Knowledgebase

Before Mals created the Gift Vouchers, we had to use the ''Discount Vouchers'' to set up certificates. These vouchers allowed a store to set up five different voucher amounts to be used for gift certificates. Now that the new Gift Vouchers have been created at Mals, many people are opting to use those for their stores'' gift certificates, because they have more options. Below are the differences between the two:

Original Vouchers ( storeadmin with Mals Discount Vouchers)

• Set Up: The original five gift certificate amounts are set up through Mals, in the ''Discount Coupons'' area of the ''Discounts'' section in Mals. You will also need to activate the ''Gift Certificates'' page in the storeadmin area (instructions at yoursite.com/storeadmin/mals.php?mode=gc), and enter the same amounts you created in Mals.
• Buy Button: After the gift certificate amounts are created in Mals and in your storeadmin, the Buy Now buttons will appear in the gift certificate page at yoursite.com/certificates.php. Shoppers will go here to buy certificates.
• Maintenance: When a customer buys a gift certificate through your website certificates.php page, that item will be logged into the storeadmin area, under the ''Gift Certificates'' area.
• Remainders: There is no way to create remainder or partial gift certificate amounts.
• Amount Limits: You are limited to five different gift certificate amounts.
• Tax/Shipping: When a person redeems this gift certificate, the amount is taken off as a discount in the mals cart, before taxes and shipping costs are applied.

NOTE: If you need to set the gift card to be tax exempt or zero the shipping amount (for either method), you must set Mals to allow zero tax and shipping amounts. This means that all items in the storeadmin area will need to have units and/or tax values set!

Gift Vouchers (New Tab in Mals)

• Set Up: All setup is done through Mals, in the ''Gift Vouchers'' tab. You must check the ''Voucher entry box'' selection, then create vouchers directly in Mals. We recommend deactivating the Gift Certificates page in the storeadmin area, as you won''t need it with this method.
• Buy Button: A gift certificate item is *not* created automatically for you. You must create a product through the ''Products'' area of the storeadmin for a gift card that shoppers can buy.
• Maintenance: All maintenance will be done through Mals directly. NO information will be stored in the storeadmin area.
• Remainders: You can create a new gift card if you need to create a partial gift certificate for a shopper.
• Amount Limits: You are not limited to a certain number of gift certificate amounts.
• Tax/Shipping: When a person redeems this gift certificate, the amount taken off is applied as a ''Gift Voucher'' payment on the total amount - after taxes and shipping costs (and additional discounts) are applied.

Which should I use?

If you require gift certificate recipients to show up in the storeadmin area, or you want to apply a gift certificate before taxes and shipping are applied, we recommend using the original method through the storeadmin area. Otherwise, use the new Gift Vouchers through Mals (2nd option above), as it has more features and will gives you the ability to set up unlimited amounts - and it applies the gift certificate as a payment.