Gift Cards

From FloristWiki

Revision as of 16:02, 4 March 2011

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 for processing credit cards over the Internet). 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.

TIP: 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 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 checked over the Internet in the same way that credit cards are authorized. Before you can use gift cards, you must be set up to process credit cards over the Internet. If you are multi-store business and all your stores use the same credit card processing setups, gift cards purchased at any of your stores will be redeemable at all stores.
• Gift cards can be sold and reloaded only in Point of Sale. You must have a valid Point of Sale license in order to sell and add value to gift cards.

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.

NOTE: 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:

• Selling New Gift Cards
• Adding Value to Gift Cards
• Refunding the Purchase of a Gift Card
• Accepting Gift Card Payments
• Canceling or Refunding Orders Paid for with Gift Cards
• Copying an Order with a Gift Card Payment
• Issuing Store Credit with Gift Cards
• Gift Card Reporting
• Viewing Gift Card Activity