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STOAR STOAR

Gift Cards

Stored-Value Cards & Balances

Last updated: July 3, 2026

STOAR gift cards are stored-value cards you issue from the admin and your customers redeem at the counter. Each card holds a balance that can be spent across several purchases until it runs out, and every movement is recorded in a tamper-evident ledger.

Issuing a Gift Card #

Go to Admin → Marketing → Gift Cards → Create:

  1. Enter an amount (and currency), or click generate to mint a unique code — you can also type your own.
  2. Optionally add a recipient name, email, and message. If an email is set, STOAR sends the recipient their code and a link to check the balance.
  3. Set an optional expiry and save.

Use gift cards for promotions, service recovery, refunds-as-credit, or manually-sold cards.

How Redemption Works #

At Admin → Sales → Point of Sale, the cashier enters or scans the gift-card code:

  • The card's available balance is applied against the sale total.
  • If the card covers the whole sale, no further payment is needed.
  • If a balance remains, the customer pays the rest with cash or card — the order records both payments, which add up to the total.
  • The card's balance is reduced by exactly the amount redeemed; the remainder stays on the card for next time.

If a gift-card order is later cancelled or refunded, the redeemed amount is credited back to the card automatically.

Checking a Balance #

Customers can check any card's remaining balance at /gift-card/balance by entering the code — no account required. The delivery email links straight to this page.

Behaviour Notes #

Topic Detail
Balance Running balance with partial redemptions; spend across multiple visits
Ledger Every issue, redemption, refund, and manual adjustment is logged with the staff member and resulting balance
Expiry Optional per card; expired or deactivated cards cannot be redeemed
Adjustments Managers can manually add to or deduct from a balance with a reason
Storefront Gift cards are redeemed at the POS counter; they are not a storefront-checkout payment option

Troubleshooting #

Symptom Fix
"Invalid gift card" at POS The code is mistyped, inactive, expired, or has a zero balance
Balance not reduced Confirm the sale completed; check the card's transaction history
Recipient didn't get the email An email is only sent when a recipient address was entered; use Resend email on the card