I’ve just noticed that online gift voucher sales are not reflected in the daily totals on the dashboard. Is this the way it should be? Surely not?
TIA
Hey @Woolstock
That is a good question. When you say online gift voucher sales, do you mean the customer purchasing the gift card, or the customer using the gift card to purchase products on your store?
Generally when you sell or issue gift cards on your store, it will not be included in any sales reports or the total sales number. It will only be included in sales reports when the customer uses the gift card to purchase something from your store. This is the expected behaviour, so it sounds like that might be what you are seeing here in this case. You can navigate to the Gift Cards finance report to see it included there (from your admin head to Analytics > Reports then search for Finances: Gift Card Sales).
We actually have a handy help center doc which explains How Gift Cards work with Reports. This document goes into greater detail about how gift cards work with your analytics.
Gift cards are an excellent way to build up a customer loyalty base, and are fantastic especially during holidays and events like Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Here is a blog post that outlines a bunch of different ways you can use gift cards to improve customer retention - 8 Ways to Use Gift Cards to Build Customer Loyalty, it’s definitley worth a read if you have some spare time!
Hi! I know this is an old post. So does this mean that the money from gift card sales (before they are redeemed) doesn’t go into our accounts? We only get the money if it is redeemed? And if so, where is it sitting in the meantime? purchasing gift cards is a great way for people to help a struggling business, but not if they dont get the money anytime soon (or at all if it is never redeemed)
Hi @Seedtostar
That is a great question! Thanks for reaching out in this thread to ask.
Gift cards are sold like a product. When you sell a gift card on Shopify, and the customer pays for the gift card then the money from the sale is included in your payouts, and you will receive the funds.
However gift card sales are reported differently. My previous explanation was in regards to how gift cards work with the sales reporting on your store, as gift cards are only included in sales reports when the customer uses the gift card to purchase something from your store (not when they are issued or purchased, however when they are purchased they are included in the Gift cards sales finance report).
It’s important to note that the exact timing of when you receive the funds will depend on your specific payment gateway and payout settings. If you would like to learn more about how gift cards work on Shopify, this resource here is a great place to start!