Discounts vs loyalty vs gift cards

Overview

• A Discount reduces the sale price and is not stored customer money.
• A Customer Group discount is an ongoing entitlement tied to the selected customer.
• Loyalty Points are earned/redeemed according to the Business loyalty policy and customer group.
• A Gift Card is prepaid stored value with its own balance and transaction history.
• A Voucher is a separately validated benefit/tender and should not be treated as interchangeable with Gift Card balance.

When to use this

• Use this guide when designing a promotion and deciding which MiniTill feature should represent it.

Step-by-step

1. Use Customer Group discount for a persistent customer entitlement.
2. Use a Store Discount for a cashier-selected price reduction.
3. Use Loyalty for repeat-purchase points/rewards.
4. Use Gift Card when somebody prepays dollar value for later redemption.
5. Use Voucher when issuing a controlled voucher/campaign benefit rather than reusable stored-value card balance.

Common mistakes

• Do not represent prepaid Gift Card money as a Discount.
• Do not represent loyalty redemption as Cash.
• Do not create duplicate manual discounts to mimic benefits already attached to Customer Groups.

Troubleshooting

• If reports or checkout behaviour look wrong, confirm that the original benefit was modelled using the correct tool rather than an approximate substitute.