Overview
Sometimes you want to give a customer a discount. In Aspire, there are three main ways to capture discounts:
Manually discount a service in the estimate (best practice) - For either contracts or work orders, override the price for a service on the estimate to apply the discount, and then make a note of the discount on the opportunity. You can set the price of the service to $0 if the service will be provided at no cost to the customer.
Note
If a service is $0 then you won’t earn any revenue on it. This option doesn’t let you record revenue and discounts separately in your accounting system, and you won’t see the amount of annual discounts given for your services.
Use a credit memo - For either contracts or work orders, make note of the discount on the opportunity and then apply a credit memo to the invoice later.
Add a “Discount” service to the estimate (Work orders only) - Add a “Discount” service to your service catalog, then add it to the estimate to reflect the discounted amount from the total of the bid. This won’t work for contracts because you have to add the same service to the estimate twice.
Keep reading to learn how to do each option.
Requirements
You need specific permissions to do some of the tasks described below. Refer to our articles about adding services to the catalog, creating an estimate, and creating a credit memo for the specific permission requirements.
Manually discount a service in the estimate (best practice)
This is the simplest of the three discount options because it doesn’t require advance setup in the service catalog or additional steps after estimating.
Note
This option doesn’t let you record revenue and discounts separately in your accounting system. You also won’t see the amount of annual discounts given for your services.
Create an opportunity for the work to be done.
Build the estimate, and manually reduce the Per Price (P/P) value for the discounted service by the discount amount.
Note
If a service is $0 then you won’t earn any revenue on the service.
Back on the proposal, in the Proposal Description 1 section, explain the discount. This explanation appears on the proposal. Example: “A credit of $163.13 will be applied to the first invoice. ($3,262.67 x 5% = $163.13)”
In the Opportunity Invoice Notes section, add a description of the discount that appears on the invoice. Example: “5% Discount - $163.13”
Send the proposal, complete the work, and invoice the customer as normal. The Opportunity Invoice Note you added earlier appears in the invoice.
Use a credit memo
Using this option means you don’t have to create a separate service or adjust the estimate directly, and you can easily track discounts given throughout the year with Aspire reporting features.
Create an opportunity for the work to be done.
In the Proposal Description 1 section, explain the discount. This explanation appears on the proposal. Example: “A credit of $50 will be applied to the first invoice.”
In the Opportunity Invoice Notes section, add a description of the discount that appears on the invoice. Example: “5% Discount - $50.00”
Build the estimate, send the proposal, and complete the work as normal.
Later, when you’re ready to send the invoice, generate the invoice but don't send it to the customer yet. On the Email Invoice screen, you can either remove the email contact or clear the checkbox next to the invoice to be sent if the customer is set up for paperless billing.
After completing the invoice batch, find and open the invoice that should receive the discount.
Select the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the page, and select Add Credit Memo. Select the correct Division, enter the discount amount in the Sale Amount field, and enter a Taxable Amount. Select Apply when you’re done.
Return to the invoice and note in the Payments section that the credit has been applied, reducing the balance due.
Select the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the page, and print or email the invoice. The Opportunity Invoice Note you added earlier appears in the invoice and the credit applied appears above the Balance Due.
Important
Before sending the invoice, make sure the invoice layout you selected displays the credit you applied.
Add a “Discount” service to the estimate
This option only works for work orders because it involves duplicating the same service on the estimate. While it does indicate the discount separately on the proposal, it only generates one work ticket.
First, create an Other type item in the catalog and name it “Discount”. Set the Purchase Unit and Allocation Unit to Dollar.
Create a work order opportunity for the work to be done.
Build the estimate, and add the service to be discounted twice.
Select the second instance of the service and rename it as “Discount”. Make sure the Separate Work Ticket field is not selected for either occurrence.
Under the Discount service, add the Discount item you created in step 1. In the Quantity (QTY) field, enter a negative amount equal to the discount to be applied. Example: “-192.00”
Add all necessary items under the main service and complete the estimate as usual.
The proposal shows the discount as a line item. Depending on your layout, it might look something like the following image.
Send the proposal, complete the work, and invoice the customer as usual.
Note
The discount item will go to purchasing but can be manually removed from the purchasing assistant list.