Fix a discount code that does not work in Shopify
When a customer says a code does not work, the fault sits in the code's own settings, and the settings can be checked in a set order. This tutorial works through one reported code, SAVE10: 10% off orders of $50.00 or more, one use per customer, running 1 to 31 October 2026. The customer tried it on 12 November 2026 with $48.00 of products and $9.99 shipping. Two of the checks below fail on this code, and either one on its own is enough to stop it.
Written November 12, 2026 · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 6 minutes read
The worked example
| Code | SAVE10 |
| Value | 10% off the order |
| Minimum purchase | $50.00, products only |
| Usage limit | One per customer |
| Ran | 1 to 31 October 2026 |
| Reported cart | $48.00 of products, $9.99 shipping, $57.99 in total |
| Fault 1 | Code ended 31 October, 12 days before the report |
| Fault 2 | Cart is $2.00 under the minimum: shipping does not count |
Download the checklist: discount-code-checklist.csv (568 bytes).
The six checks from this tutorial as a one-page list, with the SAVE10 result filled in for each one. Keep it beside the Discounts page the next time a customer reports a code.
1Reproduce the fault yourself first
Add the products the customer describes to a cart, go through your own checkout, and enter the code exactly as the customer typed it. Read the message checkout gives back, and stop before payment: a test cart at checkout is enough, and no order has to be completed. One message names its own fault. If the cart already holds another discount and the two cannot combine, checkout answers Discount couldn't be used with your existing discounts, which sends you straight to Step 6.
2Check the active dates
From your Shopify admin, go to Discounts and open the code. In the Active dates section, read the start and end dates. A start date begins at 12:00 am on that date in your store's time zone, and a code with an end date stops at the end of that date. SAVE10 ended on 31 October 2026, so the 12 November attempt came 12 days too late. Fix it by setting a new end date on the code and saving, or by creating a fresh code for the new run.
3Count the minimum the way Shopify counts it
In the Minimum requirements section, read the minimum purchase amount. The minimum counts product prices only: shipping costs and taxes are not included. The reported cart totals $57.99 on screen, but only $48.00 of it is products, so it sits $2.00 under the $50.00 minimum and the code does not apply. On a discount that applies to specific products or collections, only those items count toward the minimum at all.
4Check who the code is for
In the Eligibility section, see whether the code is set to All customers or limited to Specific customers, Customer segments, or Markets. A limited code refuses everyone outside the list, even when they type the code correctly. A code emailed to one segment does nothing for a customer who is not in that segment.
5Check the usage limits
In the Maximum discount uses section, read both limits. A total limit that has been reached stops the code for everyone. Limit to one per customer stops the second use by the same customer, and Shopify tracks that limit by the customer's email address or phone number, so a first order placed as a guest still uses up the one use attached to that email.
6Check combinations when a second code is in the cart
In the Combinations section, see which discount classes this code may combine with. Two discounts combine only when each one allows the other's class. A customer can use at most five product or order discount codes and one shipping discount code on the same order, and combinations work on the Online Store, the Storefront API, and Shopify POS, but not on checkouts run by Facebook, Instagram, or Google. The separate guide to a discount code that will not combine works through this one fault on its own.
7Check the value and the type
Read the value at the top of the discount. A discount set to $0 or 0% might not work correctly at checkout; use at least $0.01 or 1% if a nominal value is the intent. The discount type and method cannot be changed on a discount that already exists. If the code was created as the wrong type, delete it and create it again with the right one.
8Retest with a cart that qualifies
Fix the faults you found, then run the test from Step 1 again with a cart that meets every setting. With SAVE10 extended into November and a $50.00 cart, the code takes $5.00 off, the customer pays $45.00 for the products, and the total with $9.99 shipping is $54.99. Only send the customer back to checkout once your own test cart shows the discount applied.
The arithmetic
The reported cart and the retest cart, side by side.
| Cart | Counts toward minimum | 10% off | Customer pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| $48.00 products + $9.99 shipping | $48.00 | $0.00 | $57.99 |
| $50.00 products + $9.99 shipping | $50.00 | $5.00 | $54.99 |
$48.00 + $9.99 = $57.99 with no discount, because the code is both expired and short of its minimum. On the retest cart, $50.00 × 10% = $5.00 off, $50.00 − $5.00 = $45.00, and $45.00 + $9.99 = $54.99. The retest cart holds $2.00 more in products and costs $3.00 less overall ($57.99 − $54.99 = $3.00).
Held at the counter
The total on the screen is not the number the code tests. A customer adds products, shipping, and tax together and sees a total over the minimum. The code counts product prices only. When a customer reports a code on a cart that looks big enough, add up the products on their own before anything else.
One per customer follows the email or phone number, not an account. A customer who bought once as a guest, with the same email they use now, has already used a one-per-customer code. Signing in this time does not reset it.
Some settings cannot be edited after saving. Dates, limits, eligibility, and combinations on an existing discount can be changed, and editing combinations does not affect orders where the discount was already used. The type and method cannot be changed at all: a code created as the wrong type has to be deleted and created again.
Sources
- Amount off discounts — Shopify's help pages: the minimum purchase rules, eligibility and usage limit settings, and how discount dates follow the store time zone.
- Combining discounts — Shopify's help pages: the message a customer sees when codes cannot combine, the five-plus-one code limit, and testing discounts at checkout before payment.
- Free shipping discounts — Shopify's help pages: the same minimum counting rule for shipping codes, where taxes are never included in the amount.