Gift Certificates
UltraCart Gift Certificates
UltraCart provides flexible functionality for managing Gift Certificates, allowing you to offer store credit to your customers through two distinct methods.
Understanding Gift Certificate Types
You can create and manage Gift Certificates in UltraCart in two primary ways:
1. Sellable Gift Certificates (Gift Certificate Item)
These certificates are configured and sold as a standard Item.
Customers purchase the Gift Certificate Item directly from your Store.
The system automatically generates and issues the unique Gift Certificate code upon order completion.
The system will sent the customer a gift certificate email that can be customized via Transactional emails.
This is the standard way to offer Gift Certificates as a product for sale.
2. On-Demand Gift Certificates
These certificates are created manually by the merchant (you) within the UltraCart administration interface.
They are not tied to a customer purchase of a specific item.
You use this feature to generate Gift Certificates for purposes like customer service adjustments, rewards, or internal promotions.
Tip: Sellable Gift Certificates are ideal for generating revenue, while On-Demand Gift Certificates are best suited for merchant-issued credit and promotional purposes.
Setting Up a Sellable Gift Certificate Item
Overview
This section guides you through creating the base Item record in UltraCart, which serves as the Sellable Gift Certificate your customers will purchase.
Steps
1. Create the New Item
Navigate to the Item Editor in the UltraCart Administration interface: Main Menu → Items → Item Management
Click the New Item link located at the top of the item list screen.
In the Item ID field, enter a unique identifier for this product.
Tip: We recommend using GIFT_CERTIFICATE or a similar descriptive code. If you plan to offer multiple certificate types (e.g., $50 and $100 value certificates), ensure each has a unique Item ID (e.g., GIFT_CERTIFICATE_50 and GIFT_CERTIFICATE_100).
2. Configure Key Item Fields
Within the Item Editor, you only need to configure a few essential fields on the General tab before setting up the specific Gift Certificate parameters.
Field | Required | Description |
Item ID | Yes | A unique identifier (e.g., |
Description | Yes | The user-facing name for the item (e.g., "Digital Gift Certificate"). |
Cost | Yes | The selling price/face value of the certificate. |
Weight | No | Set to 0.0 to prevent unnecessary shipping calculations. |
Minimum Quantity | No | You may leave this blank or set it to 1. |
Prerequisite: Before proceeding, you must configure the remaining Gift Certificate-specific settings in the Item Editor shown below. The fields listed above only create the basic product record.
The setting in the Advanced section for Generate Gift Certificate is what tells the system that this item is a gift certificate and that it needs to generate a unique code for the customer. Without this setting no code will be generated.
Creating an On-Demand Gift Certificate
Overview
On-Demand Gift Certificates are merchant-generated certificates not tied to a customer purchase. They are ideal for issuing store credit directly to customers for promotions, trade show giveaways, customer service adjustments, or rewards.
Steps
1. Access the Gift Certificate Management Screen
Navigate to the main Gift Certificate management interface in UltraCart:
Main Menu→ Configuration → Checkout → Gift Certificates
On this screen, you will see a list of existing certificates and an option to create a new one. Click the New Gift Certificate button (or similar control, depending on the current UI version).
2. Configure the New Certificate
The system will prompt you to enter the necessary details for the certificate. At minimum, you must define:
Gift Certificate Code: The unique code the customer will use at checkout. You can either enter a custom code or leave this blank to allow UltraCart to generate one automatically.
Original Balance: The dollar value of the certificate (e.g., $\$25.00$).
Expiration Date (Optional): Define a date when the certificate will no longer be valid.
Customer: Associate the certificate with a specific customer record (optional, but recommended for tracking).
3. Save and Distribute
Once all required fields are complete, click Save.
The unique Gift Certificate Code is now active and available for immediate use on your StoreFront.
Any existing give certificate, either store item or on demand, will be listed on this screen. If there are no gifts certificates, you will be presented with the familiar "no gift certificates exist" notice.
Use the "Filter Certificates" button to filter by:
gift certificate code
purchased amount of gift certificate
by remaining amount
Use the "Hide Expired" toggle button to hide/show expired gift certificate codes.
The New Gift Certificate screen shows the randomly generated codes in the exact quantity you specified. Although you can view and manage the certificates later within UltraCart, you should consider copying this list into a separate document so you can easily keep track of those you have issued to customers.
Gift Certificate Value Options
Customer Selected Values:
You can configure your Gift Certificate to allow the customer to select the amount (value) of the Gift Certificate at Checkout. You can configure this by adding and item option to be a drop-down list of the amounts. (see Item Options for more details on creating thew drop down list)
Allow Customer To Enter the Gift Amount:
You can customize the "buy form" code to provide the customer to enter in the amount of the gift certificate they are purchasing:
Gift Certificate Buy Form Code
<form method="POST" action="http://secure.ultracart.com/cgi-bin/UCEditor">
<input type="hidden" name="merchantId" value="DEMO" />
<input type="hidden" name="add" value="GiftCertificate" />
<table>
<tr>
<td>Choose Gift Certificate Amount (Min$ 10.00 - Max $1000.00)</td>
<td>
<input type="text" name="ArbitraryUnitCost" value="50.00" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td />
<td>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Add to Cart" />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form> The example code makes a couple of assumptions:
Line 2 defines the UltraCart account as DEMO, so change that value to your own UC MerchantID:
<input type="hidden" name="merchantId" value="DEMO" />"
Line 3 defines the ItemID of the Gift Certificate item:
<input type="hidden" name="add" value="GiftCertificate" />
Line 7 defines the gift amount using the "Arbitrary Unit Cost" setting located on the "Other" tab of the item editor. This must be enabled for this to work:
<input type="text" name="ArbitraryUnitCost" value="50.00" />
Regardless of the method for creating your gift certificate(s), it's important to know that you are basically creating random codes that customers will enter during checkout. There is no physical certificate created. If you want to issue a physical Gift Card showing the certificate code to be used during checkout, it's up to the merchant to create it.
Managing Activated Gift Certificates
Once a Gift Certificate has been purchased (activated), you can easily manage its details, balance, and status directly within your UltraCart account.
Accessing Gift Certificate Management
To view and manage all active Gift Certificates, navigate through the main menu:
Main Menu→ Configuration → Checkout → Gift Certificates
Data Displayed
The Gift Certificates screen provides a concise, real-time list of all active certificates and includes the following data points for quick reference:
Data Field | Description |
Code | The unique certificate code used by the customer during checkout. |
Amount | The original value of the Gift Certificate when it was purchased. |
Remaining | The current, unused balance available on the certificate. |
Expiration | The date on which the Gift Certificate will no longer be valid. |
The Code field is the auto-generated code that was assigned when the certificate is purchased (store item method) or created (on demand method). The Amount field indicates the value of the Certificate. The Remaining field indicates the balance available (in the case where the customer purchased an item valued less than the value of the certificate). The Expiration field is the date that you initially set for the certificate to expire.
Deleting a Gift Certificate
To delete a certificate, click on the "delete" button to the right of the listing.
You will not be prompted with an "are you sure" question. This action is not undoable.
Editing a Gift Certificate
To make changes to the certificate, click on the "Pencil" Icon button to the right of the listing. The Edit Gift Certificate screen will appear.
Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
Code | is the auto-generated code that was assigned when the certificate is purchased (store item method) or created (on demand method). |
Original Balance | indicates the value of the Certificate. |
Remaining Balance | indicates the balance available (in the case where the customer purchased an item valued less than the value of the certificate). |
Expiration | is the date that you initially set for the certificate to expire. |
If this certificate is sold as an item the customer email will be provided in this field. | |
Order ID | If this certificate is sold as an item the Order ID that it was purchased on will be provided here. |
The only items you can change in an existing certificate are the Expiration Date, and Email (address of purchaser). Click the "Save" button to save your edits.
You can temporarily "suspend" a Gift Certificate by removing the check in the box to the right of the "Activated" field. To re-activate, place the check mark back into the box. Click the "Save" button to save your edits.
You can also delete a Gift Certificate (not advisable) by placing a check in the box to the right of the "Deleted" field.
This feature is not "undoable" and you will not see a warning dialog box.
Gift Certificate Ledger
This section of the Certificate Editing Screen gives you a "line-by-line" accounting recorded as each transaction is made. In our example below, you'll see the three entries, the certificate purchase, a customer's store purchase and a New Ledger Entry. Note that the ledger keeps a running balance of the certificates value.
Certificate Ledger Entry
A Merchant can make an entry to the ledger at anytime using this feature. This gives you the opportunity to update the ledger with a single credit or debit entry. Enter a short description for the entry in the Description field. Enter the amount in the amount field. Make certain that you enter a negative number for a debit. Click the "New Ledger Entry" button when finished.
Gift Certificate Email
When a customer purchases a Gift Certificate they will receive an email notification with the gift certificate code in a custom displayed. This feature was added as part of the following theme updates. You will need to make sure your storefront updated to at least the following version for this email to be provided to customer.
Minimum theme version numbers: |
|---|
Elements 2.17 |
Hero 1.20 |
Native 1.15 |
Jewel 1.16 |
Natural VB 1.15 |
Lifty 1.20 |
Poppy 1.06 |
Customizing the Gift Certificate Confirmation Email
When a customer purchases a Gift Certificate, UltraCart automatically sends a confirmation email containing the unique certificate code and instructions for use. You can customize the content and appearance of this transactional email to match your brand and communication style.
Accessing the Email Template
Follow this navigation path to locate and edit the Gift Certificate Email template:
Main Menu → Storefronts → Communications → Transactional Emails → Gift Certificate Email
Once you have selected the Gift Certificate email you can use the pencil icon to the right to edit the content of the email, change the display of the card and its contents.
