Issue store credit as a code your customer spends at checkout: for a gift a customer paid for in your showroom, as a goodwill gesture after a problem, or as a prize. You set the amount, an optional expiry and a note for your team, and the console makes the code for you to share.
Gift cards are on Growth and up. To issue them, your role needs the Manage discount codes and gift cards permission, which the Store owner and Store manager roles have. See Staff roles: what each one can see and do.
How gift cards work
- A gift card is a code that carries money in your store’s currency. Whoever has the code can spend it, so treat it like cash.
- You issue every card from the console. Customers cannot buy gift cards on your storefront. If you sell one, take the payment yourself, in the showroom or by bank transfer, then issue the card.
- The customer types the code at checkout. The card pays as much of the order as its balance allows, and whatever is left on it stays for their next order.
- The balance only goes down when the card is spent. It goes back up when an order it paid for is cancelled, the bank card payment for the rest fails, or you refund the order, in full or in part: the card gets back its share. See Money returned to a card.
- A card with no expiry never expires. Its balance is money your store owes until it is spent. Outstanding balance, at the top of the page, adds up what every spendable card still holds.
- We do not email the code to anyone. You give it to your customer yourself.
Issue a card
- In the sidebar, under Selling, open Gift cards.
- Select Issue a card at the top right of the page.
- In Amount, type the card’s value in your store’s currency, for example
40. - If the card should expire, select Expiry (optional) and pick the last day it can be spent.
- In Note (internal), write who the card is for and why, for example “Graduation present, paid for in the Abdoun showroom.”
- Select Issue a card at the bottom of the form.
The form closes and the new card’s code appears in a box at the top of the page. See Copy the code and give it to your customer.
| Field | Required | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Yes | The card’s value, in your store’s currency. More than 0, and no more than 100,000. It cannot be changed after you issue the card. |
| Expiry (optional) | No | The last day the card can be spent. It must be today or later. Empty means No expiry. You can change it later. |
| Note (internal) | No | Up to 500 characters, for your team only. Customers never see it. The list’s search finds it. You can change it later. |
To pick an expiry, select the field, move between months with the arrows if you need to, and select the day. To remove it, select the × at the end of the field (Clear the expiry date).
Tip
Use the note to say who the card is for and why, for example “Refund for order #1042 as store credit”. Months later, when a customer reads you a code over the phone, the note is how your team knows the story.
When the amount is missing
If Amount is empty, or zero, the form stays open, the field turns red and Enter an amount greater than zero. appears under it. Type an amount and select Issue a card again.
The console can also refuse a card after you select Issue a card. A message at the top of the screen, where messages show while the form is open, says why, and the form stays open:
| Message | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Enter an amount of 100,000 or less. | The amount is over 100,000. | Issue a smaller card, or several. |
| Choose an expiry date in the future. | The expiry day has already passed. | Pick today or a later day, or clear the expiry. |
| Gift cards are not included in the current plan. | Your plan does not include gift cards. | See On plans without gift cards. |
| Could not issue the card. Check that your plan includes gift cards. | The card could not be saved. | Select Issue a card again. If it keeps failing, check your plan in Subscription. |
The code is made for you
You do not choose the code. The console makes one that nobody can guess, in the form GC-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX: the letters GC and twelve letters and numbers in three groups. The groups leave out 0, O, 1 and I, so the code is easy to read out over the phone. The form says why: The code is generated for you — gift cards are bearer credit, so a guessable code is a giveaway.
Each code is different, and it never changes. If a code leaks, you deactivate that card and issue a new one. See Deactivate a card.
Copy the code and give it to your customer
After you issue a card, a box at the top of the page says Card issued — share this code: with the code and the card’s amount under it.
- Select Copy code in the box. The button reads Copied for a moment.
- Paste the code into your message to the customer, for example on WhatsApp, or print it on a card.
- Select the × at the end of the box to close it.
The box stays until you close it or leave the page. You can copy the code again at any time from the card in the list, with Copy code at the bottom of the card. If copying does not work in your browser, the console says Could not copy — select the code and copy it by hand. Select the code with your mouse and copy it.
Warning
Anyone who has the code can spend the card. Send it only to the person it is for, and tell them to keep it private. If it reaches the wrong person, deactivate the card straight away.
How customers spend it at checkout
- The customer goes to checkout from their cart.
- In the order summary, they type the code in Gift card code and select Apply.
- The summary shows Gift card applied with the code, a Gift card line taking the card’s value off the total, and To pay with what is left.
- They choose how to pay what is left, as usual, and place the order.
Tell your customer to type the code exactly as you sent it, dashes included. Capitals or small letters both work. If the code is wrong, expired, deactivated or already spent, the summary says This gift card cannot be used.
- The card pays up to the order’s total, including shipping. If the balance is bigger than the order, the rest stays on the card.
- If the balance is smaller, the customer pays the difference by cash on delivery or bank card. For cash on delivery, the amount to collect is only what is left after the card.
- If they choose to pay the rest by bank card and that payment fails, the order becomes Failed and the gift card’s share goes back onto the card. The same happens, after about an hour, when they leave the payment page without paying. See Money returned to a card.
- One gift card per order. It can be used together with a discount code: the discount comes off first, then the card pays.
- The money comes off the card the moment the order is placed. You can see each order the card paid for in its history. See Check, edit or deactivate a gift card.
Warning
On the order page, Total is still the whole order, gift card included. Under it, a Gift card line shows what the card paid, and Amount to collect shows what is left for cash on delivery (Payment amount for other payments). In the orders list, a cash-on-delivery order not collected yet shows To collect with that amount under its total. Collect that amount, not the total, or the customer pays the card’s share twice.
On plans without gift cards
Gift cards are on Growth and up. See Plans and what each includes.
On Free and Starter:
- In the sidebar, Gift cards wears a padlock. Selecting it does not open the page; a message names the plan that includes gift cards and its monthly price, with a See plans link.
- If you open the page another way, for example from a bookmark or a link, Issue a card wears the same padlock and shows the same message.
- Your checkout does not show the gift card box.
If you move down from Growth, cards you already issued stay in the list, but customers cannot spend them until you move back up. Before you move down, think about customers who still hold a balance. See Upgrade or change your plan.
Next, see how to check a card’s balance and history, edit it or deactivate it, or add a discount code to give money off instead.