You can use Λctiv8 Manager to create gift cards, which you can distribute to customers and redeem through Λctiv8 POS. Once youʼve set up the system to enable gift cards and created the cards, you can sell them on the POS and use Manager to view gift card details.
Note: There is no association between gift cards and individual customers; they are anonymous. For rewards keyed to customer names, see Awarding loyalty points.
To enable the use of gift cards, youʼll need to change a number of settings in Λctiv8 Manager.
In the Merchant list:
In the Merchant list, open the record for your company in the Merchant – Data Entry dialog.
On the Infrastructure tab, set Enable Gift Cards to 'Yes.'
In the Inventory list:
In the Inventory list, locate each gift card item (Label 'Active Gift Card') and open it in the Inventory Data Entry dialog.
On the General tab, change the itemʼs Type to either 'Inventory' or 'Non-Inventory.'
Whether to choose 'Inventory' or 'Non-Inventory' depends on how you handle gift card transactions in your accounting system.
In POS Configuration:
In Manager, open the POS Configuration list (from the Network : Setup menu).
For each location where you want to enable gift cards, open its record in the POS Configuration Data Entry dialog.
On the General tab, set both Enable Gift Cards and Use Active Gift Cards to 'Yes.'
When gift card support is not enabled, the button Add/Reload Gift Card does not appear on the POS order screens.
To let you issue your own gift cards, Manager can generate a list of card numbers and associated barcodes. You can print these onto adhesive labels and affix them to plastic cards or any other items that you want to serve as gift cards. When a customer checks out at the POS, the operator scans the barcode to apply the amount of the card (or part of it) to the purchase.
For professionally printed gift cards, you can export a list of card numbers and security codes to a file.
To generate the card numbers:
Open the Loyalty & Gift Card list.
From the menu, choose Actions : Generate Gift Cards.
In the Gift Card Generator dialog, enter a Starting Number and the Quantity of cards needed.
The Starting Number forms the last six digits of the card number; the first ten digits are a prefix based on your companyʼs Label in the Merchant list.
To print the barcode labels:
In the Loyalty & Gift Card list, select the gift cards you want to print.
From the menu, choose View : Gift Card – Barcode on Avery 5160.
Avery 5160 labels are large enough to hold the 16-digit gift card bar code.
From the menu, choose Output : Print Preview or Output : Print (see Printing and Exporting Reports).
To export a list to a file:
Select the gift cards you want to print.
From the menu, choose Actions : Export Gift Card Numbers.
Manager saves the list as a .csv file in the location you choose. You can send this file to a commercial printer to create customized gift cards (e.g., see activeclubsolutions.net/active-club-solutions-partners/gift-and-loyalty-card-printing/.
Note: Security codes are used for purchases via telephone or “shopping cart”; they arenʼt needed for POS sales.
You can add value to gift cards, either as soon as youʼve created them or later.
To add value to gift cards:
In the list, select the gift cards you want to load.
From the menu, choose Actions : Add Manual Points/Amount.
In the Add Loyalty Points/Gift Card Amount dialog, enter the dollar amount to add to all the selected cards.
To clear all the amounts youʼve added to a group of cards, select them and choose Actions : Clear Manual Points/Amount.
When a card is sold on the Λctiv8 POS, the operator will usually assign a value to it then.
Normally, youʼll sell and redeem Λctiv8 gift cards in either of two ways:
through the POS, by scanning a cardʼs barcode into the Add/Reload Gift Card screen. (For details, see the Λctiv8 POS Userʼs Guide.)
through the shopping cart, when the customer checks Pay using gift card on the Payment Information screen at checkout (see the tutorial video at https://player.vimeo.com/video/294987696)
When you create a retail sales order in Manager, you can apply a gift card on the Transaction windowʼs Payment tab.
The Loyalty & Gift Card list provides access to the full details of gift card records. To see a summary of card details and current balances, choose Gift Card from the View menu, or open a record in the Loyalty/Gift Card Data Entry dialog and look at the General tab.
To see a list of activity on each card, choose the Gift Card Activity view. For full details on any activity item, open the record in the data dialog. On the Activity tab, double-click an item in the list to open it in the Loyalty/Gift Card Activity Data Entry dialog (or click Open Activity).
Note: You can delete a card from the list if the only activity on it is operator-added value. Cards with activity linked to transactions cannot be deleted.
Related topics:
↑ Gift cards and loyalty points
Issuing gift cards