Delete Expired Coupons Automatically

August 1, 2018

Update 30 October 2023: Script tested and confirmed working on WooCommerce 8.2.1.

Coupons are amazing, who does not like a discount? A very common way to give coupons to customers is to create one automatically after their first order, or something like that.

The issue with that though is that usually these coupons expire after a specific period, and by default, WooCommerce will not delete them. They have no reason to stay in your database though, so how do we delete expired coupons automatically?

With a snippet of course.

Before implementing any code changes, always ensure your site is backed up. This will help you restore things in case of unforeseen errors. I recommend using Jetpack Backup for real-time backups and one-click restores.

Open your functions.php file in wp-content/themes/your-child-theme-name/ and add this code at the end of the file:

	<?php
	// Delete Expired Coupons that have an expiration date set and are not from AutomateWoo
	add_action('delete_expired_coupons_hook', 'delete_expired_coupons_action');
	function delete_expired_coupons_action() {
	$query_args = [
	'fields' => 'ids',
	'post_type' => 'shop_coupon',
	'post_status' => 'any',
	'posts_per_page' => –1,
	'orderby' => 'date',
	'order' => 'ASC',
	'no_found_rows' => true,
	'meta_query' => [
	[
	'key' => 'date_expires',
	'value' => '',
	'compare' => '!='
	],
	[
	'key' => '_is_aw_coupon',
	'value' => false,
	],
	[
	'key' => 'date_expires',
	'value' => current_time( 'timestamp' ),
	'compare' => '<',
	],
	],
	];

	$query = new \WP_Query($query_args);
	$coupons = $query->posts;

	if (!empty($coupons)) {
	foreach ($coupons as $coupon_id) {
	wp_trash_post($coupon_id);
	}
	}
	}

	// Schedule the Deletion (If Not Already Scheduled)
	add_action('init', 'schedule_delete_expired_coupons');
	function schedule_delete_expired_coupons() {
	if (!wp_next_scheduled('delete_expired_coupons_hook')) {
	wp_schedule_event(time(), 'daily', 'delete_expired_coupons_hook');
	}
	}

	// Manual Deletion Button in Marketing > Coupons
	add_action('restrict_manage_posts', 'custom_add_delete_expired_button', 99);
	function custom_add_delete_expired_button() {
	global $typenow;
	if ('shop_coupon' === $typenow) {
	?>
	<form method="post" style="display:inline;">
	<input type="hidden" name="custom_action" value="delete_expired_coupons">
	<?php wp_nonce_field('custom_delete_expired_coupons', 'custom_delete_nonce'); ?>
	<input type="submit" class="button" value="Delete Expired Coupons" onclick="return confirm('Are you sure you want to delete all expired coupons?');" />
	</form>
	<?php
	// Display a notice if expired coupons were deleted.
	if (isset($_REQUEST['custom_deleted']) && $_REQUEST['custom_deleted'] === 'true') {
	echo '<div class="updated"><p>Expired coupons deleted successfully.</p></div>';
	}
	}
	}

	// Redirect with a message after deletion.
	add_action('admin_init', 'custom_delete_expired_coupons');
	function custom_delete_expired_coupons() {
	if (isset($_REQUEST['custom_action']) && $_REQUEST['custom_action'] === 'delete_expired_coupons' && check_admin_referer('custom_delete_expired_coupons', 'custom_delete_nonce')) {
	delete_expired_coupons_action();

	wp_redirect(add_query_arg(['custom_deleted' => 'true'], admin_url('edit.php?post_type=shop_coupon')));
	exit;
	}
	}

view raw functions.php hosted with ❤ by GitHub

This snippet will automatically move to the Trash all the expired coupons in your store so you can go and delete them permanently with one click, regardless if they have been used or not.

If you want to permanently delete the coupons directly instead of trashing them, you can change this code:

wp_trash_post( $coupon->ID );

to this:

wp_delete_post( $coupon->ID, true );

but beware that once you permanently delete a coupon it cannot be recovered.

Note that it works on WordPress cron jobs. If you disabled them or for any reason, they are not working, this snippet will not work as well.

It will also add a Delete Expired Coupons button in Marketing > Coupons. Beware though, this button might run into timeout issues if you have too many coupons to delete!

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Snippets, WooCommerce, WordPress

About The Author

Hi, I’m Nico! Support Lead at Automattic, championing WordPress.com & WooCommerce. Off-duty, I’m at Elemental Beacon, leading epic D&D adventures. Let’s connect, whether it’s about WordPress or a quest!

Nicola Mustone

Delete Expired Coupons Automatically

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