About Discounts and Concessions

About Discounts and Concessions

Introduction

When it comes to making fee payments more accessible, affordable, and incentivized for early or timely action, institutions often rely on two powerful tools: discounts and concessions.

While both aim to reduce the financial burden on students, they serve different purposes and are applied at different stages of the payment journey.

A concession is typically granted before the student begins making payments. It is a fixed reduction in the overall fee, often awarded based on merit, financial need, or special eligibility criteria. Once applied, this will directly lower the total fee amount a student is expected to pay, and the adjusted figure becomes the new base for all further payments made for the fee.

On the other hand, a Discount is a fee reduction applied at the time of payment. It applies to the payment that is being made. It is commonly used to promote early payments, encourage upfront payments, or time-limited offers to convert potential applicants. 

To enable institutions to configure such changes effectively, Collexo allows the application of both discounts and concessions based on conditional logics.

While they may appear similar, their applications differ significantly. To know more about how to configure the discounts/concessions, you can refer to this link.


NotesNote: The number of times a discount can be applied depends on how it is configured. Some discounts are limited to one-time use, while others may allow multiple applications if the configured conditions are met.

How do Discounts /Concessions work in full payments?

When an applicant makes a full payment on the checkout page, any applied discounts or concessions are deducted upfront from the total fee amount. The applicant is shown only the final payable amount after the reduction.
The discount is shown as a lump sum reduction, without breaking it down against individual fee components. Additionally, applicants can apply up to two coupons simultaneously, and the combined discount value will be reflected in the final amount payable. 






How does Concession work in Partial Payments?

In the case of the application of a concession, the fee reduction gets applied upfront and remains fixed, regardless of the number of payments made. In the case of partial payments, the full concession is applied to the first amount paid, reducing only that payment. The remaining fee must be paid in full, without any additional concession applied to future payments.
  1. For example
    1. Total fee: ₹1,00,000
    2. Concession: 20% (₹20,000)
    3. Payable after concession: ₹80,000
  1. Now, if the student pays ₹30,000 first, the remaining ₹50,000 must be paid fully by the student in the next payment. An additional concession will apply to the remaining amount. However, discounts can still be applied to the next payments, if available and valid.

How does a Discount Work in Partial Payments?

When a student opts for partial payments, they can apply for a discount based on its validity and conditions. 
For example, if a student has a total fee of ₹1,00,000 and chooses to pay it in three installments:
First Installment:
  1. The student decides to pay ₹50,000 as the first installment.
  2. Since the discount is still valid and the conditions are met, a 20% discount is applied on this amount, i.e., ₹10,000.
  3. This reduces the payable amount to ₹40,000, which the student pays.
Second Installment:
  1. Next, the student chooses to pay ₹25,000 in the second installment.
  2. If the discount is configured to be used more than once and the installment qualifies, another 20% discount is applied time amounting to ₹5,000.
  3. The student now pays only ₹20,000 for this installment.
Third Installment:
  1. In the final installment, the student pays the remaining ₹25,000.
  2. If the discount usage limit has already been reached in the first two installments(based on its usage limit), no further discount is applied here.
  3. The student pays the full ₹25,000.
So, if the discount is allowed to be used multiple times across the three installments, the student has received a total discount of ₹15,000 and has paid ₹85,000 in total.

Notes
Note: 
If both a discount and a concession are configured for a student, the system ensures they are applied appropriately to give maximum benefit without violating any usage rules or conditions.

How can you track Discounts/Concessions applications?

In contrast, on the institute portal, the system distributes the discount across each fee component, and the Track Payment page displays how the total reduction is split among the different parts of the fee. This provides the institution with a detailed view of how the discount has been applied.

Institutions may provide discounts and concessions in the following scenarios:
  1. Early payment incentives: e.g., a 5% discount on hostel fees for students who pay before a deadline.
  2. Promotional campaigns:  For example, using discount codes for specific campaigns (like online ads, pamphlet distributions, or bulk course sales) to track conversions and offer limited-time fee waivers or discounts.

Conclusion

Both discounts and concessions are valuable tools for institutions to make fee payments more flexible and affordable. While concessions reduce the overall fee upfront, discounts provide payment-based incentives, especially for timely or promotional payments. Together, they empower institutions to drive affordability, improve collections, and enhance student engagement.