--- title: "Automatic or code: how do methods, usage limits and schedules work?" description: "Choose automatic or code, set usage limits and one use per customer, schedule start and end dates, duplicate a discount and fix duplicate name errors." url: "https://smart-bundles.io/help/cart-discounts/automatic-or-code-and-schedules" updated: "2026-11-02" product: "SMART Bundles App & Upsells" section: "Help center / Cart discounts" --- # Automatic or code: how do methods, usage limits and schedules work? Free gift, Volume discount, Order goal, Buy X get Y, Shipping discount and Advanced discount can be **Automatic** or **Code**; you choose under **Application method** before the first save. Bundles are always automatic. Usage limits, including **Limit to one use per customer**, exist only on code discounts. Each discount has one start and an optional end in **Active dates**. ## Automatic or code | | Automatic | Code | | --- | --- | --- | | How it applies | In the cart and at checkout when the cart qualifies | Only while the customer's code is applied | | What shoppers see at checkout | Your Discount label (Free gift: the Checkout label) | The code (Free gift: the Checkout label) | | Maximum discount uses | No | Yes | | Counts toward 25 active automatic discounts | Yes | No | Shopify allows at most 25 active automatic discounts, including discounts from apps ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-methods/automatic-discounts)). Every bundle and every automatic discount from SMART Discounts counts. Activating one more shows "Only 25 automatic discounts can be active at once." ## Switch a saved discount to the other method 1. Open the discount and click **Duplicate** at the top, then **Duplicate** in the dialog. 2. On the unsaved copy, change **Application method**. For **Code**, enter a code that no other discount uses. 3. Click **Create**, then open the original and click **Deactivate**. ## Discount codes - Each code discount has one **Discount code** field. Type a code, or on a new discount click **Generate** for a random 10-character code. - A code already used by another discount in your store shows "This discount code is already taken." - You can change the code after saving. - There are no bulk, prefix or wildcard codes, and no list of codes in one discount. For several codes, create one discount per code. - Free gift codes must be on the cart to add the gift. See [Free gift with a discount code](https://smart-bundles.io/help/free-gifts/free-gift-with-a-discount-code). ## Once per customer needs a code The **Maximum discount uses** card appears only for code discounts: **Limit number of times this discount can be used in total** and **Limit to one use per customer**. Shopify tracks one use per customer by email address or phone number ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/percentage-fixed-amount)). An automatic discount, including every bundle, can be used by the same customer on any number of orders. ## Schedules: one start, one optional end - In **Active dates**, set the **Start date** and **Start time**, in your store's time zone. A new discount starts now by default. - Tick **Set end date** for an end. It defaults to 11:59 PM, 7 days after the start, and the editor asks for at least 1 hour after the start. - There's no draft: saving a discount whose start is now makes it live. To prepare one ahead, set a future start; it shows as Scheduled. - One window per discount. There are no recurring daily or weekly hours. For a later campaign, change the dates of the same discount, or duplicate it. - **Deactivate** at the top of the editor stops a discount now; **Activate** turns it back on, or makes it Scheduled when its start date is still ahead. **Delete** can't be undone. ## "Title must be unique for automatic discount" Saving an automatic discount fails with this message when another automatic discount in your store, from any app or from Shopify, already has that name. Use a different **Discount name**, or rename the other discount (in Shopify admin > Discounts, or in the app that made it). ## Duplicate a discount - Click the copy icon on the home table, or **Duplicate** at the top of the editor. - The copy opens unsaved, named "Copy of" plus the original name, and is created when you save it. - A code discount's copy keeps the same code, so saving shows "This discount code is already taken." until you enter a new one. Who can use a discount is set separately: see [Customer eligibility](https://smart-bundles.io/help/cart-discounts/customer-eligibility). For combining an automatic discount with a code, see [Combine with other discounts](https://smart-bundles.io/help/troubleshooting/combine-with-other-discounts). **Schedule your next promotion** Every SMART Bundles discount type except bundles runs automatically or with a code, with start and end dates. Free, with everything included. [Install SMART Bundles App & Upsells on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/smart-automatic-discounts). ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I limit an automatic discount to one use per customer? No. Usage limits exist only on code discounts. Duplicate the discount, choose Code on the copy, tick Limit to one use per customer and save. ### Can a discount run every weekend automatically? No. Each discount has one start and one optional end. Change the dates for each campaign, or duplicate the discount with new dates. ### Can I import a list of unique codes? No. Each code discount holds one code, set by hand. There's no bulk or prefix code creation.