A school district books the same field-trip package every spring. This year their coordinator asks for 10% off because they’re bringing three extra buses. The reservation is priced at a flat rate, and when you go to apply the discount you’d use for a per-person booking, it either isn’t offered or doesn’t change the total the way you expected.
Flat-rate group pricing and discounts don’t always fit together well in Altru. Below is why, how to confirm what your own setup allows, and three workarounds that keep the price right without making your revenue reports misleading.
Why flat rates and discounts collide
Discounts in Altru are generally built to act on priced items: a ticket, a price type, a line on an order. Per-person group pricing gives a discount something to work on, because every attendee is a line with a price.
A flat rate is different. The reservation carries one negotiated amount for the whole group, whatever the headcount. Depending on how your group sales are configured, a discount may have nothing to attach to, or it may apply in ways that are hard to predict. We haven’t seen consistent behavior here across every configuration, so treat that as something to verify rather than assume.
Confirm what your setup does first
Before you choose a workaround, spend fifteen minutes testing:
- Use a sandbox or a test reservation. Create a flat-rate reservation for a dummy group and try applying your existing group discount. Note whether the discount appears, what it applies to, and what the final balance shows.
- Check the revenue side. Look at how the test transaction lands in revenue and in your batch. A discount that appears on screen but posts unexpectedly will cause problems at month-end.
- Ask Blackbaud support if the result is unclear. Describe your pricing setup exactly: flat rate, which discount, which price type. Behavior can depend on configuration details that are hard to spot yourself.
- Delete or cancel the test so it doesn’t show up in group sales reports.
If the discount applies cleanly, you’re done. Document it for the group sales team. If it doesn’t, pick one of the approaches below.
Workaround 1: Adjust the flat rate itself
The simplest option is to set the flat amount to the discounted price. If the package is normally $1,200 and you’re giving 10% off, the reservation is priced at $1,080.
This is fast and the group’s invoice is clean. The downside is that the discount disappears from your data. Six months later, nobody can tell from the record that this group got a deal, or how much you gave away across the year. If you go this way, put a note on the reservation saying the standard rate, the discount, and who approved it.
Workaround 2: Build discounted flat-rate options
If you discount the same way repeatedly (school groups, returning tour operators, member organizations), set up a separate flat-rate price for each discounted tier instead of editing amounts by hand. Name them so they explain themselves, such as “Field Trip Package – School Rate.”
Staff then pick an option instead of doing arithmetic, the price is the same every time, and you can report on how many bookings used each rate. This takes more setup, and it only makes sense for discounts you give often. One-off negotiations still call for the first or third workaround.
Workaround 3: Record the discount as a separate line
Some organizations keep the full flat rate on the reservation and record the reduction as its own adjustment, credit, or fee line, depending on what your group sales setup supports. The total comes out right and the discount stays visible as its own amount.
Talk to your finance team before you adopt this. A negative line or credit needs to post somewhere sensible in your general ledger, and they may have strong opinions about whether discounts should reduce revenue or be tracked as a separate account.
Choosing between them
- Rare, one-off deals: adjust the flat rate and leave a clear note.
- Repeat discounts for the same kind of group: build dedicated discounted rates.
- Finance needs to see discount totals: use a separate line, set up with their input.
Whichever you choose, write it down in the group sales procedures so a new coordinator doesn’t invent a fourth method.
Keep an eye on it
Once a quarter, run a query on flat-rate reservations and compare the booked amount against your standard package prices. Anything below standard without a note or a discounted rate attached is worth a look. That catches undocumented discounts early, and it gives you real numbers when someone asks how much you’re giving away to group sales.
Quick answers
Can I switch the reservation to per-person pricing so the discount works?
Sometimes, but the total will then depend on headcount, which defeats the point of a flat rate. Only do it if the group agrees to be billed per person.
Will editing the flat amount affect a reservation that’s already paid?
Changing the price on a paid reservation can create a balance or a refund due. Make the change before payment when you can, and check the balance afterward if you can’t.
