# Making a test transaction

https://help.circle.so/p/payments/paywall-setup/making-a-test-transaction

Category: [Payments](https://help.circle.so/p/payments) › [Paywall setup](https://help.circle.so/p/payments/paywall-setup)

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_Last updated: August, 2026_

To test the member payments experience, admins can set up a test user and use one of the paywalls they’ve already set up.

A good way to do this is by using a coupon that discounts the subscription to 100% of the subscription price or your desired amount in the paywall currency (eg. $1/ €1/ £1).

## **Generate a coupon**

A coupon allows you to reduce the amount a customer has to pay by discounting their subscription. Using a coupon here helps avoid having to create a separate test paywall for testing purposes.

To generate a coupon:

1. Click **Payments** in the left sidebar and then select **Coupons**.

2. Click **New coupon**.

3. Fill out the information on the coupon creation pop-up.

4. Click **Create coupon**.

5. Copy the coupon code to your clipboard.

📚 To learn how to set up coupons for paywalls in detail, see [**Create coupons for paywalls.**](/p/payments/paywall-setup/create-coupons-for-paywalls)

## **Test the payment flow as a member**

1. [**Create a test member**](https://help.circle.so/p/audience/onboarding/testing-the-member-experience).

2. Go to the paywall checkout URL in your incognito browser window.

3. You can test the flow by: 

4. After entering your payment information, click **Add promotion code**.

5. Copy over the coupon code from earlier and paste it into the field. The total due amount should now be updated based on the coupon discount.

6. Complete the payment and continue.

7. Create your account profile, and you’re all set 🎉

## **View subscription details as a member**

You can view and manage your test member’s subscription and billing information by logging into the test member’s account in incognito mode and navigating to the member billing portal.

📚 To learn more about billing options that are available to members, see the following articles:

- [**Upgrade your trial membership subscription**](/p/members/my-billing/upgrade-your-trial-membership-subscription)

- [**Add or update payment method for your membership subscription**](https://help.circle.so/c/member-billing/add-or-update-payment-method-for-your-membership-subscription)

- [**Manage your membership subscriptions**](/p/members/my-billing/manage-your-membership-subscriptions)

## **View member subscriptions as an admin**

You can view and manage your member’s subscription and transaction information in the paywall settings from your admin account.

📚 To learn more about subscriptions and transactions tabs in the paywall settings, see the following articles:

- [**View all member transactions**](/p/payments/paywall-management/view-all-member-transactions)

- [**View all member subscriptions**](/p/payments/paywall-management/view-all-member-subscriptions)