Gift Card Items
[This section has information about adding gift card items in Inventory. For information about purchasing/redeeming gift cards at POS, see the Tenders - Gift Card topic.]
Gift cards are cards that have a certain value associated with them that can be used to purchase goods and services in your company's stores. The cards can come with a predefined valued (pre-paid) or be assigned a value when the card is sold (stored value). Stored value cards can be "recharged" with additional value. A third type of gift card item in Prism is a central gift card item. To accept payment by gift card, you must first install the supporting EFT application and configure as described in the EFT with Global Payments and EFT with Adyen topics.)
To make an item a gift card item, set the Inventory Type field to one of the following values:
| Inventory Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Gift Card - Prepaid | Prepaid Gift Cards are typically purchased from a third-party vendor with the cards preloaded with a specific value (e.g., $20, $50, $100). Typically, you would create as many items of "Gift Card - Pre-Paid" type as you have of different denominations. The retailer has already paid for these cards, so the cards will have a defined Price in Inventory based on the card's value (you cannot save a Gift Card - Prepaid item with a zero price). The Cost will typically be $0.00. The Tax Code will typically be "Exempt." |
| Gift Card - Stored Value | (Prism 2.2.1.x and later) Stored-value gift cards allow for varying activation amounts. Typically, you would create only one item of "Gift Card - Stored Value" type with a zero (0.00) Price and Cost and Tax Code of "Exempt." When purchasing/activating the card, the Associate enters the gift card amount. Typically, you would create only one item of "Gift Card - Stored Value" type. At POS, Associates can add value to a stored-value gift card. |
| Central Gift Card | Central Gift Cards enable you to track and update gift card balances in real-time by verifying the card's current balance at the Centrals Server. See Chapter 31. Centrals for more information. |
Sample item with Inventory Type field set to "Gift Card - Stored Value," Price and Cost set to 0.00 and Tax Code set to "Exempt":
Gift Card Preferences
In Admin Console - Node Preferences - Transactions - General, the "Activate Gift Cards for Original Amount" preference enforces that gift cards can only be activated for the original amount at which the card was sold. If disabled, then gift cards can be activated for an amount different than the original amount. Default=Disabled.
In Admin Console - Node Preferences - Transactions - Centrals are additional settings that apply on to central gift cards. Refer to the following table:
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | If selected, central gift cards will be available as a tender at POS. The other central gift card options are disabled for editing until you select this check box. |
| Use entire balance if projected balance less than [amount] | This preference enables you to zero out a central gift card if the projected balance is less than the amount entered here. For example, if the transaction will result in a balance of less than 0.25, the entire central gift card balance will be used, rather than issuing a new credit for such a small amount. When tendering by Central Gift Card restrict given tender to [tender]. This preference enables you to require change to be given in a specific tender. When tendering by central gift card, users must use the tender selected here when giving change. |
| Mask card number in dialogs | If selected, when a card number is scanned, the card number will be masked (using asterisks). |
| Generate Central ID | If selected, then when adding/activating a new gift card, the Centrals Server will generate the Gift Card ID. This enables customers to redeem central credits by ID. See the subsection on "Redeeming Central Credits by ID" Allow card information to be keyed in If selected, central gift card information can be typed. If not selected, the card information must be entered by scanning or swiping the card. |
| Allow card information to be keyed in | If selected, central gift card information can be typed. If not selected, the card information must be entered by scanning or swiping the card. |
| Manage IDs by | This setting determines the stores at which a Central ID can be redeemed. Subsidiary: Each Central ID can only be used at stores in the same subsidiary as the store where it was created. Store: Each Central ID can only be used at the same store where it was created. All: Each Central ID can be used at all stores in all subsidiaries in the company. |
| Set expiration date upon activation (days from activation) | When enabled, activating a Central Gift Card will set an expiration date for that card, based on 'days' designation. Inherited (Corp, SBS, Store, WS). Inherited (Corp, SBS, Store, WS) Default = Disabled |
| Purchase Limit | The value entered in this field limits the amount that can be added to a central gift card. This applies to purchasing, adding value, or giving change. If the value is left at the default $0.00, it means "No Limit." |
| Set maximum value upon activation | If enabled, activating a Central Gift Card will set a maximum value for that card, equal to the activation amount. Inherited (Corp, SBS, Store, WS). Default = disabled |
| Set expiration date upon activation | Sets the expiration date for the central gift card based on the number of days entered. Inherited (Corp, SBS, Store, WS) |
Notes
- Gift cards are typically defined with a Tax Code of "Exempt" (except in certain VAT environments; see the note below)
- Prepaid gift cards cannot be saved with a zero price.
- If a price is defined for a stored-value gift card, the Associate at POS is still prompted for the price and can edit the price, but the prompt has the defined price set as the default.
- When adding a gift card item with a defined price and cost, adjustment memos are created.
- Gift Card items can only have a price greater than $0 when listed on a transaction. If you try to list a Gift Card item with a price of $0, you will receive an error.
- Gift Card items can only be listed with a quantity of 1. Attempting to list a Gift Card item with a quantity greater than 1 will result in an error.
- Gift Card Items have a Max Disc % set to 0 programmatically. This is (re-) set upon saving the item. Even when editing and attempting to change the percentage, upon saving the item, the percentage is reset to 0. If you create gift card items in 2.2.1 and forward, Max Disc % will be 0. If you already have gift card items in the system, those existing gift cards will be set to 100 upon installing the 2.2.1 update; we strongly urge you to reset the Max Disc % of these items to 0. The safest method is to inactivate any existing gift card items before installing the 2.2.1 update and then recreate the gift card items after installing the 2.2.1 update. In that way, you can be sure the Max Disc % will be zero.
Using Zero-Price Item for Selling Gift Cards of any Amount
Sometimes, retailers sell gift cards that can be any amount within a defined range (e.g., from 20 to 100 dollars). In such a case, the Associate at POS is prompted to enter the desired amount when activating the card.
Taxable Gift Cards in VAT Environment
You can configure your system so that gift card items are taxable. In some locales, law requires the retailer to charge VAT on the sale of gift cards. In such a VAT environment, make sure the Tax Code field is set to TAXABLE. This will ensure that tax is charged when the gift card item is sold. In a VAT environment, the sale of a gift card is a merchandise purchase and therefore subject to VAT. While it is true that the merchant in a sense loses the tax amount on the sale of the gift card; however, the amount is made up when the card is redeemed because using a gift card is considered an exchange and therefore is not taxed.
Gift Card Character Limitation
Currently, Gift Cards in Prism 2.0 are limited to 30 characters.
Gift Cards on X/Z-Out Reports
You can see a breakout of Gift Card transactions on the Z-Out Close report.
