Understanding Gift Cards in

Overview

Gift Cards in BakeSmart allow you to sell, manage, and redeem stored-value cards both in-store and online. Gift cards can be physical or digital, support partial payments, reloads, refunds, and include full activity tracking for accountability and reporting.

What This Feature Is

Gift cards are stored-value payment cards that can be used by anyone with the card number (and PIN, if set). You can sell physical cards at the register, send digital cards by email, or import cards in bulk. Gift cards work as a payment method at POS and online.

How It Works

Physical vs Digital Gift Cards

Physical cards:

You enter the card number manually
Optional PIN
No automatic email delivery
Can be used at POS
Can only be used online if the card has a PIN

Digital cards:

Card number is generated automatically (formatted as XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)
Delivered by email with a scannable barcode
Can be used at POS and online
Email includes balance, card number, barcode, redemption instructions, and terms

Creating Gift Cards

Individual creation:

Create a gift card through the app or POS
Physical cards require a manually entered card number
Digital cards receive an automatically generated card number
You can optionally set: balance, location, customer, notes, expiration date, and email address (for digital cards)

Bulk import:

Upload a CSV or Excel file with card numbers, optional PINs, and optional balances
Cards imported with a balance are automatically activated
Cards imported without a balance remain inactive until manually activated
Duplicate card numbers in the file are skipped
Maximum file size is 10MB

Selling through POS:

Products can be set up as gift card products (activate or reload type)
When a gift card product is sold and the order is fully paid, digital cards are automatically emailed to the customer

Activation

Gift cards must be activated before they can be used. The system tracks how each card was activated:

In POS (during a sale or without a sale)
In the app (during a sale or without a sale)
Through the online store
Through bulk import

Balance Management

Initial balance is set when the card is activated
Reload adds more balance to an existing active card
Undo reload reverses the most recent reload
Refunds can be issued to a gift card, adding to its balance
There is no maximum or minimum balance limit

Using Gift Cards as Payment

At POS:

Enter the card number and PIN
The system checks that the card is active, not expired, and has a balance
If the balance covers the full amount, payment is complete
If the balance is less than the order total, a partial payment is applied and the remaining balance can be paid another way

Online:

Only digital cards or physical cards with PINs can be used online
Same validation and partial payment behavior as POS

Tip handling:

If a customer pays with a gift card and the balance is less than the order plus tip, the tip is automatically reduced to fit the available balance

Voiding Gift Card Payments

If a gift card payment is voided, the payment amount is returned to the card's balance.

Deactivation

Gift cards can be deactivated at any time
Deactivation sets the balance to zero
Deactivation is permanent — the card cannot be reactivated

Expiration

An optional expiration date can be set on any card
Expired cards are rejected when used as payment
Expired cards cannot receive refunds
Expiration date appears in digital gift card emails

Digital Gift Card Emails

Sent automatically when a digital card is created with an email address
Sent automatically after an order containing a gift card product is fully paid
Can be resent at any time, to the original email or a new one
Email includes bakery logo, balance, card number, scannable barcode, redemption instructions, and terms
Email subject and body can be customized in your message templates

Activity Log

Every gift card has a complete activity log recording all events: creation, activation, reloads, payments, emails sent, deactivation, and who performed each action.

Searching for Gift Cards

You can search by card number, customer first name, or customer last name. The list view shows card number, type, balance, activation status, customer, and location.

What's Supported Today

Physical and digital gift cards
Individual creation, bulk import, and POS sale
Activation, reload, undo reload, and deactivation
Digital gift card email delivery with scannable barcode
Customizable email templates
Gift card payments at POS and online
Partial payments when balance is insufficient
Voiding payments (restores balance)
Refunds issued to gift cards
Optional expiration dates
Complete activity logging

Limits, Rules, or Constraints

Gift card numbers must be unique within your bakery.
Deactivated gift cards cannot be reactivated.
Physical cards without a PIN cannot be used for online payments.
When a gift card balance is insufficient to cover an order plus tip, the tip is silently reduced.
Expired gift cards cannot be used or receive refunds.
Bulk import file maximum is 10MB.
There is no maximum or minimum balance limit.

Common Questions

Can I reactivate a gift card? No. Once deactivated, a gift card cannot be reactivated.

Can a customer use a physical gift card online? Only if the card has a PIN. Physical cards without PINs can only be used at the POS.

Can I add more balance to a gift card? Yes. Use the reload function to add balance to an active gift card.

What happens if I void a gift card payment? The payment amount is returned to the gift card's balance.

Can I issue a refund as a gift card? Yes. Refunds can be issued to a new digital gift card or added to an existing physical card's balance.

How do I resend a digital gift card email? Use the resend option on the gift card. You can resend to the original email or enter a new one.

Understanding Payment Processing
Understanding Refund Processing

Keywords

gift card, digital gift card, physical gift card, gift card balance, reload, deactivate, activation, barcode, POS gift card