Someone in marketing printed the wrong code on a rack card. Or the board extended a spring member sale by two weeks. Or a partner discount turned out to be 15% when everyone agreed on 10%. Each of these turns into the same question for whoever runs Altru: can I just change the promo code, or do I need to build a new one?
The short version: you can usually adjust the parts of a promotion that control when and where it applies. Changing what it is (the code text, or the discount amount) is where you need to slow down, because that code may already sit on finished transactions.
Where promo codes live in Altru
In Altru, a promotional code is attached to a discount. The discount defines the amount or percentage and what it applies to (ticket prices, program events, merchandise, memberships, depending on how your organization set it up). The code is how a guest or cashier triggers it, whether that’s typed into a web form or entered during daily sales.
Finding it is the easy part: look in the pricing and discount configuration area for your ticketing and sales setup, open the discount, and you’ll see the promotion details. Exact screen names vary a little by version and by the security role you’re logged in under. If you don’t see edit options at all, start by checking your security role with whoever manages Altru permissions before assuming the field can’t be changed.
Changes that are generally safe
- Start and end dates. Extending or cutting short a promotion is the most common edit, and it’s the lowest risk. It only affects sales going forward.
- Where it can be used. If your discount setup lets you limit where a code applies (for example, online only versus at the desk), tightening that affects new transactions, not completed ones. Confirm which options your configuration actually exposes before promising staff a change.
- Description or internal notes. Fix these freely. Add a dated note about why you changed anything else, so the next person reviewing revenue reports understands the history.
Changes to think twice about
The code text itself
If a code has never been used, renaming it is usually harmless. If it has been used, you’re changing the label on a discount that’s already tied to completed orders. Depending on how your reports pull promotion data, last month’s revenue may suddenly appear under the new code, which confuses anyone comparing campaigns.
Whether Altru lets you edit the code string once it has transactions against it isn’t something to assume. Test it in a sandbox or ask Blackbaud support before relying on it. In most cases the cleaner move is to end the old code today and create a new one starting today. Your reports then show two distinct promotions, which is the truth.
The discount amount
Changing 15% to 10% on an active discount affects future sales only. Past orders keep the amount they were charged. That’s fine operationally, but it means one code now represents two different offers in your history. If you’ll ever need to report on “how did the 15% offer perform,” create a new discount instead of editing the old one.
What the discount applies to
Adding or removing price types or items from a discount changes who gets it from that moment on. Before you save, think about guests who already received the code in an email and expect it to work on a specific ticket. If you remove that ticket, expect a few phone calls.
A sequence that avoids most surprises
- Pull a quick query first. Find transactions that used the code so you know whether it’s live and how heavily. Zero uses means you have much more freedom.
- Decide edit vs. replace. Dates and where it applies: edit. Code text or amount on a used code: replace.
- Make the change, then test it end to end. Run a test purchase on the web form and, if relevant, at the desk. Confirm the right price appears and the code is rejected when it should be.
- Check your web forms. If a promo code is referenced in form text, confirmation messages, or a landing page, update those too. Some sites also cache pages, so a browser test may show the old version for a while.
- Tell the front desk. A short note saying “SPRING10 ended, use SPRING12 through the 30th” saves a lot of manual overrides.
When a code needs to stop working right now
Codes leak. A members-only code ends up on a coupon site, or a staff code gets shared on social media. The fastest fix is to set the end date to today (or yesterday) so the code stops validating. Don’t delete the discount: if it has transactions, Altru may not allow deletion anyway, and you want that history for reconciliation. Then issue a fresh code to the people who were supposed to have it.
Quick answers
Will editing a promo code change past transactions?
No. Completed orders keep the discount they were charged. What can shift is how those orders appear in reports if you rename the code.
Can I reuse an old code for a new campaign?
You can, by updating its dates, but your reporting will blend both campaigns together. A new code with a similar name keeps them separate.
Why does the code still work online after I ended it?
Check that the end date and time are what you expect, then test in a private browser window. If it still applies, confirm the web form is pointing at the discount you edited and not a duplicate with the same code.
