💡 Why Use Gift Cards?
Clients can purchase digital gift cards for themselves or gift them to someone else.
Gift card balances are tracked directly in Porter.
You can accept gift cards as a payment method during checkout.
Gift cards are compatible with both in-shop and online checkouts.
No need to use a separate system—everything is built into Porter.
🔧 How to Enable Gift Cards
Log in to app.getporter.io.
Click your name in the top right corner.
Go to Items & Gift Cards → Gift Cards.
Hit the ⚙️ Settings icon (top right of the Gift Cards page).
From the settings panel:
Toggle Gift Card Sales ON.
Set your default gift card balance (e.g., $100). You can update this amount for each checkout purchase when selling a gift card, this is just a default amount.
Set your gift card expiration (e.g., 2 years), if applicable.
🎟️ Selling a Gift Card
You can sell gift cards the same way you sell retail items:
During checkout (on both web and mobile), you’ll now see a “Gift Card” item in your dropdown.
Add it to a checkout like any other item (note: gift cards are not taxed).
Complete the checkout with any payment method (card, cash, etc.).
Once purchased:
The client receives a confirmation email with their digital gift card.
In the email, they’ll also have the option to send it to someone else as a gift, with a personal message.
🛒 Selling Gift Cards Online (Gift Card Store)
Clients don't need to be in your shop to buy a gift card — Porter gives you a gift card store where customers can purchase gift cards directly online.
From the Gift Card Settings panel, scroll down to Share your gift card store. You have two options:
🔗 Direct link
Copy your unique gift card store link.
Share it anywhere — social media, email campaigns, your Instagram bio, etc.
Customers open the link, fill out the purchase form, and pay online.
💻 Embed on your website
Copy the embed code snippet from the settings panel.
Paste it into your website's HTML where you'd like the gift card store to appear.
Customers can purchase gift cards without ever leaving your site.
Once a customer completes their purchase:
The gift card is automatically added to their Porter account at your shop — no manual entry needed.
They'll receive a confirmation email with their digital gift card, with the option to send it as a gift to someone else.
💡 Tip: Online gift card sales are a great way to capture revenue during the holidays or slow seasons — drop your link into an email or SMS campaign from the Marketing module.
👥 Gifting a Gift Card
When a client receives a gift card email, they can:
Click “Send as a gift”.
Enter the recipient’s name, email, phone, and a custom message.
The recipient will receive an email letting them know they’ve received a gift card and can begin using it immediately.
💳 Redeeming a Gift Card
Clients can use their gift card for both deposits and final checkouts.
At checkout (mobile or web):
Choose the Gift Card payment method.
You’ll see:
The client’s available gift card balance.
Option to use part or all of the balance.
If the gift card doesn’t cover the full amount, the remainder can be paid with a card, cash, etc.
🔎 Viewing Client Gift Card Balances
To see a customer’s gift card balance:
From the mobile app or web, go to their Client Profile.
You’ll see a “Gift Card Balance” field in the overview section.
📈 Tracking All Gift Cards (Gift Card Reports)
From the Items & Gift Cards page → Gift Cards tab, you can:
View a table of all issued gift cards with:
Customer
Type (electronic)
Purchase date
Last used date
Balance remaining
View key metrics:
💵 Activations (last 30 days)
💳 Redemptions (last 30 days)
💰 Outstanding Balance (total value of unused gift cards)
Each gift card also has a 3-dot menu where you can:
Resend the gift card email
Clear the remaining balance (if needed)
🔄 Migrating Gift Cards from Another System
If you're switching to Porter from another POS (like Square), we can import existing gift card balances into your Porter account.
📧 Just email us at [email protected] with your export file and we’ll take care of the rest.