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HubSpot discount codes on payment links can now apply to every recurring payment, not just the first.
Sidekick's What Just Shipped is the fast, friendly way to keep up with HubSpot without reading every release note yourself. Each episode, AI hosts Rob and Dana take one feature HubSpot shipped and tell you where it stands right now: what changed, how it got here, who it's for, and what to do on Monday. Rob explains. Dana pushes back. Nobody pretends.
Every episode starts from Sidekick Strategies research on the HubSpot Updates page at sidekickstrategies.com and is checked against official HubSpot sources. If something isn't confirmed, the hosts say so out loud. Episodes run six to eight minutes, and new ones arrive five a week while we catch up on recent releases.
Presented by Sidekick Strategies, a HubSpot solutions partner.
AI disclosure: Rob and Dana are AI hosts with AI-generated voices. The narrator voice and the music are AI-generated. The mid-episode message from Sidekick Strategies founder George B. Thomas uses an AI clone of his own voice, made with his consent. Scripts are researched and written with AI assistance and reviewed by humans before release.
Sidekick's What Just Shipped is independent of HubSpot, Inc., and is not authorized by, endorsed by, sponsored by, affiliated with, or otherwise approved by HubSpot, Inc. HubSpot is a trademark of HubSpot, Inc.
Dana (AI host): You promised a customer a lasting discount, and their next invoice went out at full price.
Rob (AI host): HubSpot discount codes on payment links can now apply to every recurring payment, not just the first.
Dana (AI host): The setup has a few quiet conditions, and they decide whether that discount sticks.
Narrator (AI voice): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped, presented by Sidekick Strategies.
Narrator (AI voice): Your hosts, Rob and Dana, are AI.
Narrator (AI voice): The voices are synthetic, the research is real, and humans check every claim before it reaches you.
Dana (AI host): Dana on the mic, Rob across from me, and we're both AI hosts.
Dana (AI host): Today: recurring percentage discount codes on payment links, from HubSpot's help article updated in late October.
Rob (AI host): Fair warning: today I'm playing a hypothetical revenue ops lead at a software company that sells monthly plans through payment links.
Dana (AI host): Love it.
Dana (AI host): Why it matters: a percentage code can now discount every payment on a subscription, so the promised price holds.
Rob (AI host): Which accounts can use this?
Dana (AI host): HubSpot's discount codes article lists all products and plans.
Rob (AI host): And who can create the codes?
Dana (AI host): Super Admins, or users with Manage payment links permissions.
Rob (AI host): Walk me to the screen.
Dana (AI host): Click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
Dana (AI host): Under Data Management, click Objects, select Payment Links, then open the Discount codes tab.
Rob (AI host): And from there?
Dana (AI host): Click Create discount code.
Dana (AI host): Give it an internal name, pick the discount code type, enter the value, and enter the code buyers type at checkout.
Rob (AI host): Which type do I pick for recurring?
Dana (AI host): Percentage. Expand the Options section, and under Recurring payments, choose All recurring payments.
Dana (AI host): That option needs the Percentage type.
Rob (AI host): And the other choice?
Dana (AI host): Only the first payment, which discounts the opening charge and nothing after it.
Rob (AI host): Got it. Any ceiling on the percentage?
Dana (AI host): It must be lower than a hundred percent.
Dana (AI host): You cannot create a code that makes the purchase free.
Rob (AI host): Fair enough.
Dana (AI host): The same Options section also sets the maximum discount usage and a code expiration date.
Rob (AI host): When does a code expire, exactly?
Dana (AI host): At the end of the chosen day, based on your account time zone setting.
Rob (AI host): And the status field?
Dana (AI host): Set Code Status to Active or Inactive. An inactive code cannot be applied at checkout.
Rob (AI host): So the code exists. Does every payment link accept it now?
Dana (AI host): No. Payment links do not include discount codes by default.
Dana (AI host): You turn that on for each link.
Rob (AI host): Show me where.
Dana (AI host): Click More if you see it, then Revenue, then Payment Links, and open the link.
Dana (AI host): On the Settings tab, under Checkout, toggle the Discount codes switch on, then click Save.
Rob (AI host): And the buyer side?
Dana (AI host): At checkout, buyers click Add discount code and enter the code.
Dana (AI host): Discounts show throughout checkout and on the buyer's receipt, and the email notification you get after payment includes the discount too.
Rob (AI host): Are there links that cannot take a code?
Dana (AI host): A few. Links with one-time discounts, embedded links, and links with automated sales tax.
Dana (AI host): HubSpot also says to turn off discount codes to use tax rates.
Rob (AI host): Unit discounts on line items?
Dana (AI host): Those are fine. You can turn on codes for links that include unit discounts.
Rob (AI host): And invoices, quotes, or subscriptions?
Dana (AI host): Not supported. Discount codes only work on payment links.
Rob (AI host): That narrows things.
Dana (AI host): It does, so check each payment link's settings before you share a code with a customer.
Rob (AI host): What about usage limits?
Dana (AI host): Usage counts after a discounted payment processes.
Dana (AI host): That takes seconds for cards but days for ACH, so a code can go over its maximum.
Dana (AI host): HubSpot recommends reviewing code activity regularly in the discount code table.
Rob (AI host): And ending a code early?
Dana (AI host): Deactivation is immediate. Buyers who try the code afterward get an error at checkout.
Rob (AI host): Can I bring back a deleted code?
Dana (AI host): Yes, if you are a Super Admin.
Dana (AI host): On the Discount codes tab, click Restore discount codes, select the codes, and confirm.
Rob (AI host): And where do I see how a code is doing?
Dana (AI host): The Discount codes table shows each code's status, value, maximum redemptions, and redemptions so far.
George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Hey, it's George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies.
George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Full honesty, this is my AI voice clone, made with my permission.
George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): When something breaks in your portal, does the same teammate always scramble to fix it?
George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Sidekick's HubSpot consulting starts with a portal audit, then works through a prioritized plan with you, highest-impact work first.
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Rob (AI host): Skeptic question.
Rob (AI host): Our research says the discounted amount flows into subscription records, so revenue reports match what customers pay.
Rob (AI host): True?
Dana (AI host): Partly. HubSpot says discounts do not affect a subscription's MRR or ARR.
Dana (AI host): They do affect the Last payment amount and Total amount collected properties.
Rob (AI host): So my MRR report keeps showing the undiscounted price.
Dana (AI host): That's how HubSpot describes it, so build discount reporting from payment properties instead.
Rob (AI host): Which properties?
Dana (AI host): Payments carry properties like Order discount code and Total discount amount, and you can use them in reports, segments, and workflows.
Rob (AI host): Could I build a list from code usage?
Dana (AI host): Yes.
Dana (AI host): HubSpot suggests a segment filtered on the Order discount code property, to track contacts who used a specific code when you plan future sales events.
Rob (AI host): And a one-time order discount on a subscription?
Dana (AI host): The subscription record shows the discounted first payment, then a non-discounted next payment.
Dana (AI host): That's the gap recurring codes close.
Rob (AI host): What about mixed links, with one-time items and recurring items on different billing terms?
Dana (AI host): Here's what we couldn't confirm: our research says HubSpot creates a separate subscription for each recurring billing term and applies the code to each one.
Dana (AI host): HubSpot's articles do not describe that.
Rob (AI host): So a test checkout on a mixed link comes before any promise.
Dana (AI host): Yes, and compare the subscription records it creates.
Rob (AI host): My plan for this week.
Rob (AI host): First: create a Percentage code with All recurring payments selected, and an expiration date.
Dana (AI host): Second: turn on the Discount codes switch on each payment link that should accept it.
Rob (AI host): Third: check those links for one-time discounts, embedding, or automated sales tax.
Dana (AI host): Fourth: build a report on Order discount code, so you can see which codes get used.
Rob (AI host): Revenue ops verdict: use recurring percentage codes for lasting discounts, turn them on per link, and report discounts from payment properties, not MRR.
Dana (AI host): Make the discount promise hold.
Rob (AI host): Our sources are all linked in the show notes, plus more updates at Sidekick Strategies dot com.
Dana (AI host): Thanks for keeping us company.
Rob (AI host): Check the switch on every link.
Narrator (AI voice): Sidekick's What Just Shipped is presented by Sidekick Strategies, with AI hosts Rob and Dana and AI-generated music.
Narrator (AI voice): We're independent, and not affiliated with HubSpot. Find our research at Sidekick Strategies dot com.