Topics Covered
- Overview
- Configurations
- Creating Gift Cards
- Creating the Email Messages
- Gift Card Confirmation
- Gift Card Activation
- Gift Card Assignments
Configio allows admins to create Gift Cards for your customers to purchase and use for future orders. Gift Cards can be redeemed for any purchasable Product within Configio.
Configurations
There are many Configurations that are associated with Gift Cards, but the main Configuration is the 'Enable Gift Cards as payment' option. When enabled, customers will be able to redeem their activated Gift Card on purchases. To enable this Configuration, navigate to Settings > Configurations, and search for Gift Cards in the search field:
Switch the toggle to the "on" position and select the Save button to finalize your changes.
Creating Gift Cards
Gift Cards are created in the same manner as Products. To begin, navigate to the Products module and select Add New Event. This will open the Create New Product window. Here, you will select "Gift Card" from the Type dropdown and enter a name for the Gift Card, then select Save.
Note: Gift Card Products can be used by multiple customers and for multiple dollar amounts. It is not necessary to create a new Gift Card Product for each customer wishing to purchase a Gift Card.
You will be routed to the Product Main tab where you can enter in the Gift Card details.
Essential information including Title, Region, Location, Category, Inventory, Price, and others are displayed on the Product Main tab. Not all required fields are editable after saving the Product!
Title: Name of the Gift Card for Shopping Cart users - Editable.
Internal Title: Name of the Gift Cardfor Administrators only. May be configured for use in a Quick Search, selection control, or assignment nodes - Editable.
Type: Product Type, such as Event, or Merchandise. Defined when the Product is created - Not editable.
Location: System required - Selectable Gift Card Location, this is typically a physical address. Any Location entered will be displayed on the Map tab (if enabled) - Editable.
Region: System Required - Selectable Gift Card Region, may be selected by default when creating a new Gift Card - Editable.
Category: System Required - Selectable Gift Card Category, may be selected by default when creating a new Gift Card - Editable.
Available: System Required, default = 0 - Number of units available for purchase. Infinite may be chosen for this control. Infinite is typically recommended for Gift Cards - Editable.
Price: System Required, default = 0 - Amount charged to purchase the Product. The final amount may be affected by Discounts, Fees, etc. For Gift Cards, it is recommended to leave this field as 0 so that customers may enter their own amount - Editable.
Purchased: Displays the current number of units purchased - Not Editable.
ID: System-generated, uniquely identifiable Product number. This may be seen in Order details - Not Editable.
Hold: Number of units held in reserve. Typically done to reserve spots for internal or late registrations - Editable.
Remaining: System tracked, calculation of units that remain for purchase - Not editable.
Budget: Amount Budgeted for the Product. This is used for Forecasting calculations - Editable.
Cash Value: When the "Enable Gift Card Conversion to Cash" Configuration is enabled, customers will have the ability to transfer their Gift Card balance to the cash balance designated in this field. This field should be left as 0 if the Amount field is also 0. It is recommended that this field matches the Amount field - Editable.
The Dates section is located below the Required section. This is where all Dates and Times for the Gift Card are stored.
Online Start / End: Specifies the window when the Gift Card may be seen in the Shopping Cart - Editable.
Purchase Start / End: Specifies a window when the Gift Card may be purchased in the Shopping Cart- Editable.
Season Date: Assigns the Gift Card to a specific Season, if within the Season Date Range - Editable.
Seasons: Report Groups that organize Gift Cards by Date. Determined by Season Date. May be used to filter results - Not Editable.
Pro-Tip! If the Gift Card is not appearing in the Shopping Cart, please ensure that the Gift Card is marked as Active and that the Online Start/End Dates are correct (i.e. if the Start/End Dates are from January 1st, 2024 to January 6th, 2024, but the date is February 1st, 2024, the Gift Card will not appear in the Shopping Cart).
Once all fields are completed, toggle the Inactive button to Active and select Save to create the Gift Card.
Creating the Email Messages
When customers purchase the Gift Card in the Customer Cart, they will enter the recipient's information into the Contact Information section. This will allow the recipient to be notified of their gift card and receive instructions on how to redeem it. But to do that, a Confirmation email and Activation email need to be created and assigned in Configio. This process only needs to be done once but can be assigned to multiple Gift Card Products.
Gift Card Confirmation
When a Gift Card is purchased, a Confirmation email will automatically be sent out to the customer. For this email to be sent, it first must be created in Email Messages, and then assigned to the Gift Card Product. To begin, Navigate to Settings > Email Messages and select the + Email Message button. This will open the New Email Message window where you will select the Gift Card Confirmation type and enter a Title. After this information is entered, select Create to begin drafting the email.
When drafting the Gift Card Confirmation email, it is recommended that you use Email Operators. Email Operators are placeholders in the text that will be automatically filled with the corresponding information from the Order. For example, if you use the Account ID operator, when the email is sent to the recipient, the Order's Account ID will display in this field instead of the text "Account ID."
For Gift Card Confirmation emails, the Gift Card Email Operator should be used. This operator allows customers to manually activate their Gift Card. Once the email draft is completed, ensure that the Active toggle is set to Active and select Save to finalize the email.
Gift Card Activation
When a Gift Card is purchased, an Activation email will automatically be sent out to the recipient. For this email to be sent, it first must be created in Email Messages, and then assigned to the Gift Card Product. To begin, Navigate to Settings > Email Messages and select the + Email Message button. This will open the New Email Message window where you will select the Gift Card Activation type and enter a Title. After this information is entered, select Create to begin drafting the email.
Just like with the Gift Card Confirmation email, it is recommended that you use Email Operators. For Gift Card Activation emails, the following Email Operators should be used to ensure the recipient can properly use their Gift Card:
- Four Digit Year
- Gift Card Amount
- Gift Card Code
- Gift Card Number
- Site URL
- Support Contact Information
Once the email draft is completed, ensure that the Active toggle is set to Active and select Save to finalize the email.
Gift Card Assignments
Before Gift Cards can be used or the Email Messages be sent, they must be assigned at either the Product, Category, or Region level.
Assigning the Gift Card
Gift Cards must be assigned at either the Product, Region, or Category level in order to be redeemable on Products. If the Gift Card is not assigned, it can not be redeemed at checkout. This is important for clients who do not want Gift Cards to be redeemable on specific Products. When a Gift Card is assigned to the Product, Category, or Region, a field will be available at checkout allowing for the Gift Card number to be entered.
To assign the Gift Card, navigate to the Assignments tab within Products, Regions, or Categories and select Gift Cards under the Assignment type. Here, you will click and drag the Gift Card from the Unassigned column to the Assigned column and select Save to finalize changes.
Assigning Email Messages
Once the Email Messages have been created, they must be assigned to the Gift Card Product in order to be sent after purchase. To do this, navigate to Products and open the Gift Card Product you created. Here, you will select the Assignments tab and select the Email Messages Assignment type.
Under the Email Messages Assignment type, you will be able to view all Email Messages that can be assigned to this Product. Click and drag the Gift Card Confirmation and Gift Card Activation Emails from the Unassigned column to the Assigned column. Both should be set to Apply once in the Assigned column. Select Save to finalize the assignment.
Now, whenever a customer purchases your Gift Card, an activation email will be sent to the email address entered at checkout. Upon activating the Gift Card, that same email address will receive the assigned Activation email.
This knowledge article provides information on specific Configio features. To ensure continuity with documentation and product functionality, Configio reserves the right to amend or update this knowledge article as needed. For more information, reach out to Configio Support.