How to Apply Discounts and Tips During Checkout in SpaSphere
Add per-item discounts, order-level discounts, and tips during checkout in SpaSphere to handle promotions, loyalty pricing, and gratuities.
11 min read
Discounts and tips are part of nearly every spa transaction. Whether you are running a seasonal promotion, offering a loyalty discount to a returning client, or collecting a gratuity for your service provider, SpaSphere lets you handle all of these within the checkout flow. This guide covers how to apply per-item discounts, order-level discounts, and tips so every transaction is priced correctly and your providers are fairly compensated.
Why This Matters for Your Spa
Discounting strategy directly impacts your revenue and client retention. Spas that use targeted discounts (for example, 10% off for first-time clients or $20 off a package upgrade) see higher conversion rates than those offering blanket promotions. But discounts only work if they are easy to apply and accurately tracked. If your staff has to calculate discounts manually or remember to adjust the total at the register, mistakes happen -- and undercharging quietly erodes your margins while overcharging damages client trust. SpaSphere's built-in discount system handles the math automatically, shows the adjusted price in real time, and records every discount in the invoice audit trail so you always know exactly what was discounted, by how much, and why.
Tips, meanwhile, are a critical part of provider compensation. Industry data shows that service providers in spas earn 15-25% of their income from tips. A checkout experience that makes tipping easy and transparent -- with suggested percentages and a custom option -- increases both the frequency and average size of tips, directly supporting your team's take-home pay.
Key Capabilities
- Apply percentage discounts (e.g., 20% off) to individual line items
- Apply fixed-amount discounts (e.g., $10 off) to individual line items
- Apply order-level discounts that reduce the total across the entire invoice
- Add a description to each discount for audit trail and reporting
- Select from preset tip percentages: 15%, 18%, 20%, 25%
- Enter a custom tip amount in dollars
- Skip the tip with a single click
Applying Per-Item Discounts
Per-item discounts are applied on the Payments page when building the order, before you proceed to checkout. They adjust the price of a single item without affecting other items on the invoice.
Open the Payments page and add items
Navigate to the Payments page, select a client, and add the items you want to the order. Your selected items appear in the Review panel on the right side.
Click the discount icon on an item
In the Review panel, click the discount icon next to the item you want to discount. A small form appears inline, allowing you to set the discount.
Choose a discount type and enter the value
Select Percentage or Fixed Amount:
- Percentage: Enter a number between 1 and 100. For example, entering 20 applies a 20% discount to the item's price.
- Fixed Amount: Enter a dollar amount. For example, entering 10 takes $10 off the item's price.
Click Apply. The discounted price updates immediately in the line item, showing the original price with a strikethrough and the new price in green.
Proceed to checkout
When you click Continue to Checkout, all per-item discounts are carried forward to the checkout page. The order summary displays each discounted item with its original and discounted prices, and the discount total is shown in the price breakdown.
Use per-item discounts for targeted promotions
Per-item discounts are ideal when you want to discount a specific service or product without affecting the rest of the order. For example, if a client bought a facial and you want to offer 15% off the serum they are purchasing, apply the discount only to the serum. The facial stays at full price, the serum gets the promotion, and your invoice clearly records which item was discounted and by how much. This level of detail is valuable for tracking which promotions drive the most product sales.
Applying Order-Level Discounts
Order-level discounts are applied during checkout and reduce the total amount across the entire order. Use these for general promotions, membership discounts, or courtesy adjustments.
Open the checkout page
Access checkout from an appointment on the calendar or from the Payments page. The order summary panel shows your line items and totals.
Click Add Discount
Below the line items in the order summary, click the Add Discount button (shown with a tag icon and dashed green border). An inline discount form expands.
Configure the discount
Toggle between Percentage and Fixed:
- Percentage: Enter the discount percentage. SpaSphere calculates the dollar amount based on the subtotal.
- Fixed: Enter the dollar amount to subtract from the order total.
Add an optional Description (e.g., "First-visit discount", "VIP loyalty pricing", "Service recovery"). This description appears on the invoice and receipt for your records.
Click Apply
Click Apply to add the discount. The discount appears in the Discounts Applied section of the order summary, showing the description and the dollar amount deducted. The totals update immediately to reflect the new amount due.
You can remove an applied discount by clicking the trash icon next to it.
Discounts are recorded in the invoice audit trail
Every discount -- whether per-item or order-level -- is stored as part of the invoice record. This means your financial reports accurately reflect gross revenue, discount amounts, and net revenue. When you review your analytics at the end of the month, you can see exactly how much revenue was given away through discounts and which types of discounts your team uses most frequently. This data helps you evaluate whether your promotions are driving enough incremental bookings to justify the revenue reduction.
Adding Tips During Checkout
Tips are added in the checkout order summary before selecting a payment method. The tip is recorded as a separate line item on the invoice, making it easy to track provider earnings and calculate payroll.
Open the checkout page
Access checkout from an appointment or the Payments page. The order summary shows your line items and totals.
Select a tip option
Below the totals breakdown, the Add a tip section displays six options in a button grid:
- 15% -- Shows the calculated dollar amount (e.g., "$15.00" on a $100 subtotal)
- 18% -- Shows the calculated dollar amount
- 20% -- Shows the calculated dollar amount
- 25% -- Shows the calculated dollar amount
- Custom -- Opens a dollar-amount input field
- No Tip -- Sets the tip to zero
Click any preset percentage to apply it instantly. The dollar amount is calculated from the subtotal (before tax and discounts).
Enter a custom tip amount (optional)
If you select Custom, a text input appears where you can type a specific dollar amount. Enter the amount and click Apply (or press Enter). The tip is added to the order summary and the total updates.
Verify the tip in the totals
After selecting a tip, a Tip line appears in the totals breakdown showing the tip amount. The Amount Due at the bottom of the order summary includes the tip. The tip is processed as part of the total payment -- it is not a separate charge.
Tips appear on receipts and in provider reports
Tips are added as a dedicated line item on the invoice, separate from service charges. This means tips appear clearly on the client's receipt (so there is no confusion about the total), and they are tracked separately in your financial reports. When calculating provider pay, you can pull tip amounts per provider to determine gratuity-based compensation. This separation also simplifies tax reporting, since tips may be taxed differently than service revenue in your jurisdiction.
Discount and Tip Behavior Reference
| Feature | Where It Is Applied | Type Options | Effect on Totals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-item discount | Payments page (Review panel) | Percentage or Fixed | Reduces that item's price only |
| Order-level discount | Checkout page (Order Summary) | Percentage or Fixed | Reduces the invoice subtotal |
| Tip | Checkout page (Order Summary) | Preset % or Custom $ | Added to the total due |
Combining Discounts and Tips
You can use per-item discounts, order-level discounts, and tips together on the same invoice. The calculation order is:
- Per-item discounts reduce individual item prices
- Subtotal is calculated from the (possibly discounted) item prices
- Order-level discounts reduce the subtotal
- Tax is calculated on the post-discount amount
- Tip is added on top of the post-tax total
- Amount Due is the final total including everything
This order ensures that discounts reduce the taxable amount (so you are not paying tax on discounted revenue) and that tips are based on the service subtotal rather than the discounted amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
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