Summary reports don't separate promotional value from paid gift cards: Summary, the Home tiles and Current liability by sales channel add them together. The detailed reports have what you need to split them out. The Adjustments report lists every adjustment, including bonus gift cards and bonus credit as their own adjustments, and can be exported for analysis.
How promotional value is recorded
| What | How it's recorded | How to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus gift card from an automation | A new gift card, marked promotional, with reason type Automation. Its value is an Activation. | Gift cards report: Is promotional = Yes, Reason type = Automation. Adjustments report: Adjustment type = Activation with Giftcard reason type = Automation. |
| Bonus credit from an automation | Extra value added to the gift card the customer bought, as an Automation adjustment. The card itself stays a purchased card. | Adjustments report: Adjustment type = Automation. |
| Campaign and giveaway gift cards | New gift cards issued from the campaign or giveaway. | Gift cards report: Reason type. |
| Gift cards you issue in the dashboard as a reward, compensation or donation | New gift cards with the reason you chose. | Gift cards report: Reason type. |
| Cards and batches marked promotional | The Promotional switch when you issue a card or on the card's page, or a batch created as promotional. | Gift cards report: Is promotional = Yes. |
For the difference between the two automation rewards, see Bonus gift card or bonus credit? Choosing an automation reward.
Where promotional value is included
| Report | Includes promotional value? | Separated? |
|---|---|---|
| Summary tiles and charts, Home tiles | Yes, where it meets each figure's definition | No |
| Adjustments › Summary by sales channel | Yes. Bonus credit is in Other adjustment; bonus gift cards are in Activation. | No |
| Adjustments › Summary by reason | Yes | Partly: bonus gift cards are on the Automation row. Bonus credit is on the row of the card that received it (usually Purchased), under Other adjustment. |
| Adjustments | Yes | Yes, one row per adjustment |
| Gift cards | Yes | Yes: Is promotional and Reason type columns |
| Current liability by sales channel | Yes | No |
| Detailed current liability | Yes | Yes: Is promotional and Reason columns |
| Point-in-time liability by sales channel | Yes | No |
A few details to watch:
- Bonus credit raises the card's total. A $100 card with $10 bonus credit shows Initial value $100 and Total issued value $110 in the Gift cards report, and all $110 is in liability until spent.
- Credit purchased on Summary counts activations and top-ups that came from an order. Bonus credit (an Automation adjustment) isn't in it.
- Redemptions don't say which part was promotional. When a customer spends a card that has bonus credit, the redemption is one amount.
Measure promotional value for a period
- Go to Reports › Adjustments and choose Adjustments.
- Set the date range.
- Select Export › Download CSV (or Excel).
- In your spreadsheet, filter Adjustment type to Automation and add up Amount. That's the bonus credit given.
- Clear the filter, then filter Adjustment type to Activation and Giftcard reason type to Automation (and any other promotional reasons you use). Add up Amount. That's the value of bonus and promotional gift cards issued.
To see how much promotional value is still outstanding, open Reports › Liability › Detailed current liability, choose All time, and add up Liability on the rows where Is promotional is true.
Common questions
Why doesn't Summary show promotional value separately?
Summary and Home are totals across your whole program. The Gift cards, Adjustments and Detailed current liability reports have the detail to separate it.
Do bonus gift cards count toward my gift card allowance?
Yes. Bonus credit added to an existing card doesn't. See How the monthly gift card allowance works.
Can I stop promotional cards appearing in my reports?
You can hide an individual card from reporting, but it can't be undone and it removes the card from the Gift cards and current liability reports, which usually isn't what you want for real promotional value. Filtering the export is safer. See Hide a gift card from reporting.
Can bonus credit expire separately from the card?
No. Bonus gift cards can have their own expiry, but bonus credit added to an existing card can't currently expire separately from the card. See Gift card expiry.
How should I account for promotional value?
That's a decision for you and your accountant. See Accounting for gift cards: liability and revenue.