Gift Cards | General Overview

Gift Cards in Orbit Commerce allow you to issue store credit to customers, which they can redeem against future purchases. This is useful for customer rewards, goodwill gestures, promotions, refunds, or manual credit issuance.

Accessing Gift Cards

To access Gift Cards:

1. From the left-hand menu, go to Gift Cards.

The Gift Cards page will display all gift cards that have been issued in your store.

At the top of the page, you will see a summary of your gift card activity:

• Total Issued – the total number of gift cards created.

• Outstanding Balance – the total remaining balance across active gift cards.

• Total Redeemed – the total amount that has already been used.

• Expiring Soon – the number of gift cards approaching their expiry date.

Viewing Gift Cards

The Gift Cards table shows key information for each issued gift card, including:

• Code – the gift card code. For security, part of the code may be hidden in the list view.

• Status – whether the gift card is active or inactive.

• Initial – the original amount loaded onto the gift card.

• Balance – the remaining available balance.

• Recipient – the customer or recipient linked to the gift card, if one was added.

• Created – the date the gift card was created.

• Expires – the gift card expiry date, if one was set.

You can use the search bar to find a gift card by code or recipient email address.

Sorting Gift Cards

Gift cards can be sorted using the sorting option on the right-hand side of the table.

You can sort by:

• Created

• Balance

• Code

• Expiration

You can also choose whether to sort the list in Ascending or Descending order.

Issuing a Gift Card

To create a new gift card:

1. Go to Gift Cards.

2. Click Issue gift card.

3. Enter the gift card Amount.

4. Optionally, add recipient details

5. Optionally, set an Expiration date.

6. Click Issue gift card to create the gift card.

The Amount field is required. The recipient and expiration sections are optional, so you can issue a gift card without assigning it to a specific customer or expiry date.

Adding Recipient Details

When issuing a gift card, you can add recipient information if you want the gift card to be associated with a specific person.

The available recipient fields are:

• Email – the recipient’s email address.

• Name – the recipient’s name.

• Personal message – an optional message for the recipient.

If these fields are left blank, the gift card can still be created, but no recipient information will be shown against it.

Setting an Expiration Date

You can optionally set an expiry date for the gift card.

To do this:

1. Go to the Expiration section when issuing the gift card.

2. Enter or select the Expiration date.

3. Leave the field blank if the gift card should not expire.

If no expiration date is entered, the gift card will show as having no expiry date.

Viewing Gift Card Details

To view an individual gift card, open it from the Gift Cards list.

The gift card detail page shows:

• Current balance

• Initial balance

• Created date

• Expiry date

• Recipient details

• Transaction history

This page gives you a full overview of the gift card and its activity.

Transaction History

Each gift card includes a transaction history section.

This shows:

• Date – when the transaction happened.

• Type – for example, credit.

• Amount – the value added or used.

• Balance after – the gift card balance after the transaction.

• Description – a short explanation of the transaction.

For example, when a gift card is first created, the transaction history will show the initial balance as a credit.

Deactivating or Deleting a Gift Card

From the gift card detail page, you can manage the gift card using the action buttons in the top-right corner.

Available actions may include:

• Deactivate – disables the gift card so it can no longer be used.

• Delete – removes the gift card.

Use these actions carefully, especially if the gift card still has a remaining balance.

Why Gift Cards are Important

Gift cards provide a flexible way to offer customers credit without creating a discount code or changing product prices. They can help improve customer retention, support promotional campaigns, and provide a simple way to compensate customers when needed.

They are also useful because each gift card has its own balance and transaction history, making it easier to track how much credit was issued, redeemed, or remains available.

If you have any questions, please contact us at support@orbitcommerce.net