Run event voucher systems with Zapier and single-use codes
Send, track, and redeem event offers in the real world. Each attendee gets a unique code. Staff validate it on-site with a phone scan. No POS needed.
What goes wrong with event vouchers
You sell 500 tickets. Each buyer is supposed to get a free drink voucher. So you set up a Zap that sends a code after purchase.
If that code is the same for everyone, it gets forwarded. People who didn't buy a ticket use it. A "free drink" code ends up on social media and now the bar is handing out drinks to people who never paid for entry. You can't tell who's legitimate.
Even with unique codes, Zapier can't tell your staff at the bar whether a code is valid. There's no way to check if it's been used already. If someone screenshots it and their friend shows up five minutes later with the same QR code, your bartender has no way to know.
And you have no data afterward. How many vouchers were actually redeemed? At which stations? You're left guessing from inventory counts.
How Coupon Carrier handles event redemption
When a Zap fires after a ticket purchase or registration, Coupon Carrier generates a unique Redeem Link for that attendee. The link opens a voucher page with a QR code. At the event, staff open a web-based scanner on their phone (nothing to install) and scan the code.
The scanner shows green if the code is valid. Red if it's already been used. Gray if it doesn't exist. Staff act on what they see. After one scan, the code is locked. Screenshots become useless.
Every scan is logged. You know which codes were redeemed, when, and at which station. If you're running a multi-day event, a code redeemed on day one can't be used again on day two. All of this happens without touching your ticketing platform's backend.
How the workflow runs
Someone buys a ticket on Eventbrite, fills out a registration form, or gets added to a guest list. Zapier picks up the event and triggers Coupon Carrier. The attendee receives a unique voucher by email. On-site, staff scan it.
Real-world event examples
Ticket to entry voucher
Someone buys a ticket on Eventbrite. Zapier fires. Coupon Carrier sends a unique QR code by email. At the door, staff scan it. Green means they're in. If someone tries to enter with a copy ten minutes later, the scanner shows red.
On-site perks at stations
Each attendee gets a separate voucher for a free drink at the bar or a merch pickup at the booth. Staff scan before handing anything over. You get an exact count of perks claimed, broken down by station and time.
Multi-day festivals
A three-day music festival gives each ticket holder a daily perk voucher. Day one's voucher locks after use. It can't be scanned again on day two. No wristband tracking, no paper stamps. Just a unique code per day per person.
Why Zapier alone is not enough
Zapier can send an email when someone buys a ticket. That part works. But Zapier has no idea what happens after the email lands in someone's inbox.
It cannot prevent a code from being forwarded and reused. It cannot give the person at the door a way to check whether a QR code is still valid. It has no concept of "this code was already scanned at 8:14 PM." And it generates no data about redemption, only about delivery.
For online-only workflows, that's fine. For events where someone physically shows up and presents a code, you need validation at the point of redemption. That's the gap Coupon Carrier fills.
Try a live voucher
Get a test voucher on your phone and go through the same scan-and-redeem flow your event attendees would see.