Lightspeed Gift Cards lets you create, manage, and redeem gift cards through the Lightspeed Restaurant POS. You can generate or import your own unique gift card numbers, add and transfer funds, check card balances and redeem gift cards as payment. 

What’s in this guide?

Configuring gift cards
Managing gift cards 
Redeeming gift cards
Viewing gift card activity
Frequently asked questions

Configuring gift cards

To use gift cards on the POS, you must set up the gift cards feature in Back Office. This includes enabling the feature and creating gift card numbers by either importing your existing gift card numbers or generating new ones directly in Back Office.

Enabling gift cards

Gift cards can be enabled and configured in Back Office. This can only be done by users with admin or the manually enabled sites permissions.

To enable Gift Cards:

1. Log in to Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials. 
2. From the navigation menu, select Features.
3. Search for and select Gift Cards.
4. Click Enable. 
   

Importing gift card numbers

If you already have gift card numbers, you can import them into Back Office using a CSV file. You can also create your own unique gift card numbers and upload them in bulk using the available import template.

Gift card numbers can only contain letters and numbers. Do not use spaces or special characters. Each gift card number must be unique, and the Balance column must contain a value for every card. The import will fail if duplicate card numbers are included or if any balance values are left blank.

To import gift card numbers:

1. From the navigation menu, select Company settings > Gift Cards. 
   
2. Click Export. If your gift cards list is empty, the gift cards CSV template is downloaded. If you have existing gift cards, your current list is exported as a CSV file. 
3. Open the CSV file in Google Sheets. 
4. Enter your gift card numbers and corresponding balance for each card. Enter 0 if you plan to add funds when the card is sold in the POS, or specify a starting balance to preload funds onto the card. 
   
5. Once you're finished editing the file, select File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv). 
   
6. To import the file, navigate back to Company settings > Gift Cards.
7. Click Import. 
   
8. Select the appropriate import option:
   • Import New Gift Cards Only: Select this option if you're importing new gift card numbers only and don't need to update any existing gift cards. 
   • Import New Gift Cards and Update Existing Gift Cards: Select this option if you're importing new gift card numbers and updating the balances of existing gift cards. 
9. Click Select file to upload.
   

Generating gift card numbers

If you don't have existing gift card numbers, you can generate a batch of unique gift card numbers through Back Office. System generated card numbers are created with a default balance of $0 and can be funded when sold or preloaded with a balance before use.

You can use the Prefix and Suffix fields to identify details such as your store name, batch numbers, or card amounts. These fields can contain letters and numbers only. 

To generate gift card numbers: 

1. From the navigation menu, select Company settings > Gift cards. 
2. Select Add cards. 
   
3. In the Generate new cards popup, enter your preferred gift card prefix and suffix, then enter how many gift cards you want to generate. 
4. Click Generate new cards. 
   

Managing gift cards

You can manage gift cards directly from the POS. This includes adding funds, checking balances, and transferring funds between cards. 

Adding funds to a gift card

Gift card balances can be updated individually through the POS or in bulk through Back Office. For bulk top-ups, you can update the gift card balances in a CSV file and import it into the Back Office. 

To add funds to a gift card: 

1. From the POS navigation menu, select Add ons > Gift Cards. 
2. Select Gift Cards.
3. Enter the gift card number, then tap Confirm.
4. Select Add Funds
   
5. Enter the topup amount, then tap OK.
6. Select the customer's payment method. If you're using Lightspeed Payments or another EFTPOS provider, complete the payment on the payment terminal.
   

Once the top-up is successful, a confirmation message will appear and a docket will print if a printer is connected to your POS. Staff can reprint a receipt for the latest gift card top-up or fund transfer by selecting Reprint receipt. If there's no previous transaction, a message will indicate that there's no receipt to reprint. 

Checking the gift card balance

You can check the balance of individual gift cards through the POS or Back Office. To view all gift card balances in Back Office, navigate to Company settings > Gift Cards. 

To check the gift card balance on the POS:

1. From the POS navigation menu, select Add ons > Gift Cards. 
2. Tap Gift Cards.
3. Enter the gift card number, then tap Confirm.
4. Select Check Balance. You can also choose to top up the gift card from this section. 
   

Transferring funds between gift cards

You can transfer a gift card's balance to another gift card, such as when consolidating balances or moving funds to a replacement card. 

Only the full balance of a gift card can be transferred. You cannot transfer partial amounts.

To transfer funds between gift cards: 

1. From the POS navigation menu, select Add ons > Gift Cards. 
2. Tap Gift Cards.
3. Enter the gift card number, then tap Confirm.
4. Select Transfer.
5. In the Transfer Balance popup, select the destination gift card number from the dropdown.
6. Tap Transfer balance.
   

Deleting gift cards

You can delete gift cards that are no longer needed, such as gift cards that were created by mistake or are no longer in use. Gift cards can be deleted individually or in bulk from Back Office. 

To delete gift cards:

1. From the Back Office navigation menu, select Company settings > Gift Cards. 
2. Select the checkbox next to the gift cards you want to delete. To select all gift cards, select the checkbox in the table header.
3. Click Delete.
   
4. Click Delete cards to proceed.
   

Redeeming gift cards

Customers can use and redeem their gift card balance to pay for purchases at checkout. If the gift card has a partial balance, they can use the available balance toward the purchase and pay the remaining amount with another payment method. To process a gift card payment, you'll need the gift card's number. 

To redeem a gift card:

1. Enter the customer's order on the POS. 
2. Tap Check Out.
3. Select Gift Cards as the payment method.
4. Enter the gift card number, then tap Confirm.
   

Viewing gift card activity

You can view gift card activity in Back Office to track transactions and review changes to gift card balances. Use the available filter to find specific gift card actions or transactions within a selected date range.

To view the gift card activity:

1. From the Back Office navigation menu, select Company settings > Gift cards. 
2. Select All Gift Card Activity. Here, you can see the following:
   • Card:  The gift card reference number associated with the activity you're reviewing.
   • Action: The type of activity performed on the gift card, such as top-up, transfer, import, deletion, or checkout. 
   • Date/Time: The date and time the gift card activity occurred. 
   • Staff Name: The staff member who performed the action. 
   • Notes: This provides additional details about the activity, such as details about an imported or deleted card, the card number involved in a transfer, or whether the activity was a top-up or checkout redemption. 
   • Amount: The amount associated with the gift card activity, such as the amount added, transferred, or redeemed. For gift card redemptions, you can also access the associated receipt by clicking Receipt next to the amount.
3. (Optional) Use the available filters to search for a specific gift card number, select an action, or specify a date range. 
   

Frequently asked questions

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