Create a discount code when someone refers a friend
Every referral submission creates a coupon code in Acuity Scheduling so the discount is waiting at the client's next booking.
New submission on your referral or promo signup form
Create a coupon code in Acuity Scheduling to apply to the client's next booking
One-directional. A submission triggers the action — nothing is written back into your form.
Referral schemes fail on the admin, not the idea. A client sends a friend, then waits a fortnight for a code somebody meant to make. By the time it arrives the goodwill has gone and the friend has booked elsewhere.
A salon, barber or small clinic can close that gap to seconds. The referral form goes out as a link or a QR code at the chair, and the coupon exists in Acuity Scheduling before the client has left the building.
Setting it up
- 1
Publish the Referral Program Sign-Up template in formformform and share it as a QR code at the desk, so clients can fill it in before they leave.
- 2
Make "Do you agree to the referral program terms and conditions?" required, and set the first Zap step after the trigger to a filter that only continues when the answer is yes.
- 3
Point formformform's "New Submission" trigger at that form and send one test referral through.
- 4
Add Acuity Scheduling as the action app and choose "Add Coupon Code".
- 5
Build the coupon name from Your Full Name plus the submission ID, so every code is unique and traceable back to the client who earned it.
- 6
Set the discount amount and expiry date on the coupon inside the Zap — those come from your scheme, not from the form.
- 7
Restrict the coupon to the appointment types the offer covers, so a referral discount cannot be spent on a package you never meant to discount.
- 8
Submit one referral, find the code in Acuity Scheduling's coupon list, then turn the Zap on.
What maps where
Using the Referral Program Sign-Up as the starting point. These are its real fields — swap in your own and the mapping works the same way.
| Form field | Acuity Scheduling |
|---|---|
| Your Full Name | Builds the coupon name in Acuity Scheduling, so you can see who earned it |
| Your Email Address | The address Acuity Scheduling sends the coupon certificate to |
| Referral's Full Name | Coupon notes, recording which referral produced the code |
| Referral's Email Address | Coupon notes, and the recipient if you add a second coupon step for the friend |
| Do you agree to the referral program terms and conditions? | Zapier filter — no coupon is created unless the client has agreed |
Variations worth knowing
Add a second Acuity Scheduling coupon step to the same Zap, built from Referral's Full Name and Referral's Email Address. The friend gets a first-visit discount at the same moment the referrer gets theirs, which is usually what makes the scheme spread.
"Is your referral aware they are being referred?" tells you how warm the lead is. Send the cold ones to a Zapier delay or an approval step, and create the coupon only after the new client has actually been in for a first appointment.
If something isn't arriving
Coupon names in Acuity Scheduling have to be unique, and building one from Your Full Name alone will collide on common names. Append the submission ID or the trigger's timestamp to the name and the clash disappears.
Nothing stops someone submitting the form repeatedly. Put a filter before the coupon step requiring Referral's Email Address to be present and different from Your Email Address, and give every code an expiry date so the exposure is capped.
Frequently asked questions
Does the client see the code straight away?
Only if you send it. Acuity Scheduling can email the certificate to the address you map, or you can add a Zapier email step with your own wording. The form's thank-you message cannot show the code, because the code is created after the submission.
Can the discount be applied automatically at checkout?
The Acuity coupon is applied in Acuity at booking or checkout. If you collect through the form's hosted checkout instead, configure the matching priced option there; the two checkout flows do not share coupon rules automatically.
How do I track which referrals actually converted?
Name each coupon after the referrer, then read the coupon usage report in Acuity Scheduling — redemptions there are your conversions. The submissions stay in formformform responses, so you can export both lists and match them on the client's name.
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Build the form first
The automation needs somewhere to fire from. Publish a form, connect it once, and every submission from then on runs this flow.
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