How to Create a Percentage-Off Promotion for Your Restaurant

Discounts are one of the quickest ways to fill tables, boost online orders, and bring back customers who haven't visited in a while. But a badly set-up discount can eat into your margins. This guide walks through creating a Percentage Off promotion in the Ressto dashboard, with tips on setting it up so it actually helps your business.

Step 1: Set the discount

This section covers how much customers save, and when.

Discount %. Enter the percentage you want to give off the order. Quick-select buttons for 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 50% are right below the field. For most restaurants, 10-20% is a sensible range. Deeper discounts like 50% are better kept for short, limited-time campaigns.

Max Discount Cap (₹). This optional field limits how much money a single customer can save. For example, 20% off with a ₹150 cap means a ₹2,000 order saves ₹150 rather than ₹400. The cap protects you from very large orders eating your margin.

Minimum Order Value (₹). Set the least a customer must spend to use the offer. The page itself suggests a minimum order (for example ₹25 in the tip box, so adjust to your menu) because it protects your margins and usually raises the average order value. If your typical order is ₹400, a minimum of ₹500 nudges customers to add a side or a dessert.

When does it run? Choose Start now, no end for an ongoing offer, or Pick dates for a fixed campaign, such as a festival weekend or a slow-month push. A time-limited offer creates urgency, so customers are more likely to act.

Step 2: Choose how customers get it

Ressto gives you three ways to deliver the offer:

1. Customer enters a code. The offer is listed in your offers, and customers type or tap the code at checkout. This works well for public, always-visible deals.
2. Applies automatically. No code is needed. The discount is applied in the cart once the conditions are met. This is the smoothest experience, since customers can't forget or mistype anything.
3. Secret code. The offer is hidden from your website, and only people you share the code with can use it. This suits influencer tie-ups, newsletter subscribers, staff or corporate partners, and VIP customers.

If you pick a code-based option, fill in the Promo Code field. Use letters, numbers, underscores, or hyphens only. Make it short and memorable, like SUMMER25 or WELCOME10, or click Generate random if you'd rather have one created for you. For secret codes, a random one is often the better choice.

More options (optional)

The defaults work for most restaurants, but this section lets you fine-tune the offer. Each panel expands when clicked.

• Usage Limits. By default, uses are unlimited. Limiting total uses or uses per customer keeps a popular deal from getting out of hand.
• Audience. By default the offer applies to all customers, signed-in only. Use this to narrow who qualifies.
• Mark promo as. Controls how this promo interacts with others. The default is Exclusive.
• Applicable Service Types. Choose whether the offer applies to Delivery, Pickup, or both. For instance, you could run a pickup-only discount to cut delivery costs.
• Schedule Availability. Defaults to every day, all day. Restrict it to certain days or hours, such as weekday lunches or slow afternoons, to drive traffic when you need it most.
• Applicable Payment Methods. Limit the offer to specific payment methods if you want to encourage a particular one (for example, online payments over cash).
• Promo image. Uses a default banner unless you upload your own. A custom image that matches your branding makes the offer stand out.

Check the preview, then publish

On the right side of the page, the Customer Preview shows what shoppers will see: a banner such as "20% OFF – On your order" with the "Use code" button. Below it, the Summary lists the discount, code, schedule, and service types in plain language. Make sure these match what you intended.

Updated on: 07/10/2026