Promo codes give you a controlled way to reward customers, fill quiet periods and measure the effect of a campaign. In VEVS Car Rental Software you create the code, decide how much it is worth, define when it can be used and choose which fleet categories it applies to, while the booking system applies the discount automatically once every condition is met.
What promo codes are
A promo code is a short piece of text that a customer enters during booking to receive a discount. You control the discount amount, the period in which the code can be used and the parts of your business it covers.
Promo codes are part of the wider pricing toolkit in the admin area, alongside rates, fees and protection plans. They are deliberately separate from your standard rates: a code is an exception that you switch on for a purpose and switch off when that purpose has passed, leaving your core pricing untouched.
Where to find promo codes
In the admin area, open the Prices section in the left menu and choose Promo Codes. The page lists all of your codes and lets you add, edit or delete them. The list shows each code with its ID, Code, Amount, Validity, Used count and Status, and you can search by code and sort the columns to find what you need quickly.
Clicking a row opens that code for editing, and the Add Promo Code button creates a new one. The Validity column shows the configured date range, or Unlimited when no period has been set. Edit and delete icons on the right of each row let you manage an individual code without leaving the list.
Creating and editing a code
The form is titled ADD PROMO CODE or EDIT PROMO CODE depending on what you are doing. The core settings are straightforward, but each one changes how the code behaves in a meaningful way.
Identity and value
- Status – Active or Inactive.
- Code – the text customers type to apply the discount.
- Discount – the value, read together with the discount type.
- Discount type – Percent or Amount.
- Minimum booking – the minimum number of days a booking must last.
Availability rules
- Set booking period – limits codes to bookings made within a window.
- Set validity period – limits codes to rentals that take place within a window.
- Starting days – the weekdays on which a reservation must start.
- Categories – the fleet categories the code may be used with.
The distinction between the two date settings is important. A booking period controls when the reservation is made, which is what you want for a short campaign that ends on a particular day. A validity period controls when the rental itself happens, which is what you want when you are trying to stimulate demand in a specific travel window. The two can be combined, so a code could be available only to bookings made this month and only for rentals taken next month.
Setting the starting days
The Starting days option lets you tick the weekdays on which a reservation must start for the code to be available. This is a practical lever for smoothing demand: if your weekends are already full but midweek is quiet, you can restrict a code to reservations that begin on the days you want to fill. Select all and Deselect all make it quick to set the whole week and then remove the days you want to exclude.
Choosing what a percentage discount applies to
For a Percent discount, the The discount applies to setting lets you choose between Rental fee and Extras price. That choice determines which part of the booking the percentage is calculated on, and it is only shown for percentage discounts. Amount discounts, by contrast, are a fixed value and do not present this option. Thinking about which base you want to discount before you create the code avoids surprises when the first bookings start arriving.
Limiting a code to certain categories
In the Categories panel you tick the fleet categories the code may be used with. A code is only available for the checked categories, which means you can promote a specific vehicle type without discounting your entire fleet. This is especially useful when a particular category is underused, when a new model has arrived, or when you want to move customers away from a category that is already close to full.
How to create a code step by step
- Open Prices and choose Promo Codes.
- Click Add Promo Code.
- Set the Status, Code, Discount and Discount type.
- Optionally set a Minimum booking, a booking or validity period, starting days and categories.
- Click Save.
What happens next
Active codes can be entered by customers during booking and apply their discount automatically when all conditions are met. If a booking does not satisfy the minimum length, the date window, the starting day or the category restriction, the code simply does not apply. The Used count increases each time the code is applied, giving you a simple indicator of how often it has been taken up.
Inactive codes remain visible in the list but no longer work at checkout. That is useful for retiring a campaign without losing its history: you keep the record, the used count and the configuration for reference, but customers can no longer redeem it. When editing a code, Notes and History buttons appear so you can add internal notes and review changes over time.
Editing and deleting require permission. Without it, the page is shown read-only, which keeps pricing changes under the control of the staff who are authorised to make them.
Business benefits
Promo codes convert marketing intentions into measurable booking behaviour. A code gives you something concrete to put in a newsletter, on a partner's site or in a seasonal message, and the used count tells you whether the offer was actually redeemed. Because the rules are enforced by the system, the discount cannot be applied outside its intended window or to a category you did not intend to include.
- Targeted promotions: restrict a code to the categories or travel dates where you need demand.
- Controlled cost: a percentage or fixed amount, a minimum booking length and optional caps on when it applies.
- Measurable results: the Used count shows uptake without extra reporting work.
- Clean retirement: deactivate a code instead of deleting the record.
- Consistent application: the same rules apply to every booking channel that uses the code.
Practical use cases
A rental company entering a quiet shoulder season might create a percent code limited to midweek starts and to rentals taken during a specific month. A branch that has just added a larger vehicle to its fleet might use a fixed-amount code restricted to that category to encourage customers to try it. A partner or local business could be given a memorable code with a booking period that ends when the collaboration ends.
Codes also help with loyal customers and repeat renters. A short, easy-to-type code shared after a completed rental gives the customer a reason to return, while the validity period keeps the offer tied to a realistic travel window rather than leaving it open indefinitely.
Best practices
- Keep the code short and easy to remember so customers can type it without mistakes.
- Use Set booking period for a short-term promotion and Set validity period to restrict a code to specific rental dates.
- Decide in advance whether a percentage discount should apply to the rental fee or to extras, because the setting changes the value of the offer.
- Check the minimum booking length so the code cannot be used on very short rentals where the discount outweighs the margin.
- Deactivate rather than delete a finished campaign so its used count and configuration remain available.
Conclusion
Promo codes are a small feature with a wide reach. They give you a precise instrument for shaping demand, whether you are filling midweek gaps, promoting a category or rewarding returning customers. By combining the discount type, minimum booking, date windows, starting days and category limits, you can create offers that are attractive to customers and predictable for your business.