Overview

System generated Gift Cards can be issued and redeemed using the Office System.  In addition, the Office system can populate various Gift Card Types depending on the Club’s operations. In this guide, we will discuss how to set up Gift Cards.

The Office System can be utilized for manually entered paper/ plastic Gift Cards, or plastic Gift Cards with a mag stripe.

Required Permissions

• Membership

• POS

Accessing the Tool

Plastic Gift Cards 

When using plastic Gift Cards with a mag stripe, please ensure the cards already have a number populated on their mag stripe.  When issuing, or redeeming Gift Cards, the number on the mag stripe is needed to associate the Gift Card with the Clubessential database.

Furthermore, in order to read the number on the plastic Gift Cards, the club will also need to use an UN-ENCRYPTED swiper.  Regular Credit Card swipers from ETS or Openedge will NOT suffice in this situation; these are ENCRYPTED readers.

Gift Card Settings 

If using manually entered paper/ plastic Gift Cards, automatic Gift Card Numbers can be assigned to Gift Cards as they are sold within the Office System.  (Note: This setting would not be used if the club is using plastic Gift Cards with a mag stripe.)

To configure the system to automatically assign Gift Card Numbers:

1. Navigate to System across the top toolbar and select System Settings.

2. Select Point of Sale on the left pane and navigate to the Gift Card Settings section.

3. Check Auto Number. When checked, the system will automatically assign Gift Card Numbers.

4. Enter an Auto Number Seed - This is the first Gift Card Number to assign.

Set Up Gift Cards

In this section, we will review the various procedures needed to set up Gift Cards.  This will need to be done regardless of whether the club is using manually entered Gift Cards, or Plastic Gift Cards with a mag stripe.

Gift Card POS Item

A POS Item flagged as ‘Ask for Price’ must be created to be associated with the Gift Card Type (explained in next section).  When this Item is selected in either the Member Charge Wizard or the POS, a prompt will display asking for the Gift Card information.  Please be sure to link this Item to the correct GL account for accounting purposes (please see our Clubessential Items Manual for more information on creating items). 

Gift Card Type

After the POS Item is created, the next step is to set up the Gift Card Type.  The Gift Card Type determines the POS Item that will populate the Gift Card information prompt, an expiration value, and the Areas the Gift Cards can be redeemed.

To set up a Gift Card Type,

1. Navigate to Membership across the top toolbar and select Gift Card Types.

2. The Gift Card Types Grid will launch.

3. Perform either of the following to launch the Gift Card Type setup screen:

   • Click the New icon on the toolbar.

   • Right-click anywhere on the Gift Card Types Grid and select New.

4. The Gift Card Type Setup screen will launch.

5.  Please enter all appropriate information listed below:  

   • Enter the Name of the Gift Card Type.

   • Select the POS Item created in the previous section.

   • Enter an Expiration Value.

   • Select the Areas the Gift Cards will be redeemable.

     • Note: To remove an Area, highlight the Area in question from the Selected Areas list and select Remove Selected.

6. Select Save & Close.

Once the Gift Card Type has been added, you can issue the Gift Cards.

Best Practices

• We would recommend that your Club establish a Gift Card policy, and ensure Members are aware of the policy.  Covering items such as spouse/family usage of gift cards, expiration practices, and re-assignment of gift cards will help ensure your Club’s gift card program is a success!

FAQs

Q: Can a Family Member use another Family Member’s gift card?

A: It is possible to allow a spouse/family member to utilize a gift card.  Ensure Member’s profile is updated to reflect this.

Q: What if someone loses their Gift Card? 

A: A record of the Member’s purchase is maintained in the system.  In the event a gift card is lost/stolen, have your Member contact your Club to ensure the originally issued card is expired, and a new card can be issued. 

Q: What magnetic stripe coercivity is required for the software?

A: our software will work with both however we recommend the lo-coercivity.
Difference between the two - Hi-co is typically recommended for cards that are used continuously (membership cards). Lo-co is typically used for cards with minimal swipes (gift cards). 

Q: What track or tracks should be used to encode the data?

A: Track 1 is recommended for our software (however 1, 2, or 3 will work). 

Q: Are there any specific characters or number of characters necessary to be used in the encoded data?

A: There are no special characters or schematic for our software.