A gift card's balance in Wrapped can go below zero when the card is spent in two places at almost the same time, for example in store and online within seconds. Each redemption is recorded as it happened, so together they can take more than the card had. Wrapped keeps the negative balance (it isn't reset to $0) and shows a sync error on the card when it tries to send that balance to Lightspeed, Shopify or your other sales channels, because those channels can't hold a negative gift card balance. To resolve it, adjust the balance in Wrapped.
How it happens
A customer has a $50 card:
- They spend $40 at your Lightspeed register.
- Before Wrapped has updated Shopify, they (or someone they shared the code with) spend $30 online. Shopify still showed $50, so it accepted the payment.
- Wrapped records both redemptions. The card's balance is now -$20.
See What happens if a card is used in two places at the same time.
What you'll see
- The card's Balance shows a negative amount, such as -$20.00.
- A Sync error badge on the card in Gift cards › All gift cards.
- A red banner on the card's page, "There was an error syncing the gift card to platforms", listing each sales channel that couldn't take the negative balance.
- Both redemptions in the card's Activity, with the channel, order number, location and time of each.
You can list every card with a problem using All filters › Sync errors › Has sync errors.
Fix a negative balance
- Open the card and check Activity to see which sales went through and where.
- Decide how to handle the shortfall under your own policy, for example absorb it, or ask the customer to pay the difference.
- Click Adjust balance, enter the balance the card should have (usually 0), add a Reason such as "Card used twice, overspent by $20", and click Apply.
Wrapped records the adjustment and pushes the new balance to every sales channel. Once each channel accepts it, the sync error clears. If the banner is still there after a few minutes, click Re-sync again in the banner. See Fixing gift card sync errors.
Adjust balance can't set a balance below 0. To correct a negative card, set it to 0 or to the amount the card should hold.
Common questions
Why doesn't Wrapped just reset the balance to $0?
Resetting it would hide the overspend. Keeping the negative balance shows exactly what happened, so you can decide how to handle it and your records stay accurate.
Can the customer still use the card?
It shouldn't be. But until you correct it, each sales channel still holds the balance it had after its own sale (in the example above, $10 in Lightspeed and $20 in Shopify), because the negative balance couldn't be sent to them. Correct the card in Wrapped promptly so every channel is set back in step.
Does a negative balance affect my reports?
Both redemptions are recorded as they happened, and your adjustment is recorded too, so reports show the overspend and the correction. Reports catch up within about 2 hours.
How do I stop it happening?
It's rare, because Wrapped syncs within minutes of each sale. It can only happen when a card is used in two places before the first sale reaches your other channels. Encourage customers not to share a code and spend it at the same time.