Introduction
Gift cards can be a high‑margin, loyalty‑friendly revenue stream—if you can issue them cleanly, see balances instantly, and reconcile sales/redemptions across every location. This guide explains how gift cards are modeled in Altegio’s Loyalty module, how to search and report at chain scale, and how to tie activity back to finance for clean accounting (with links to the official knowledge base for each task).
How gift cards are represented in Altegio
Gift cards live in the Loyalty domain alongside loyalty cards and memberships, and are visible at both location and chain scopes.
- Core attributes surfaced in reports include: gift card number, type, balance, par value, status, owner (customer), sale date/place, payments, and amounts debited. See Report on gift cards. (KB)
- Client‑level context (including all gift cards owned) appears on the Customer chain card alongside memberships and loyalty cards. (KB)
- All loyalty‑domain transactions—including Gift card, Membership, accruals, debits, and manual adjustments—are auditable in one place. (KB: Loyalty > Transactions)
Note on scope UI: Altegio distinguishes Locations (yellow sidebar) vs Chains (purple sidebar). Many gift‑card controls/reports are available at the chain level to aggregate data across branches. (KB)
Issuing gift cards (overview and safe practices)
Issuance flows can vary by configuration and region. Use these principles and references:
- Use the Loyalty module for card issuance/management. The same module powers loyalty cards and gift cards; issuance workflows mirror that structure. For step‑by‑step issuance patterns (UI concepts, individual vs bulk), see Issuing loyalty cards (helpful for understanding card issuance UX and Excel bulk upload) and adapt to your Gift cards setup. (KB: Issuing loyalty cards to clients)
- If migrating historical cards, use the module’s bulk upload/import options where available, or contact support for assisted migration (similar to other loyalty assets). Refer to the chain‑level card list and import notes in the Issuing loyalty cards KB. (KB)
- After issuance/sale, the card and its balance will appear in the Gift cards report and in Loyalty > Transactions, linked to the owner’s phone number. (KB 1) (KB 2)
Tip: Align issuance data with the fields exposed by the Gift cards report (par value, status, owner phone, sale location). This guarantees scannable, chain‑wide reporting later. (KB)
Tracking, lookup, and audits (day‑to‑day operations)
Follow this repeatable workflow for any gift‑card inquiry:
1) Locate the card
- Navigate to Loyalty > Gift cards (chain interface) and filter by number, owner phone, status, sale date, use date, or location. Click Show. (KB)
- Use clickable fields to drill into the gift card, buyer, sale document, and payment entries. (KB)
2) See owner context
- Open the owner’s Customer chain card to confirm other entitlements (memberships, loyalty cards) and messaging history. (KB)
3) Trace transactions end‑to‑end
- Go to Loyalty > Transactions and filter Operation type = Gift card, then narrow by date, location, or phone. Links on card numbers and client phones open full histories. (KB)
4) Export if needed
- Download the Gift cards report to Excel for audits or import into your BI. (KB)
Chain‑wide reporting and KPIs
Use the chain interface for single‑pane visibility across all locations.
- Chain‑level Gift cards report: View inventory of active/expired cards, balances outstanding (liability), sales by place/date, and redemption activity. (KB)
- Client‑centric view: The chain client database and customer chain card provide consolidated history when the same client visits multiple branches. (KB 1) (KB 2)
- Downloadable evidence: All listed reports support Excel export, suitable for audit trails and reconciliation packs. (KB)
Accounting and reconciliation links
Connect gift‑card activity to finance with built‑in reports:
- Financial documents: Use Finance > Documents to inspect and drill into transaction documents for the period (dates are clickable to open full detail). (KB)
- Daily financial view: In the Appointment Calendar and Finance > Reports > Daily report, review all payment types taken that day (cash, card, loyalty/membership), and cross‑reference against Loyalty > Transactions filtered for Gift card. (KB) (KB)
- Company‑level accounting: For broader P&L controls, see Finances & Accounting module capabilities (automatic revenue calc, cash reconciliation, discrepancy checks). (Overview)
Note: Gift‑card transaction visibility resides in Loyalty > Transactions and the Gift cards report; finance sections provide the accounting documents and period reports that you can reconcile to those loyalty logs.
Role‑based access and data protection
- Limit who can view/export client and card data using user/access controls; all exports are logged in Overview > Data log. (Access controls) (Exports are logged)
- Use individual user accounts and restrict visibility of client contacts where appropriate. (KB)
One‑page quick reference
| Task | Where | Key reference |
|---|---|---|
| Find a gift card, see balance/status | Loyalty > Gift cards (Chain) | Report on gift cards |
| Audit redemptions/adjustments | Loyalty > Transactions | Loyalty transactions |
| See client’s full entitlements | Clients > Customer chain card | Customer chain card |
| Export data for audit/BI | Export from reports | Gift cards report |
| Reconcile to finance | Finance > Documents; Daily report | Financial documents, Daily financial data |
| Issue cards (UI concepts, bulk patterns) | Loyalty module | Issuing loyalty cards (KB) |
Step‑by‑step: run a chain‑wide gift card audit
1) Open chain space (purple). Go to Loyalty > Gift cards and set filters: sale date range for the audit period; Status = Active; add Place of sale if needed. Click Show. (KB)
2) Click Download as Excel and save the population of outstanding balances (liability reference). (KB)
3) Switch to Loyalty > Transactions, set Operation type = Gift card, and filter by the same date range to extract sales and redemption flows. Export to Excel. (KB)
4) In Finance > Documents and Finance > Reports > Daily report, pull period financials and verify that gift‑card sales collected and redemptions applied reconcile to Loyalty exports. (KB 1) (KB 2)
5) Spot‑check edge cases by opening a card from the Gift cards list (click its number) and the owner’s chain card to validate balances and usage. (KB) (KB)
FAQs
- How do I see where a gift card was sold and redeemed? Use the Gift cards report (Date and place of sale) and Loyalty > Transactions for debits/credits by location. (KB 1) (KB 2)
- Can I manage gift cards across all branches in one view? Yes—use the chain interface (purple). (KB)
- Where can I export data for auditors? Both Gift cards and Loyalty > Transactions sections have Excel export; finance documents lists also export. (KB 1) (KB 2)
Related resources
- Report on gift cards (chain report, filters, export). (KB)
- Issuing cards (UI concepts; individual and bulk for loyalty cards—useful analogues for gift‑card issuance). (KB)
- Loyalty transactions (audit trail, filters by operation type incl. Gift card). (KB)
- Financial documents (drill‑down into period documents). (KB)
- Daily financial data (day‑view of cash/card/loyalty payments). (KB)
