Who this article is for
Shopify merchants using ReferralCandy
Campaigns where you selected discount/coupon codes for Friend offers and/or Advocate rewards
What this article covers
Important: ReferralCandy discount codes may not be searchable from the main Shopify Discounts page.
In Shopify, ReferralCandy discount codes are often created inside a single Shopify discount as a group of codes. These groups may be created frequently (for example, daily). Because of this, searching for an individual code (FRIEND-… or THANKS-…) using the main Discounts page search may not return results.
This guide helps you:
Identify which advocate a ReferralCandy discount code is linked to
Find the code owner in ReferralCandy first (Contacts or Track coupons)
Use the owner’s Shopify customer record if you need to take action (for example, banning an advocate)
This guide doesn’t cover:
Troubleshooting why a code won’t apply at checkout
Before you start: know which code you’re looking at
ReferralCandy coupon codes usually fall into two buckets:
Friend offer codes (claimed by referred friends from the Friend Offer Landing Page or Friend Offer Popup after opening an advocate's referral link)
Prefix: FRIEND-
By default restricted in Shopify to “new customers only”
Multi-use friend offer coupons
Advocate reward codes (sent to advocates after a successful referral)
Prefix: THANKS-
Single-use reward coupons
Note: Even though referred friends redeem FRIEND- codes, the code is linked back to the advocate who shared the referral link (that’s the “owner” this guide helps you identify).
How to identify who a FRIEND- code belongs to (Friend offer coupon)
Typical scenarios:
You see unusually high redemptions for a specific FRIEND- code and want to identify which advocate it’s linked to.
You find a FRIEND- code posted on coupon-sharing sites (Honey, Coupert, Cently, Reddit, etc.) and want to trace it back to the advocate.
Search in ReferralCandy Contacts (fastest + most reliable)
In Shopify admin, go to Apps → ReferralCandy → Contacts
In the Contacts search bar, paste the exact FRIEND- code (example: FRIEND-1ABCDE2)
The search results will show the contact the code is associated with
Optional: To open the Shopify customer record, click the linked Shopify ID for that contact
Important: Don’t rely on searching the Shopify Discounts page for individual FRIEND- codes
ReferralCandy discount codes are often created inside Shopify discount groups, and these groups may be created frequently (for example, daily). Because of this:
Searching for an individual FRIEND- code on the main Shopify Discounts page may not find it
Manually opening discount groups to locate a specific FRIEND- code is usually not practical
If your goal is to identify who the code belongs to, use Apps → ReferralCandy → Contacts (Step 1 above).
If your goal is to stop a specific advocate from referring (permanently), you can open the contact’s Shopify customer profile via the Shopify ID and use More actions → Ban customer from referring (see “If you need to ban an advocate” section below).
How to identify who a THANKS- code belongs to (Advocate reward coupon)
Use Track coupons (this is where ReferralCandy’s advocate reward coupons are listed).
In Shopify admin, go to Apps → ReferralCandy → Track coupons
Paste the THANKS- code into the search bar
The results will show the contact who received that reward coupon (and which campaign it came from)
To open the underlying Shopify discount, click the hyperlinked coupon code in the table (this jumps you to the Shopify Discounts record)
Note
Shopify's default Discounts search may not reliably find individual THANKS- codes, since ReferralCandy codes are often created inside Shopify discount groups. Track coupons is the recommended way to find the owner and jump to the related discount.
If you need to ban an advocate (and disable their referral participation)
If you looked up a FRIEND- code in Contacts and opened the contact’s Shopify customer record, you may see an option to ban them from referring.
Open the customer in Shopify (Customers)
Click More actions → Ban customer from referring
Read the warning carefully, then confirm the irreversible effects
Important
Banning is irreversible and removes the contact from ReferralCandy campaign enrollment. Use only when you’re sure.
Related article
Common issues / troubleshooting
If you can’t find the code anywhere
Make sure you’re looking in the right place based on the code type:
FRIEND- (friend offer code): Apps → ReferralCandy → Contacts
THANKS- (advocate reward code): Apps → ReferralCandy → Track coupons
Don’t rely on searching the Shopify Discounts page for an individual code
ReferralCandy codes are often created inside Shopify discount groups, and these groups may be created frequently (for example, daily)
Because of this, Shopify’s main Discounts search may not return results for individual FRIEND- or THANKS- codes
Double-check the code is exact
Copy/paste the full code (including the prefix and hyphens)
If the merchant typed it manually, ask them to share the exact code they’re using
If a FRIEND- code shows a contact, but the customer still can’t use it at checkout
This usually means the code exists, but Shopify eligibility rules are blocking it (for example, “new customers only”)
Continue troubleshooting in: Why can’t my customers use the friend offer coupon at checkout?
If a THANKS- code isn’t showing in Track coupons
The reward may not have been issued yet (for example, the referral hasn’t completed the required conditions)
Or you may be checking a different campaign/store than the one the code belongs to
If your goal is to stop a specific advocate from referring
Use Apps → ReferralCandy → Contacts to find the contact (using the FRIEND- code)
Open the contact’s Shopify customer record via the Shopify ID
Use More actions → Ban customer from referring
This is irreversible and removes the contact from ReferralCandy campaign enrollment
Advanced (optional): Use Shopify GraphQL to find the discount group a code belongs to
ReferralCandy discount codes are often created inside Shopify discount groups, so searching for an individual FRIEND- or THANKS- code directly in Shopify may not work.
If you’re comfortable with Shopify GraphQL (or have a developer who can help), you can use a GraphQL query to locate the Shopify discount group that contains a specific redeem code and open it directly.
Suggested prompt (example)
Use GraphQL to search for this discount redeem code <PASTE CODE HERE>. Show me a link to that discount code.
Note
This is an advanced workflow and is not required for most merchants. For most cases, the recommended approach is still:
FRIEND- codes: Apps → ReferralCandy → Contacts
THANKS- codes: Apps → ReferralCandy → Track coupons
What to collect before contacting support
The exact code (copy/paste)
Including whether it starts with FRIEND- or THANKS-
Campaign name
A screenshot of the exact search result row in:
ReferralCandy Contacts (FRIEND-)
ReferralCandy Track coupons (THANKS-)