# Issue and manage gift cards > Issue a gift card with a set value and email it to the recipient, or copy its code to send yourself. Shoppers spend it at checkout and the balance goes down with each order. Check balances, adjust them, switch a card off and see every movement from its page. Help Centre / Orders and customers - Updated 29 October 2026 A gift card is a code worth a set amount in your shop. Whoever has the code types it at checkout, and its balance pays for the order. Any balance left over stays on the card for next time. The examples use a coffee shop in Portland, OR, issuing a `$50` gift card to a customer as a thank-you. ## Before you begin - Gift cards are the **Gift cards** app, on the **Business** and **Plus** plans. Go to **Apps** and click **Add** on **Gift cards** under **Selling**. **Gift cards** then appears in the sidebar under **Marketing**. - To issue and change cards, your staff account needs permission to manage gift cards. - You can also start from **Products > Create Product**: the **Gift card** option there opens the same **Issue Gift Card** screen. ## Step 1: Issue a gift card 1. Go to **Gift cards** and click **Issue gift card**. 2. Under **Value**, pick `$25`, `$50`, `$100` or `$250`, or choose **Other** and type an amount. The value is fixed once issued; you change the balance later with an adjustment. 3. Under **Recipient** (optional), type their **Email** and a **Message**. With an email, you can switch on **Email the gift card to** them, and it is sent from your store as it is issued, with your message. 4. Under **Expires**, choose **Never**, **After 1 year**, or **On a date…**. A card can be spent until the end of its expiry day, in your store's time zone. 5. To leave a note for your team, click **Add internal note**. The customer never sees it. 6. Check the **Card preview** and **Summary**, then click **Issue $50 gift card**. The button names the value you picked. ![The Issue Gift Card screen with $50 picked, a recipient email and message filled in, and the card preview beside it](https://v3.shoprocket.io/img/help/gift-cards/issue-form.webp) ## Step 2: Copy the code The next screen says "$50 gift card issued" and shows the code, in the form `XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX`. **Copy the code now.** This is the only time it is shown. After you leave the page it is hidden for security, and nobody, including you, can look it up again. - If you emailed it, the screen says "Emailed to" the recipient. You still see the code this once. - If you didn't, click **Copy**, or **Copy a ready-to-send note** to copy the code with a short message to paste into an email or chat. - If the email couldn't be sent, the screen says so. Copy the code and send it yourself. Click **Issue another** to make the next one, or **Done**. ## What the recipient gets The email comes from your store, in your email branding, with the subject "Your Aurora Coffee Co gift card". It says your store has sent them a gift card worth the amount, shows the code with your message, and tells them to enter it at checkout. It reminds them to keep the email safe, because it is the only copy of the code and anyone who has it can spend the balance. ![The gift card email: the store's message, the $50 gift card code, and how to spend it](https://v3.shoprocket.io/img/help/gift-cards/gift-card-email.webp) ## How shoppers spend a gift card 1. In the cart or at checkout, the shopper clicks **Add a discount or gift card**. 2. They type the code in the **Discount or gift card** box. 3. The order shows **Gift card ••••** with the card's last four characters, and how much is left on the card after this order. The card pays after any discount, tax and shipping, so it can cover the whole order. If it does, checkout says "Your gift card covers this order. Nothing more to pay." Otherwise the shopper pays the rest with any of your payment methods. A code is turned down at checkout, with the reason, when it isn't recognised, the card is switched off or has expired, its balance is used up, or it was issued in a different currency from the order. A gift card can't be used to buy another gift card. ## Find and manage your gift cards **Gift cards** lists every card with its **Code** (the last four characters), **Balance**, what it was **Issued for**, the **Recipient**, its **Status** and when it **Expires**. Search by the last four characters or the recipient's email, and filter by status (the **Spent** cards are under **Fully used**): - **Active**: has a balance and can be spent. - **Spent**: the balance is used up. - **Expired**: past its expiry date. - **Inactive**: switched off by you. Tick cards to **Export** them as a spreadsheet or **Disable** them. A disabled card is turned down at checkout straight away, and keeps its balance. ### On a card's page Click a card to open it. You see how much is left of what it was issued for, and: - **Gift card**: change the **Recipient email**, **Message**, **Expires** date and **Internal note**, or switch it between **Active** and **Inactive**. Changing the email sends nothing. Click **Save gift card**. - **Adjust the balance**: type an **Amount**, positive to add value or negative to take it off, and a **Reason**, then click **Apply adjustment**. Every adjustment goes on the record with its reason. - **History**: every movement on the card, newest first: **Issued**, **Redeemed**, **Refunded** and **Adjusted**, with **View order** for the orders it paid for. ![A gift card's page: $31.50 left of $50, the details card, Adjust the balance, and its history with Issued and Redeemed](https://v3.shoprocket.io/img/help/gift-cards/gift-card-detail.webp) ## Refunds and cancelled orders - **Refunding an order paid with a gift card** puts the money back on the card first, then refunds any other payment. See [Refund an order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/refund-an-order.md). - **An unpaid order that is cancelled** gives the gift card back what it took, so the shopper loses nothing. ## Questions **A customer lost their code. Can I look it up?** No. Codes are never stored in a way anyone can read back. Check the card's balance on its page, set it to **Inactive** so the lost code can't be spent, then issue a new card for the same balance. **Can shoppers buy gift cards in my shop?** Not from the dashboard yet: you issue gift cards yourself. Gift card products added through the Shoprocket API do sell in your shop, and each one bought becomes its own card, emailed to the buyer once the order is paid. **Does a gift card count as a sale?** A gift card you issue by hand is not an order, so it is not in your sales. When a shopper spends one, the order counts as normal. **Can a gift card be used with a discount code?** Yes. The discount comes off first and the gift card pays what is left. ## Related - [Refund an order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/refund-an-order.md) - [Manage orders](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/manage-orders.md) - [Take a test order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/take-a-test-order.md) [Open Gift cards in your dashboard](https://app-v3.shoprocket.io/go/gift-cards) --- - HTML version: https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/gift-cards - Language: English (en) - Also in: [العربية](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ar/help/gift-cards.md), [Deutsch](https://v3.shoprocket.io/de/hilfe/geschenkgutscheine-ausstellen-und-verwalten.md), [Ελληνικά](https://v3.shoprocket.io/el/help/gift-cards.md), [Español](https://v3.shoprocket.io/es/ayuda/emite-y-gestiona-tarjetas-regalo.md), [Français](https://v3.shoprocket.io/fr/aide/emettre-et-gerer-des-cartes-cadeaux.md), [עברית](https://v3.shoprocket.io/he/help/gift-cards.md), [हिन्दी](https://v3.shoprocket.io/hi/help/gift-cards.md), [Bahasa Indonesia](https://v3.shoprocket.io/id/bantuan/terbitkan-dan-kelola-kartu-hadiah.md), [Italiano](https://v3.shoprocket.io/it/aiuto/emettere-e-gestire-le-carte-regalo.md), [日本語](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ja/help/gift-cards.md), [Lietuvių](https://v3.shoprocket.io/lt/pagalba/isduokite-ir-tvarkykite-dovanu-korteles.md), [Norsk](https://v3.shoprocket.io/nb/hjelp/utsted-og-administrer-gavekort.md), [Nederlands](https://v3.shoprocket.io/nl/hulp/cadeaukaarten-uitgeven-en-beheren.md), [Polski](https://v3.shoprocket.io/pl/pomoc/wydawaj-karty-podarunkowe-i-zarzadzaj-nimi.md), [Português](https://v3.shoprocket.io/pt/ajuda/emitir-e-gerenciar-vales-presente.md), [Română](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ro/ajutor/emite-si-gestioneaza-carduri-cadou.md), [Русский](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ru/help/gift-cards.md), [ไทย](https://v3.shoprocket.io/th/help/gift-cards.md), [Türkçe](https://v3.shoprocket.io/tr/yardim/hediye-kartlari-olusturun-ve-yonetin.md), [中文](https://v3.shoprocket.io/zh/help/gift-cards.md)