Gift Cards
From FloristWiki
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Gift cards are plastic cards printed with your store information on which you store value for a customer or recipient. Gift cards have many benefits. For example, gift cards give your customers more flexibility when choosing a gift because a gift card allows the recipient to select their favorite products. Gift cards also keep business in your shop since they can only be redeemed in your store, or in your company’s stores if you are a multi-store business (as long as your stores use the same credentials). Gift cards also offer you a convenient way to provide store credit as a promotion or when processing a return. For example, you could give any customer who comes in during October a free $5.00 gift card. Finally, you can make gift cards available as an impulse purchase at the counter to help increase the total value of a sale.
Gift cards offer you another advertising channel since, at a minimum, gift cards contain your store’s contact information. For an additional fee, you can have FTD customize the front of the gift card with your store or company artwork.
Although similar to a gift certificate, gift cards are more convenient for you to manage. For instance, gift cards are an FTD product (**Gift Card), so you do not need to add them in Product Entry. You can also track gift card use electronically.
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For more information about the FTD Gift Card program, contact FTD Technology Sales at 1-800-767-3222, or email TechSales@FTDi.com. |
Getting Ready to Sell and Redeem Gift Cards
The following are the setups that you must complete before using gift cards:
- You must be using FTD Mercury X or later.
- You must be licensed for Point of Sale and have Point of Sale equipment. You can only load and sell gift cards in Point of Sale; subsequent value reloads can be performed in Order Entry.
- You must be licensed to participate in the FTD Gift Card program. When you sign up to participate in the FTD Gift Card program, you will receive a General message from FTD that enabled you to sell and redeem gift cards.
Gift card expiration and balances are stored at FTD and can be queried from your system at any time. If you are multi-store business and all your stores use the same credentials, gift cards purchased at any of your stores will be redeemable at all stores. By default, FTD gift cards do not expire. You can set a valid period (months until expiration) for FTD gift cards in Mercury Administration.
Gift Card Sales & Redemption
In the Point of Sale window, you can sell a gift card or add value to a gift card. Gift card sales and reloads are not allowed in the Order Entry window.
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Gift cards can be sold as part of local, pick up, pool, and carry out orders. However, gift cards cannot be sold when the order is a wire out order or when transferring the order to another store. |
Beginning with FTD Mercury X, FTD Mercury includes a new payment type for gift cards so that you can redeem FTD gift cards that have been activated in your store. You can accept gift cards as payments in the Order Entry and Point of Sale windows. When a customer presents a gift card as payment, you will scan it or enter the gift card number. The system will then verify that the card has been activated for your store and inform you of the value available on the card. After the card has been used for payment, any remaining value stays on the card (can’t be given as change).
Gift Card Tasks
You can perform the following tasks using gift cards:
