Gift Cards

MakerVera supports gift cards that members can purchase and use toward future checkout. This guide covers both admin configuration and member usage.

How Gift Cards Work

1. An admin creates a gift card product in the store
2. A member purchases the gift card, choosing an amount and entering a recipient’s email
3. The system generates a unique code in XXXX-XXXX-XXXX format
4. The recipient enters the code at checkout to apply the gift card balance
5. Partial use is supported — any remaining balance stays on the card for future purchases

For Administrators

You need the manage_billing permission to manage gift cards.

Setting Up a Gift Card Product

Gift cards are a special type of store product. Navigate to Admin > Store > Products and create a new product with these settings:

Setting	Value
Product Type	Gift Card
Taxable	No (enforced automatically)
Track Inventory	No (enforced automatically)

When you select “Gift Card” as the product type, the system automatically enforces that the product is non-taxable and doesn’t track inventory. The Pricing, Add-on, and Inventory sections are hidden — you only need to configure the gift card options:

Denomination Options

Choose between two pricing models:

Model	Description	Example
Preset Denominations	Fixed dollar amounts the buyer selects from	$25, $50, $75, $100
Custom Amount	Buyer enters any amount within a range you set	$10 – $500

You can offer both preset denominations and custom amounts on the same gift card product.

Specific-Item Gift Cards

You can also create gift cards tied to a specific product. These cards can only be redeemed for that one item.

Example: A “Laser Cutter Class Gift Card” that can only be used to purchase the Intro to Laser Cutting class.

To create a specific-item gift card product:

1. In the Gift Card Configuration section, set Redeemable For to Specific Product
2. Select the product from the dropdown — the list shows all active non-gift-card products with their prices
3. The gift card’s price is automatically set to match the selected product’s price

When “Specific Product” is selected, the denomination and custom amount options are hidden since the gift card value is determined by the product.

Managing Gift Card Codes

Navigate to Admin > Store > Gift Cards to view all gift card codes.

Filtering

You can filter the list by:

• Status — Active, Fully Redeemed, Expired, Cancelled
• Date range — When the code was created
• Purchaser — Who bought the gift card

Code Statuses

Status	Meaning
Active	Code has remaining balance and can be used
Fully Redeemed	Entire balance has been used
Expired	Code passed its expiration date
Cancelled	Admin cancelled the code, or the original purchase was refunded

Viewing Code Details

Click any code to see its full details:

• Original value and remaining balance
• Purchaser and recipient information
• Redemption history showing each use (amount, date, order)
• Associated product and order item

Issuing Gift Cards

You can issue a gift card code directly from the Gift Cards page — no purchase required. Click the Issue Gift Card button and enter:

Field	Required	Description
Recipient Email	Yes	The email of the person receiving the gift card
Gift Card Type	Yes	Dollar Amount (general use) or Specific Item
Amount	Yes (Dollar Amount only)	The dollar value of the gift card
Product	Yes (Specific Item only)	The product this gift card is redeemable for — amount is set automatically from the product’s price
Expiration Date	No	Optional expiration date for the code

When issuing a Specific Item gift card, select the product from the dropdown. The gift card’s value is automatically set to match the product’s price.

This is useful for raffle prizes, employee appreciation, promotional giveaways, or replacement cards. Admin-issued codes appear in the gift card list alongside purchased codes.

Cancelling a Code

You can cancel an active gift card code from the detail page. Cancelled codes cannot be redeemed. You cannot cancel codes that are already fully redeemed or cancelled.

Refund Behavior

When a gift card purchase is refunded, the generated code is automatically cancelled. This prevents the recipient from using a code that was paid for with a refunded payment.

If the code has already been partially redeemed, the refund still cancels the remaining balance.

---

For Members

Purchasing a Gift Card

Visit the Gift Cards page (accessible from the public store or at /gift-cards).

1. Select an amount — Choose a preset denomination or enter a custom amount
2. Enter recipient details:

Field	Required	Description
Recipient Email	Yes	Email address of the person receiving the gift card
Your Name	No	Your name, included when the recipient receives the code
Personal Message	No	A short message to include with the gift card

3. Complete checkout — You’ll be taken to Stripe’s payment page
4. Share the code — After payment, a unique code is generated. Share this code with the recipient.

Checking Your Balance

You can check the balance of a gift card code through the checkout flow. Enter the XXXX-XXXX-XXXX code to see:

• Remaining balance
• Currency
• Status (active, fully redeemed, expired, cancelled)
• Expiration date (if set)

Using a Gift Card at Checkout

When checking out for any purchase, you can apply a gift card code:

1. Enter your XXXX-XXXX-XXXX code in the gift card field
2. The system validates the code and shows the discount
3. The gift card amount is subtracted from your total

Partial and Full Coverage

Scenario	What Happens
Gift card covers part of the total	You pay the remaining balance via Stripe
Gift card covers the full total	No payment is needed — the order is fulfilled immediately
Gift card has more value than the total	Only the needed amount is deducted. The rest stays on the card

Example: Sarah has a $50 gift card and buys a $30 item. She pays $0 out of pocket, and her gift card balance drops to $20 for future use.

Viewing Your Gift Cards

Navigate to your account’s billing section to see gift cards you’ve purchased or received. Each card shows:

• Code (masked for security)
• Original and remaining value
• Status
• Purchase date

Code Format and Security

• Gift card codes use the format XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (letters and numbers)
• Codes are case-insensitive — entering abcd-efgh-1234 works the same as ABCD-EFGH-1234
• Ambiguous characters (like 0/O and 1/I/L) are excluded to prevent confusion
• Each code is cryptographically generated with over 7.9 × 10¹⁷ possible combinations

Not Yet Available

The following features are planned but not yet supported:

• Email delivery — Gift card codes are not automatically emailed to recipients. After purchase, you’ll need to share the code manually (e.g., copy and paste it to the recipient). Automatic email delivery is planned for a future update.
• Guest purchase — Gift card purchases currently require a logged-in account.
• Category-scoped gift cards — Dollar-amount gift cards can be used on any item. Restricting them to specific categories is not yet supported.
• Self-serve balance check page — Members can check balances through the checkout flow, but a dedicated balance-check page is coming.
• Bulk code generation — Admins can issue individual gift cards from the admin panel, but bulk generation of many codes at once is planned.

Next Steps

• Store Guide — Managing your store products
• Donations — Setting up donation campaigns
• Overview — Return to the billing overview