Using Promotional Links

Last updated: September 3, 2026
Applies to: Owner / Manager (create and share); Staff (apply at checkout)
PLUS Feature: No
Plan: All

Overview
Why you'd use it
Promotional links vs promo codes
How discounts are applied
Who can create and apply promotions
Before you start
Create a promotion
Share a promotional link
What families see
Apply a promotion as staff
Edit or delete a promotion
Troubleshooting
FAQ
Related Articles

Overview

A promotion in Opus1 is a time-limited discount attached to appointment services (private lessons, trials) or group class services.

Families do not type a code. You send them a promotional link — a self-booking URL that already carries a promo ID. When they book through that link, the eligible plan and signup-fee discounts apply automatically.

Staff can also select an eligible promotion at checkout when booking an appointment or enrolling someone in a class, which covers the family who phones in rather than booking online.

Location: Settings → Promotions:

Why you'd use it

The useful property of a promotional link is that your regular self-booking link stays at full price. The discount travels with the URL, not with the service, so you can run a sale without editing your public listing or taking it down afterward. When the promotion ends, the campaign link simply stops discounting — nothing on your website needs changing.

That makes promotions fit a few specific moments:

A seasonal push. Discounted trials in a back-to-school newsletter, where the link goes only to that mailing list.
A new teacher's roster. A promotion on their services, shared while they fill a schedule, without cutting prices for teachers who are already full.
A capped offer. "First 10 enrollments" works because Opus1 tracks a global use count and stops honoring the link once the cap is reached.

The tradeoff to know up front: a promotion applies to the first invoice only. It is a tool for getting a family enrolled, not for giving an ongoing discount. For a standing reduction on recurring tuition, use a recurring discount on the subscription instead.

Promotional links vs promo codes

Opus1 supports promotional links, not promotional codes.

What families might expect	What Opus1 does
Typing a phrase such as FALL10 at self-booking	Not supported. There is no code field on the family checkout
Clicking a campaign URL and getting the discount automatically	Supported. The URL carries promo ID
The regular self-booking link	Full price. The same services without the promo ID are not discounted

Share the Copy with promo URL in newsletters, campaigns, texts, or on your website, and tell families to book from that link rather than looking for a box to type a code into.

A Landing Page is a menu of self-booking options and does not replace a promotional link. Promo Links copies self-booking URLs. Adding the same promo ID parameter to a landing-page URL does work — Opus1 forwards it when a visitor picks a card — but the discount still only applies when that booking path matches the promotion on type, services, and dates.

How discounts are applied

Every promotion carries two independent discounts, each either flat (a currency amount) or percent:

Setting in the form	What it reduces
What kind of discount should be applied on plan when the promotion is claimed?	Tuition, or the plan amount, on the first enrollment invoice, calculated after plan pricing and proration
What kind of discount should be applied on signup when the promotion is claimed?	The signup or registration fee on that same invoice, when the plan charges one

Set the signup amount to 0 to discount tuition only, or the plan amount to 0 to discount the signup fee only.

On the invoice

The plan discount line reads [plan name] promo discount - [promotion title], with the percentage included for percent promos.
The signup discount line reads sign-up fee discount - [promotion title], with slight wording differences for sessions.
The promotion title appears on those lines. The tagline is only for your Promotions list.
A percent plan discount takes a percentage of the plan total on that invoice — a prorated first month, for example — rather than of plan plus signup combined.
A flat amount is capped so it cannot exceed the line it applies to.
When a student has membership and the plan waives signup for members, there is no signup fee left to discount.
Promotions apply to the enrollment invoice. Later recurring tuition invoices from the subscription are not discounted.

What you cannot target

You cannot limit a promotion to certain payment plans. Every self-bookable plan on an eligible service can receive it, so 10% off a pay-in-full plan and 10% off a month-to-month plan produce different dollar amounts.
There is no event or camp promotion type. Opus1 offers Appointment Promotion and Session Promotion only.
You cannot layer a code on top of the link. The link is the claim.
When an enrollment is paid with service credits, the promotional plan and signup lines are not added to that appointment quote.

Who can create and apply promotions

Role	Create / edit / delete	Open Promotions list	Apply at staff checkout	Share promo links
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Staff	No	Yes	Yes	Yes, where they can open Promo Links on a card
Limited Staff	No	No	No	No

Before you start

Self-booking links must already exist for the paths you want to discount, since promotions sit on top of them. Create them under Settings → Business → Self-Booking Links, covered in Creating Self-Booking Links.
Decide appointment or group class. A trial-lesson promotion cannot be copied onto a group-class link, and the reverse is also true.
Decide plan and signup amounts, including a 0 on whichever one you are not discounting.
Set start and end dates. The Opus1 create form defaults both to today, so change them before saving or the promotion can expire the same day it launches.

Create a promotion

1. Open Promotions

Go to Settings → Promotions and click Create promotion. The form is titled Create Promotion.

2. Title, type, and tagline

Field	What it is
Title	Required. Appears on invoice discount lines, so write it for families — $5 off trial lessons rather than Nov promo v2
Which type of service is this promoting?	Appointment Promotion for private lessons and trials, or Session Promotion for group classes
Tagline	A short description on your Promotions list, such as Happy November. Not shown to families

One promotion covers one type. If trials and a group class are both on sale, create two.

3. Dates

When should the promotion start? and When should the promotion end? The promotion runs from the beginning of the start date through the end of the end date, and staff checkout lists only promotions currently inside that window.

4. Locations, services, staff, and sessions

Toggle	Default	Meaning
Should the promotion apply to all locations?	On	Turn off to pick locations
Should the promotion apply to all services?	Off	Choose which services qualify. Turn on only when every service of that type should
Should the promotion apply to all staff?	On	Turn off so the discount applies only when booking those teachers
Apply to all sessions	On, session promotions only	Appears after you pick session services. Turn off to limit to certain class times

Note that all services defaults to off, so a promotion saved without touching this toggle qualifies nothing. Service lists include only bookable services of the matching type, and you have to select services before you can narrow to specific sessions.

5. Usage limits

Toggle	Default	When to change it
Promotion can be used unlimited number of times	On	Turn off and set a total cap across all families, for a "first 10 enrollments" offer
Each client can use promotion an unlimited number of times	On	Turn off and set a per-client cap, for trials or a once-per-student offer

Once a client reaches their limit, or the global cap fills, Opus1 stops honoring the promotion for further claims.

6. Discount amounts

Set plan and signup separately, each Flat or Percent:

$5 off trial tuition, signup unchanged → plan Flat $5, signup
50% off registration only → plan 0, signup Percent 50
100% off first month and 50% off signup → plan Percent 100, signup Percent 50

7. Save

Click Create Promotion. The promotion appears on the list with its type tag, dates, filters, discount summary, and use count.

Share a promotional link

1. Open Promo Links

On the promotion card, click promo links. Opus1 lists self-booking links of the matching type — appointment links for appointment promotions, session links for session promotions.

Each link carries a status icon, and hovering gives the reason:

Icon	Meaning
Green check	The link's services and other filters match the promotion
Orange warning	A partial match — the link is missing some services the promotion covers, or lists services that do not qualify. Families can still use it; only qualifying bookings are discounted
Red, no copy	The link shows none of the qualifying services, and Copy with promo is hidden

When no links match, the modal points you to Business → Self-Booking Links, and owners and managers also get a Go to business links shortcut.

2. Copy with promo

Click Copy with promo. Put that URL in the campaign, and do not send the plain link if you want the discount to apply. The regular link staying at full price is deliberate — it lets you run a sale without changing your public listing.

What families see

They open the promotional URL, and may need to register or sign in to finish booking.
On service lists, qualifying prices can show the original amount struck through with the discounted amount beside it.
At checkout, the line items include the promotion title and the plan or signup discount.
Proration for a mid-cycle start is calculated first. The plan promotion then applies to that plan total, and the signup promotion to the signup fee.

A family who bookmarks or shares your normal self-booking link will not get the promotion.

Apply a promotion as staff

Use this when someone enrolls by phone or at the front desk.

Appointments: the appointment booking flow → payment step → Promotions
Group classes: Enroll in class → payment step → Promotion

Opus1 lists only active promotions matching the service, location, staff, and — for classes — the session. Select one and the quote updates before you confirm.

You can also attach a promotion to a proposal, so the family accepts an already-discounted quote. See Sending Proposals.

Edit or delete a promotion

On the promotion card, use update or delete.

Delete cannot be undone. A deleted promotion is unavailable for new bookings, while appointments and enrollments already completed with it keep the discount they were billed.

The card also shows a uses count, alongside the total cap when you set one.

Troubleshooting

Families ask where to enter a promo code. Opus1 has no code field. Send the Copy with promo URL and ask them to book from that link.

The promotional link shows full price. Check that today falls inside the date window, that the service, location, staff, and session match, that usage limits are not exhausted, and that the family used the URL with promo ID rather than the plain link. Appointment and session links are not interchangeable.

Copy with promo is missing for a link. That self-booking link includes none of the services that qualify. Adjust either the promotion or the link's services.

A link shows orange rather than green on Promo Links. The link and the promotion do not cover the same set of services, locations, or staff. That is a valid state — extra services simply stay at full price.

Staff do not see the promotion at checkout. The promotion may be outside its date range, the wrong type, or not applicable to that service, location, teacher, or class. Confirm under Settings → Promotions.

The signup fee did not change. The signup discount may be 0, the plan may charge no signup fee, or signup may be waived for members. Plan and signup are separate settings in Opus1.

Next month's invoice is full price. Expected. A promotion applies to the first enrollment invoice, not to later subscription invoices.

I cannot create a promotion. Only Owners and Managers can create, edit, or delete promotions. Staff can apply eligible ones at checkout.

There are no links to attach the promotion to. Set up self-booking links first — without them, families have no URL to carry the promo ID. Staff can still apply promotions at checkout in the meantime.

FAQ

Can families enter a coupon code at self-booking? No. Opus1 uses promotional links instead, or staff can select the promotion at checkout on the family's behalf.

Does the discount come off the entire invoice as one number? No. You set a plan discount and a signup discount separately in Opus1, and a percentage on the plan does not touch the signup fee.

Do all payment plans on the service get the promotion? Yes. You cannot mark only pay-in-full or only month-to-month as eligible, so every self-bookable plan on a qualifying service receives it.

Can I run one promotion for both private lessons and group classes? No. Opus1 requires an Appointment Promotion and a Session Promotion separately.

Will a landing page automatically discount every card on it? No. Only bookings carrying promo ID that also match the promotion are discounted. Generate Promo Links for the specific self-booking paths you want on sale.

Setting up the links behind a promotion

Creating Self-Booking Links — required before a promotion has anywhere to attach
Using Landing Pages in Opus1.io — grouping several booking options behind one URL
How do I enable my payment plans for self-booking?

Running the offer

Sending Proposals — attaching a promotion to a quote
How do I set up trial lessons? — the most common thing to promote
Setting up payment plans for your appointment-based services

What the discount does to billing

How do I add a discount to an invoice? — discounting a bill that already exists
How are invoices generated from subscriptions? — why later invoices are full price
How do I create an invoice?