mode determines how the discount is applied. Exclusive and Best price can only be applied once and if one exists on the order, it will take precedence. A Compound discount can be combined with another Compound discount in the order, Discount price, Amount-off, and Percentage-off discounts.
• Coupon code required is used in conjunction with a coupon and will only be applied when the associated coupon is used at the POS. Check the related blog section at the bottom of this page to learn more about Coupons.
• Pricing Priority can override the priority if desired. If nothing is done, the system will refer to the precedence of the price groups associated with the discount.

On the Price/Discount fast tab, fill in the Discount percentage and if desired, a Quantity limit available for this discount. Note: By adding or removing a value in this field, the system will automatically change the Discount type. Also, by setting a Quantity limit the user can gain back some favor with the boss!

In the Validation period fast tab, choose Standard or Advanced.

• Standard allows for an effective and expiration date.
• Advanced allows for the use of a Discount period number. This is a preset time period that has a deeper degree of granularity.

Every discount must have a Line, so open the Lines fast tab. From here click Add or Add Products. Important Note: Remember to use the Remove in the Lines Fast tab command bar to Remove a line if needed. Do not click the Delete icon in the main command bar as it will delete the entire record.

• Add is a slightly manual action that requires the Category, Product, and Product variant fields be filled out.
• Add products opens a new dialog that will allow the user to search and add multiple products and variants in one action. (Shown below)

Finally, all discounts need a Price group. Click on the Price Groups in the command bar. Click new and choose one or more Price Groups. Remember that price groups will control who gets to use the discount.

Mix and match – This type of discount combines various products and triggers to incent the buyer. Example: Buy 5 tubes of oil paint and get 25% off all paint brushes. The first section of the set-up is the same as the Simple discount, so we will focus on the Price/Discount fast tab.

• Deal price is the New price of the combination of the discounted items.
• Discount % is a percentage discount of the item price of each item.
• Discount amount is a static amount that will be deducted from total of the combined lines.
• Least expensive will limit the discounts on lower priced lines. A value will need to be entered in one of the following fields: Deal price value, Discount % value, Discount amount value. The number of least-expensive products must be more than 1 and less than the number of products that are required.
• Line spec forces the discount decision to the lines. The user can specify a discount % or Deal price per product.

Quantity – A Quantity discount sets an order quantity level at which the discount will trigger. Example: Buy 10 Blu-ray discs and get 10% off. The key to this set-up is in the Quantity discount configuration.

On the Quantity discount configuration fast tab

• Discount type decides if this will be a Unit price or Discount %.
• Click Add to add a new line.
  • Choose the Minimum quantity
  • Choose the Unit price or Discount % amount
• Note: Create a tiered discount by adding multiple lines
  • Example:
    • Line 1 has a Minimum quantity of 5/Discount 5%
    • Line 2 has a Minimum quantity of 10/Discount 10%

Threshold – This type of discount, also commonly referred to as an amount-based discount, triggers a transaction discount once an amount threshold has been reached. Example: 10% discount on all orders over $100 and 25% on orders over $500.

On the Price/discount fast tab:

Count non-discountable items… If there is a feeling of benevolence in the air, not likely with Scrooge up in finance, activating this option will allow non-discountable items to accumulate towards the threshold.

On the Threshold discount tiers fast tab

• Click Add to create a line
• Fill in the Threshold amount, Discount method, and discount value.

We have detailed the basic setup of the four types of discounts currently available in D365. Check out the notes below.

Key notes:

• A discount must have at least one discount line and a Price Group!
• For threshold discounts that have two or more threshold tiers, the discount value for each tier must be equal to or more than the largest discount of the previous tier.
• Remember to maintain discounts by deactivating or expiring them. The pricing engine considers all open discounts during a transaction and too many could cause performance issues over time.

Additional reference:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/commerce/retail-discounts-overview

Thanks for reading! You may also be interested in…