Gift Cards

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

How Gift Cards Work

1. An admin sets the available preset denominations and a custom-amount minimum from the Gift Cards settings panel — one global config for your whole makerspace
2. A member purchases a gift card by choosing a preset or entering a custom amount
3. The system generates a unique code in XXXX-XXXX-XXXX format and sends it to the recipient’s email address
4. The recipient enters the code at checkout to apply the gift card balance toward their order
5. Partial use is supported — any remaining balance stays on the card for future purchases

Gift cards are stored value — a gift card balance can be applied toward any store purchase or paid event registration. There are no item-specific cards.

Plan Requirements

Gift cards require the Gift Cards feature on your makerspace’s plan. This is included on the Foundational and Professional plans.

Action	Without Gift Cards Feature	With Gift Cards Feature
View existing gift card codes and balances	Yes	Yes
View redemption history and details	Yes	Yes
Issue new gift card codes	No	Yes
Cancel active gift card codes	No	Yes
Configure presets and minimum	No	Yes
Purchase gift cards (member store)	No	Yes
Redeem existing gift card codes at checkout	Yes	Yes
Check balance on an existing code	Yes	Yes
View gift card performance report	No (requires View Reports)	Yes

If your plan doesn’t include gift cards, the Gift Cards admin page shows a banner explaining how to upgrade. You can still view all existing gift card data — existing cards remain fully functional for holders who have already received them.

Tip

If your makerspace previously had gift cards and downgraded, your existing codes are safe. Members can still redeem them and check balances. You just can’t issue new ones until you upgrade again.

For Administrators

You need the manage_billing permission to manage gift cards.

Configuring Gift Card Settings

Navigate to Admin → Store → Gift Cards and open the Settings panel to configure your gift card offering.

Preset Denominations

Preset denominations are fixed dollar amounts that buyers can choose from when purchasing a gift card (for example, $25, $50, $75, $100). You can offer as many presets as you like. Buyers who want a different amount can use the custom amount option instead.

To add or remove a preset, edit the list in the Settings panel and save.

Custom Amount Minimum

You can allow buyers to enter any amount at or above a minimum you set. If a buyer enters an amount below the minimum, they see a clear error message before proceeding.

Setting the custom minimum to a reasonable floor (such as $10) prevents very small-value cards that create more administrative overhead than value.

Note

Before this simplified model, MakerVera supported multiple “gift card types” (dollar amount, specific product, specific event) managed from a Gift Card Types tab. That tab has been removed. All gift cards are now stored-value cards usable toward anything. Existing codes from the old model continue to work exactly as before.

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)
• Purchase mode (preset or custom amount)

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
Amount	Yes	Choose a preset denomination or enter a custom amount at or above the configured minimum

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.

Gift Card Performance Report

Navigate to Admin → Reports → Gift Card Performance to see how your gift cards are being used. The report shows:

• Total gift cards issued (count and value) in a date range
• Preset-vs-custom split — how many buyers chose a preset denomination vs. a custom amount
• Breakdown by preset denomination — which amounts sell most
• Redemption rate — what share of issued value has been used

See the Gift Card Performance Report guide for details and CSV export instructions.

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For Members

Purchasing a Gift Card

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

1. Choose an amount — Select a preset denomination or enter a custom amount at or above the minimum. If a custom amount is below the minimum, a message tells you the lowest amount accepted.
2. Enter recipient details:

Field	Required	Description
Recipient Email	Yes	Email address of the person receiving the gift card

3. Complete checkout — Gift card purchases are not taxable (stored value, not a taxable good). You pay only the face value of the card.
4. Share the code — After payment, a unique code is generated and delivered to the recipient’s email address.

Note

Gift card purchases are non-taxable. No sales tax is added at the time of purchase.

Checking Your Balance

On the Gift Cards page, enter your code to see:

• Remaining balance
• Currency
• Status (active, fully redeemed, expired, cancelled)

An unknown or invalid code shows a “not found” message without revealing whether that specific code exists — this protects against code enumeration.

Using a Gift Card at Checkout

You can apply a gift card on the following checkout flows:

Checkout flow	Gift card accepted?
Store purchases	Yes
Paid event, class, and workshop registration	Yes
Free event registration	N/A — no payment to apply against
One-time donations	No
Recurring donations, memberships, and other recurring charges	No
Buying another gift card	No

To apply a gift card on a supported flow:

1. Enter your XXXX-XXXX-XXXX code in the gift card field on the checkout summary
2. The system validates the code and shows the remaining balance
3. The gift card amount is applied toward 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 additional payment is needed
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.

Why Some Flows Don’t Accept Gift Cards

• Donations would create accounting complications. A gift card purchase is already recognized as revenue at the time the card is bought, so redeeming it as a donation would count the same money twice and create an unsupportable tax receipt.
• Recurring charges (monthly donations, memberships, recurring add-ons) require a payment method on file that can be billed automatically each month. A gift card balance is finite and decremented per use, so it can’t serve as a saved payment method.
• Gift card purchases themselves don’t accept a gift card — you can’t use a gift card to buy another one.

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
• Balance lookups return the same “not found” message for unknown, cancelled, and incorrectly formatted codes — preventing code enumeration

Not Yet Available

The following features are planned but not yet supported:

• Guest purchase — Gift card purchases currently require a logged-in account.
• Bulk code generation — Admins can issue individual gift cards, but bulk generation is planned.

Next Steps

• Gift Card Performance Report — Analyse gift card sales and redemption
• Store Guide — Managing your store products
• Donations — Setting up donation campaigns
• Overview — Return to the billing overview