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 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.
How-to Procedures
Adding Value to Gift Cards
You can add value to unexpired gift cards. The reloaded gift card is valid from the date of the reload for the expiration period set in Mercury Administration.
Steps for Adding Value to a Gift Card
Refunding the Purchase of a Gift Card
You can issue a refund for the purchase of a gift card as long as the gift card has not expired and the balance on the gift card is equal to or greater than the value that was loaded on the gift card at the time of the purchase. When you refund the purchase of a gift card, the value that was refunded is removed from the gift card.
To refund the purchase of a gift card, you must cancel the order in the Point of Sale window. One-Click refunds are not available for orders in which gift cards were purchased.
Accepting Gift Card Payments
You can accept gift cards as payment for all types of orders in the Order Entry and Point of Sale windows. If a sale contains a gift card and another card type payment, such as a credit or debit card, the gift card will be processed first.
FTD Mercury X 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).
Steps for Accepting a Gift Card Payment in Order Entry
Steps for Accepting a Gift Card Payment in Point of Sale
Cancelling or Refunding Orders Paid for with Gift Cards
You can issue a refund for an order that was paid for in part or in full by a gift card. When an order is is cancelled where payment was made with a gift card, the refund value is returned to the gift card as long as the gift card has not expired.
You can issue a refund in the Order Entry or Point of Sale windows using either One-Click refunds or by cancelling the order.
Copying an Order with a Gift Card Payment
You can copy an order that was paid for in part or in full with a gift card. When you copy the order, the gift card information becomes part of the payment for the new order. When you complete the new order, the system will check the gift card balance and redeem the gift card. You will not need to swipe the gift card.
Issuing Store Credit with Gift Cards
FTD gift cards allow you to issue credit for returns as value loaded on an active FTD gift card. FTD gift cards can be redeemed only in the store in which they are activated; therefore, putting refunds on a gift card increases the chance that the customer will return to your store. If a gift card was used for the purchase that you are refunding, you can easily return the value to the gift card. However, if the customer did not use a gift card for the original purchase, you can still place the refund value on a gift card by selling a new gift card for the value of the returned products.
IMPORTANT: Refunding store credit on a gift card must be done in the Point of Sale window because you will need to activate the gift card in order to place the refund value on it.
Steps for Placing Refund Value on an FTD Gift Card Using One-Click Refunds
Viewing Gift Card Activity
You can get information on your gift card sales and redemptions from the Gift Card Activity window, Mercury Accounting Balance Wizard, and from the following Business Reports.
- Business Snapshot Report--Gift card payments appear in the Sales Analysis tab under the Sales Pay Method heading. For more information, see Business Snapshot Reports.
- Payment Type Totals Report--The number of gift card payments and the total amount of gift card payments appear to the right of Gift Certificates.
- Sales Summary Report--The Gift Certificate/Card Summary sections in the Order Entry, Point of Sale and Total Sales sections contain details on gift card sales and redemptions for the reporting period. For more information, see Sales Summary Reports.
Steps for Viewing Gift Card Activity
Window Descriptions
Gift Card Activity Window
The Gift Card Activity window allows you to view the gift cards that are active for your store and the transactions on each gift card. The Active Gift Cards area lists all gift cards sold in your store along with their expiration date and current balance. To view details on a particular gift card, select the gift card from the Active Gift Cards or enter the gift card number in the Gift Card Number field, then click Search. The Gift Card Activity area will list the transactions, including activation, loads, redemption, and refunds, completed for the selected gift card.
