Let the web work for your local business - start selling gift certificates online.

Email Gift Certificates:

1. Help you generate revenue via the internet.
2. Require no shipping or changes to your regular routines.
3. Make it easier for customers to support your business.
4. Can be purchased by people outside the community.
5. Enable you to get paid upfront.

Here's How It Works...

For the Online Purchaser:

^^ Gift certificates look like this ^^

1. Local shoppers and non-locals who have family in the community visit your profile page or the dedicated gift certificates section.
2. They choose an amount (up to $1,000), select a background, and enter the recipient's information.
3. The purchaser decides how they would like the gift certificate to be received.

1. If the purchaser decides to send it via email, they can choose to send it right away, or at a specified date and time - for example, 8:00am on Christmas morning.
2. If they would rather just purchase it online and give it in person, they can do that as well.

1. The purchaser checks out using their credit card.
2. The purchaser or recipient prints the certificate on their home computer for redemption in-store.

At Your Office:

1. You receive an email stating that a sale has been made, along with a link to the details and a printable list of outstanding gift certificates.
2. Whenever you sell a gift certificate you print the updated list and bring it to your cash register.
3. After a gift certificate has been redeemed, you take your list and enter the authorization code into your control panel - this isn't necessary, but is for your tracking purposes. We suggest you do this once a month.

At Your Cash Register:

1. The recipient redeems the gift certificate in-store by presenting a printed copy. To verify it is legitimate, you check to make sure the certificate ID number is on your list and has not already been redeemed - just like your regular paper gift certificates.
2. You record the gift certificate's authorization number on your sheet and mark it as redeemed.
3. You accept the gift certificate like a regular gift certificate.
4. Hopefully you make an upsell and the customer spends more than the certificate's face value.

For Your Bookkeeper:

1. On the 15th day of the month following the online sale (for example, December 15th for an online sale made November 30th), you receive payment from ShopCity.com, Inc. for the amount of the sale, minus the 5% service fee . This will be via PayPal.

1. If the gift certificate is redeemed before you are paid, record it on your books as an accounts receivable from ShopKelowna.com. When the payment from ShopCity.com, Inc. comes in, record as a payment received against your accounts receivables.
2. If the gift certificate is redeemed after you've been paid, record it on your books as a gift certificate redemption, just like you normally would.

1. You record the service fee as an expense, similar to a payment processing fee from your merchant account provider.
2. Transfer the money received from your PayPal account into your bank account.

For Maximum Results:

1. Link to your gift certificate form on ShopKelowna.com from your existing website.
2. Print the poster in your Merchant Toolkit that informs visitors to your store that they can now buy gift certificates online.
3. Educate your cashiers on how to handle redemptions, and keep the sheet of outstanding gift certificates near your cash register.

To Activate this Feature:

1. To start selling gift certificates online, log into your business control panel and click on the 'Activate Gift Certificates' link. If the link isn't there it means you've already activated them.
2. Once the activation screen appears, read the terms of service, check the agreement box and submit the form.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Are gift certificates transferrable? Yes, if a gift certificate has a valid authorization code, you must accept it regardless of the name on the list or certificate.
2. How long are gift certificates valid for? Gift certificates remain valid for two years (24 months) from the date of purchase*.
If you choose to accept gift certificates and you are in the free basic package, you are essentially getting a commissioned salesperson who takes orders, collects money and handles customer service for only a 5% fee. If you think about it that way, it might seem a little more reasonable.

* except where prohibited by law.

Still Have Questions? Call us at 1-888-430-SHOP (7647)