Latest / Sidekick's What Just Shipped / HubSpot recurring discount codes: percentage only, per-link switch | Shipped Oct 2026
Transcript
- 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. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Your portal, deeply understood. Talk with us about HubSpot Consulting at Sidekick Strategies dot com. 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.