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Gift Cards

Gift Cards

Gift cards allow customers to purchase store credit that can be redeemed and used as a payment method. They can be created through a catalog purchase or manually by an administrator.

Setting Up a Gift Card Product

To sell gift cards through your catalog, create an item with the following configuration:

  1. Navigate to the admin editing area and open the Items content table
  2. Create a new item (or edit an existing one)
  3. Set the item price to the gift card value (e.g. $10, $25, $50)
  4. Check the Is Gift Card field — this tells the system to generate a gift card when the item is purchased
  5. Optionally set the Gift Card Recipient Email field to a System Email record — if set, the system will send a redemption email to the recipient during fulfillment

Adding Recipient Options

To allow the purchaser to specify a recipient email and message during checkout, add item options to the item's Options field. The options field uses the format option-name:choice1,choice2,choice3, one per line.

For gift cards, use these specific option names:

Recipient Email:
Recipient Message:Happy Birthday,Congratulations,Thank You
  • Recipient Email — a text input where the purchaser enters the recipient's email address. When present and the item has a Gift Card Recipient Email system email configured, the system sends the redemption email to this address during fulfillment.
  • Recipient Message — an optional list of predefined messages the purchaser can select. The chosen message is included in the recipient email above the redemption code.

What Happens When a Gift Card Is Purchased

When a customer purchases a gift card item, the following occurs during order fulfillment:

  1. A new Account Autopay Option record is created with:
    • Type set to Gift Card
    • The original amount set to the item price
    • A unique 16-digit redemption code (format: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)
    • Account left unassigned (set to 0) — the card is not tied to any account until redeemed
  2. The order invoice and receipt are updated with the gift card information, including:
    • The card amount
    • A clickable redemption link
    • Instructions to redeem at My Account > Payment Methods with the redeem code
  3. If the item has a Gift Card Recipient Email configured and the purchaser entered a Recipient Email in the item options:
    • The system sends the configured system email to the recipient
    • The email includes the card amount, any selected recipient message, the redemption code, and a clickable redemption link

Redeeming a Gift Card

A gift card can be redeemed by any user who has the redemption code. There are two ways to redeem:

The invoice, receipt, and recipient email all include a direct link in the format:

https://yoursite.com/myaccount?redeemgiftcard=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Clicking this link takes the user to My Account and automatically redeems the gift card to their account.

Enter the Code Manually

  1. Log in and navigate to My Account
  2. Click on Payment Methods
  3. Enter the redemption code in the Redeem Gift Card section
  4. Click redeem

Once redeemed, the gift card is assigned to the user's account and appears under their payment methods as an available payment option.

Redemption Rules

  • A gift card can only be redeemed once
  • If the code has already been redeemed on the same account, the user sees: "already redeemed on your account"
  • If the code has been redeemed on a different account, the user sees: "redeemed on a different account"
  • If the code is invalid, the user sees: "redemption code is incorrect"

Checking Gift Card Balance

Users can view their gift card balances in My Account > Payment Methods. Each redeemed gift card displays:

  • The card name
  • The original amount
  • The remaining balance (original amount minus amount spent)
  • The expiration date (if set)

Gift cards with a zero balance are not displayed in payment forms.

Using a Gift Card for Payment

Once redeemed, gift cards appear as a payment option on the Online Payments form and during checkout. The available balance is shown next to each gift card.

  • If the gift card balance covers the full payment amount, no additional payment method is needed
  • If the gift card balance is less than the payment amount, the remaining balance is charged to another payment method (credit card or other gift cards)
  • The amount spent is deducted from the gift card balance after a successful payment

Admin: Creating a Gift Card Manually

Administrators can create gift cards directly without a purchase:

  1. Navigate to the admin editing area
  2. Open the Account Autopay Options content table
  3. Add a new record with the following fields:
    • Type ID — set to 3 (Gift Card)
    • Account ID — leave as 0 for an unassigned card that anyone can redeem, or set to a specific account ID to pre-assign it
    • Gift Card Original Amount — the card value
    • Gift Card Amount Spent — set to 0
    • Gift Card Redeem Code — enter a unique code (format: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) for unassigned cards
    • Gift Card Expiration Date — optional expiration date
  4. Save the record

If the card is left unassigned (Account ID = 0), distribute the redeem code to the intended recipient. They can redeem it in My Account using the code.

If the card is pre-assigned to an account, it immediately appears in that account's payment methods with no redemption step needed.