This is Part 3 of a 5 Part series on the Dynamics 365 for Sales Product Catalog. Read the Introduction here. 

Today we will cover the details of Discount Lists and Discounts in Dynamics 365. A Discount List is a container for 0 or more Discounts, and Discount is the contents.

Discount List

Field Name	Description
Name*	Name is visible in lists and lookups.
Currency+	Discount List can only be tied to one Currency. Currency field is not on the Discount List form initially!  Choosing Amount for Type causes the Currency field to appear. In Sales Hub, US Dollar was automatically assigned during creation when Type = Percentage.
Type+	Choices are either Amount or Percentage. Choosing Amount causes the Currency field to appear. Even though field is optional, on the form you have to choose one or the other.

*Required
+Optional

When creating a new Discount List in the Sales Hub, notice that the Currency field is not present:

According to the Default Solution, Currency is an optional field on the Discount List entity.

Yet when I complete the new Discount List record creation with Type set to Percentage and view the Advanced Find results, I will observe that Currency was indeed assigned to the default Currency of the Dynamics 365 environment.

However, when I change Type to Amount during creation, the Currency field appears:

This demonstrates the neutrality of Percentage versus Amount. A Percentage works across all currencies while Amount is potentially locked in. I write potentially because you can create a Discount List where Type is set to Amount, and Currency is empty.

The good news is that you can’t really use it, as the system requires the Price List Currency to match the Discount List Currency when the Discount List Type is set to Amount. If incorrectly entered, you will receive the following error:

The discount list currency must match the price list currency when the discount type is an amount.  Select a different discount list or price list and try again.

Discount

Field Name	Description
Discount Type*	Lookup to Discount record
Begin Quantity*	Beginning range where discount will begin
End Quantity*	Ending range where discount will end
Amount*	Displays if Discount List Type field = Amount
Percentage*	Displays if Discount List Type field = Percentage
Currency+	Not on Discount Form. Field is mapped from Discount List.

*Required
+Optional

You may add several Discounts that work together.

Depending on the quantity purchased, the Percentage discount may go up if desired. And if the individual setting up the Product Catalog makes a mistake and overlaps quantities; the system catches this and provides the following warning:

The specified range falls within an existing discount. To create a new discount, you must adjust the begin quantity, the end quantity, or both.

Business Scenario

Remember the business scenario list of how I will sell my products and services?

I provide the following discounts:

• Percentage discounts on all crackers in box and pallet Units
• Amount discounts on all blocks of cheese in pallet Units
• End of year percentage discounts on all cubes of cheese
• Percentage discounts on all parties and displays for Corporate and Platinum members

Log into your Sales Hub application and enter the following Discount Lists and Discounts:

Discount List

Name	Currency	Type
Crackers Discount List	US Dollar	Percentage

Discount

Discount Type	Begin Quantity	End Quantity	Amount	Percentage	Currency
Crackers Discount List	300.00000	1000.00000		5.00000	US Dollar
Crackers Discount List	1001.00000	5000.00000		10.00000	US Dollar
Crackers Discount List	5001.00000	1000000.00000		15.00000	US Dollar

You can download the Discount Lists and Discounts.xlsx document to view all entered items.

Discount List and Discount – Example

Here are what Discount List and Discount looks like in Amount or Percentage:

Discount List with Amount

Discount List with Percentage

Discounts in Action

Here is an Opportunity where the Price List is set to a Canadian Price List:

Here are the results of adding an Opportunity Line Item where the Price List Item (Product) is assigned to Percentage Discount List:

The original amount of $1.33 was discounted, and the final amount is $1.26.

Discount Gotchas

I created a Discount List:
Name = Canadian $5.00 Off
Type = Amount
Currency = Canadian Dollar

I created a Discount:
Begin Quantity = 1
End Quantity = 1
Amount = $5.00

I created a Price List Item:
Price List = Canadian Price List 001
Product = Cracker, Golden Butter
Unit = Each
Currency = Canadian Dollar
Discount List = Canadian $5.00 Off

I added a Product to an Opportunity:
Price List = Canadian Price List 001
Existing Product = Cracker, Golden Butter
Unit = Each

Here are the calculated Opportunity results:

Oops. Now I owe every customer who purchased one cracker from the Canadian Price List 001.

What can we learn from this? The system will let users discount beyond the price of the product, so we need to be careful in how we set up and use the Product Catalog.

Key Learnings

What can we derive from going through this activity and reviewing the above information?

Discounts Use Percentage or Amount

You may choose Percentage or Amount when working with Discounts. With Percentage, you don’t have to state the exact amount as the discount will automatically be applied when adding a new Opportunity Line Item. You may have to click the Recalculate Opportunity button.

Using Percentage Defaults to System Currency

When creating a new Discount List with Type set to Percentage, behind the scenes, Currency will be set to your Dynamics 365 System default Currency. Because it’s of Type Percentage, it can be used by Price List Items under a different Currency as the Price List for the Price List Item dictates the Currency.

Currency is Available for Amount

When setting Type to Amount for Discount List, an actual Amount is required when creating Discounts.

Using Percentage is More Versatile

A Discount List set to Percentage allows you to use one Discount List across several currencies and Price List Items. It is easier to manage and less prone to inadvertent calculations where you will owe your customers (see Discount Gotchas above).

Using Amount Requires More Setup and Thoughtfulness

If you sell a lot of different products and want to provide several different types of discounts, I recommend using the percentage approach.

If you know only a few Products or Discount Lists will be discounted with a distinct monetary amount, using Amount works just fine. If the amount of the Product changes frequently, outside of discounting, Amount might not be the best approach either as you might want the discount to be more or less and would have to adjust each time.

Discount List Currency and Price List Currency Must Match

You cannot add a Price List Item for a Price List that is set to one Currency and the Discount List is set to another when Type is set to Amount.

Avoid Over Discounting

It is possible to discount the amount of your product beyond the actual value of the Product. See Discount Gotchas above.

Only One Discount List per Product/Unit

Only one Price List Item per Product and Unit can be added to the Price List. This means you can only have one Discount List per Product and Unit combination. This carries over to adding Opportunity Line Items to an Opportunity, because only one Price List can be used per Opportunity.

Coming up next in the Product Catalog series will be a blog about Products. If you have any questions about Dynamics 365 for Sales, please connect with us.