A GS1 Company Prefix is a unique number assigned to your company by GS1 that identifies your organization as the brand owner.
This is a 6 digit number that either your company or a coupon clearing house will assign to track the performance and redemptions of your coupon. If this is your first coupon the easiest is 000001.
What are the details of your offer? Example: Save $1.00 when you buy 1 of x.
How much will the consumer save with your coupon?
The quantity of products the consumer is required to bring to check out to fulfill the terms of the offer.
Family codes are 3-digit numbers that are assigned by a manufacturer for the specific purpose of facilitating more accurate coupon purchase validator at Point-of-Sale. The family code may represent a single item or a family of items under the corresponding GS1 Company Prefix for which a coupon may be used. If you are assigning family codes to groups of products, you will need to register that family code in a universal database to be shared with your retailer. If you are not classifying products into Family Codes, that’s okay, we can use the Universal Family Code “000” also known as the “standard” code option. Have questions about family codes? Reach out to one of our representatives for any questions.
Having start and expiration dates encoded in your barcode are optional. Some of our clients choose to encode a start date while some do not. The industry highly recommends that the expiration date be included. Imbedded expiration dates are foundational for tighter promotion management and fraud mitigation.
Encoding a Do Not Multiply flag is optional. A DNM flag limits the coupon to only one per transaction and blocks the POS system from allowing two of the same coupons in one transaction. The consumer readable verbiage listed on the coupon should match what is encoded in the GS1 DataBar coupon or it may result in negative consumer experience or unintended application at POS.