A discounted order earned less (or no) cashback
Discounts come off before cashback is calculated, so a discounted order always earns less than the same order at full price. This page covers the cases that most often look like a bug but aren't. The most common one is a test order placed with a 100%-off code that earns nothing.
To see what happened on a specific order, open it in Shopify admin → Orders and check the DollarBack summary card (Admin blocks on the customer & order pages).
Why a 100%-off order earns nothing
Cashback is worked out on what the customer actually paid for each item, after discounts (How cashback is calculated). A 100%-off code brings every item to $0, so there is nothing to earn on:
Percentage programs: 10% of $0 is $0.
Fixed-amount programs: a fixed reward is only given when it fits inside what the customer paid for the item (next section). On a free item, it never fits.
This is deliberate: a customer can't get a product for free and store credit on top.
Fixed-amount rewards on discounted items
A fixed reward (for example "$32.95 in store credit for buying this variant") is not reduced to fit a discounted price. If the reward is more than the customer paid for the item after discounts, that item earns nothing from the program.
Example: a $32.95 fixed reward on a variant priced $50.
None
$50.00
$32.95
20% off code
$40.00
$32.95
40% off code
$30.00
Nothing: $32.95 is more than was paid
100% off code
$0.00
Nothing
With several units of the same item, the reward for all of them has to fit inside what was paid for that line: 2 units need at least $65.90 paid across both.
Store credit spent on the order is deducted the same way as a discount, per your When a customer pays with store credit setting, so it can also push a fixed reward over the limit.
Fix: expected behavior. If you want a fixed reward to survive a discount, lower the reward, or use a percentage program instead, which scales down with the discount rather than dropping to zero.
The program is set to skip discount codes
Look at: the program's advanced options in DollarBack admin → Cashback, and whether the order used a discount code.
You'll see: Give cashback when discount codes are used unchecked. That program ignores every order with a discount code, whatever the code is worth. Automatic discounts don't count as discount codes here; they only reduce the amount, as above.
Fix: check the option if the program should still earn on discounted orders (Set up purchase cashback).
Testing your setup
To check that a program works, place a test order without a 100%-off code: use Shopify's test payments, or a small discount that leaves the item price above any fixed reward. The credit then follows your trigger and holding period (When credit is issued).
Still unexplained? Contact support with the order ID.
Related articles
Last updated