The extension enables customers to earn discounts in your online store. This article discusses the functions and management of the loyalty program.

Loyalty program is available as a paid feature for all MyCashflow online stores that have at least Basic plan.

Read more about the loyalty program on MyCashflow's website.

The loyalty program is multichannel by default, so if your store has MyCashflow POS, which enables point-of-sale use, your customers can benefit from the loyalty program and use their discounts in your physical store as well.

How the program works

When a customer has joined the loyalty program and is logged in your online store, the customer receives reward points for the products they order according to the ratio you choose (1 point for every €0.10 or €1 or €10 spent). In addition, you can award points for joining the loyalty program as well as for product reviews you receive from the customer.

Reward points are not awarded for delivery costs of the order nor for purchasing gift cards. Any discounts affecting product prices correspondingly reduce the number of points awarded for purchases.

The accrued loyalty points will change to a discount code at the beginning of each month according to the prize levels you set. The levels of discount codes may be, for example:

  • 100 points = €5
  • 250 points = €15
  • 500 points = €40

The customer automatically receives the highest value discount code permitted by their current points. A customer can only receive one discount code per month, even if the number of points is enough for several. Surplus points are retained for later use with no expiration.

If the customer has valid discount codes, they receive a monthly automatic email, which contains information about the customer’s accrued discounts and their validity. Discount codes and accrued points are also shown on the customer's My account page.

Installation and setup

You can enable the loyalty program on all the store versions that are publicly available. It is not possible to include a store version that requires the customer to sign in. Nonetheless, in order to benefit from the loyalty program, the customer has to be signed in when making their purchase.

  1. In the admin panel, go to Account > Apps > Loyalty program.
  2. Enable the extension.

    If you wish, you can test the extension settings free of charge before subscribing to the extension. This allows you to see predictions on point accumulation from the loyalty program, based on the online store’s transaction history for current customers.

    You can also configure the settings before you subscribe to the extension. All changes you make will be valid when you subscribe to the extension and publish the loyalty program for your customers.

  3. Go to the Customers > Loyalty program page in the admin panel and create a loyalty program for your online store.
  4. To specify the loyalty program settings, press the Settings button in the top right corner of the page.
  5. Make sure that the loyalty program is supported in your online store’s theme.

    MyCashflow’s default theme has built-in support for the loyalty program.

    For online stores that do not use the default theme, the required elements must be added to the theme.

  6. When you're ready, you can publish the loyalty program for your customers.

The introduction and terms of the published loyalty program are available in the online store, and the link to the introduction can be found on the product pages and in the shopping cart.

Creating a loyalty program

How to create a loyalty program:

  1. In the admin panel, go to Customers > Loyalty program.
  2. Click Create loyalty program.

    After you have created the program, you will find a summary of the loyalty program information based on the presets.

Before you can publish the loyalty program, you need to open its settings and determine which store versions will accrue points for customers. Also read through the other settings and modify them if necessary.

The service invoicing starts only when you publish the loyalty program.

Loyalty program settings

You can access the loyalty program settings from the admin panel page Customers > Loyalty program by pressing the Settings button.

With the settings, you can define how loyalty points accumulate and benefits are granted. In connection with the settings form, you will see real-time estimates of point accumulation, which will help you plan an effective and profitable loyalty program.

Basic settings

You can name the program, set the version visibility, and choose the pages where you present the program and its terms.
  • Name: Give the program a descriptive name.
  • Versions included in the loyalty program: Select which store versions enable customers to collect points. The program cannot include a version that requires signing in.
  • Presentation page and Terms and conditions of the loyalty program: The system automatically generates these pages using default content.

    The pages are mandatory for the loyalty program, so they cannot be removed or their visibility changed. However, you can edit the content and appearance of the pages in the same way as content pages in general.

    If you change the default content of the pages, do so with caution. Especially the Interface tags in curly braces – e.g. {LoyaltyProgramDiscountTierPoints} – should be left untouched, as they allow the program details to be updated on the pages automatically.

Accumulation of points and rewards

The settings regarding the accumulation of points and rewards should be carefully planned. A good customer program improves customer retention and increases sales. The rewards must therefore be attractive enough to engage customers, but at the same time you need to keep your operations profitable. As a guide, you can use the estimates of point accumulation visible by the form.

In the Earning points section, you can specify how many points a loyal customer accumulates from purchases and other activities.
  • Signing up: Specify how many points the customer receives for joining the loyalty program.
  • Product reviews: Specify how many points the customer gets for reviewing the products in the order. Granting points requires that you accept at least one review for publication.
  • Purchases: Specify the ratio at which points accumulate from the order's products. Any discounts will reduce the amount of awarded points. Points are awarded when the order is marked as delivered. If the customer returns products, the system will deduct the points accumulated from them. However, if the points have already been converted into a discount code, it will remain valid.

The number of points accumulated from joining the loyalty program and product reviews can be zero. In that case, there will be no reference to these functions on the Terms and conditions of the loyalty program page.

In the Rewards section, you can set point levels for discount codes of different values, as well as the validity period of the discount codes.
  • Discount code thresholds: Specify the number of points required and the value of the discount code. You can set as many point levels as you want.
  • Benefit validity period: Specify how many months the discount code is valid from its generation. The system generates discount codes and sends them to loyal customers at the beginning of the month.

If after publishing the loyalty program you make changes to its settings that affect the accumulation of points or rewards, the updated information will automatically be reflected in the presentation and terms of the program. However, the changes will not trigger an automatic email notification to loyal customers, so you need to inform them separately.

Point accumulation estimate

The Point accumulation estimate section, visible by the settings form, helps you understand how the loyalty program would work with the settings you choose in your online store. The section has simulations of point accumulation that update whenever you change the program settings.

The estimates are displayed as three charts that show how many points your customers would have accumulated in total from purchases, joining the loyalty program, and writing product reviews if all activities had been done within the loyalty program. By hovering the mouse over the question mark next to the chart, you will open an info text that explains the assumptions on which each point accumulation is based.

Below the charts, you can see a summary of the accumulated points and the total value of the discount codes. It is important to understand that even though the estimates are based on your store's data, they are indicative and may not necessarily materialize exactly as forecasted.

There is a time interval button on the section’s header row that opens a calendar menu. With it you can select the period of accumulated data on which the simulations are based. The default period is the previous calendar month, but you can also choose a different time span.

Publishing the program

Once you have created a loyalty program and defined the store versions it covers, you can launch and publish it.

  1. In the admin panel, go to Customers > Loyalty program.
  2. Click Launch loyalty program.

    After starting the program, the page displays charts depicting the usage history of the loyalty program, which are updated in real-time.

When you launch the loyalty program, its introduction and terms will be made public on the online store. In addition, the program's join prompt will appear on the registration form for customers as well as on the My account page for customers who have already registered.

Loyalty program membership management

The customer can join a loyalty program themself when registering as a customer of the online store or afterwards. If necessary, you can also enter your customers in the loyalty program via the admin panel.

Customer joining the loyalty program

Asiakas voi liittyä kanta-asiakasohjelmaan rekisteröitymislomakkeen Join now ‑valinnalla. Jos asiakas on rekisteröitynyt mutta ei ole vielä liittynyt kanta-asiakkaaksi, liittymispainike näkyy asiakkaan My account ‑sivulla.

Entering a customer in the program via the admin panel

This is how you can enter your customer in the loyalty program:

  1. Find and open the customer account information from the list on the admin panel's Customers page.
  2. Press the Create customer membership button at the Loyalty program memberships.

    The loyalty program customer form opens in a pop-up window.

  3. If the loyalty program covers multiple store versions, select the primary version from the Joined in version drop-down menu.

    The primary store version determines, e.g., the sender information for the monthly loyalty program emails.

  4. Click Join loyalty program.

    The pop-up window closes, and you can find a link to the customer’s membership information at Loyalty program memberships in the customer details.

The customer is not automatically notified about their entry to the loyalty program, so you must notify it separately.

Changing a customer's point balance manually

This is how you can change the point balance of a loyal customer:

  1. Find and open the customer account information from the list on the admin panel's Customers page.

    You can filter out loyalty program members by selecting Loyal customers on the customer groups menu.

  2. Click the Loyalty program link in the customer details.

    The customer's point information is shown.

  3. At Point balance, click the link indicating the customer’s current points.

    The point balance form opens.

  4. Enter the amount of points to be added or reduced in the Change field.

    You can only enter whole numbers in the field. If you want to reduce points, type a minus sign in front of the number.

  5. Enter the reason for the change in the Explanation field.

    The explanation will not be visible to the customer anywhere.

  6. Press the Save button at the end of the form.

The customer's point balance has now been updated, and the customer's point events will show you the change you made.

Manual changes to point balance do not result in automatic notification to the customer. Unless you have agreed on it in advance, you should inform the customer of the change, e.g. by email.

Validity and use of discounts

The customer receives the loyalty program points according to the order as soon as the order is marked as delivered. If the customer subsequently returns products, the system automatically deduces the accrued points from the customer’s point balance.

If the loyalty program points have already turned into a discount code before the product return, the customer’s point balance may drop to a negative value. In that case, the customer needs to collect more points than usual before they can get their next discount code. Once granted, a discount code remains valid even if the point balance after a product return no longer entitles the customer to receive it.

Discount codes can only be used when signed in the online store with the same account with which the customer joined the program. Unlike loyalty program points, discount codes expire unless the customer uses them within the validity period you have set.

A discount code can only be used once. If the customer uses a discount code for an order whose amount is less than the value of the discount code, the unused value can no longer be used in connection with subsequent orders.

Program results and reports

The results of and information on the loyalty program are available from three main sources in the admin panel:

  • Customers > Loyalty program page: Here you can see charts that provide information about the discount code values, the number of new customers, and the value of orders from loyal customers. The charts update in real-time, and you can adjust the time range of the data displayed.

    Additionally, you will find links on the page to loyalty program members' own customer group and a list of discount codes granted through the program (loyalty program discount codes are not visible on the Orders > Discount coupons page).

  • Customers page: Loyal customers' own customer group allows you to see all the customers who have joined the program. There’s a Loyalty program memberships link in the customer details of loyalty program members that allows you to see the customer's point events and change the point balance.

    An explanation must always be added for changes in point balances.

  • Reports page: You can filter order reports based on the loyalty program members' own customer group to get information about the orders made by them within the time period you choose.

Supporting the loyalty program in the theme

MyCashflow’s default theme has built-in support for the loyalty program.

If you use any of the themes on the User interface > Themes page in the admin panel, the loyalty program is ready for use in the online store. Otherwise, you need to add the necessary elements to your online store’s theme that will enable your customers to use the loyalty program.

If you're not familiar with modifying your store theme's HTML/CSS/JavaScript files, contact the designer of your online store's theme or our customer service.

See the guidelines for implementing theme support for the loyalty program.

Hiding the program from store versions

After the loyalty program has been enabled you cannot remove it, but you can hide it from store versions.

Hiding the loyalty program does not interrupt the invoicing for the service. If you want to completely disable this feature, contact our customer service e.g. via the chat in the admin panel

How to hide the loyalty program from a store version:
  1. In the admin panel, go to Customers > Loyalty program.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Remove the version selection under Versions included in the loyalty program.

After the loyalty program has been hidden from a store version, the benefits of the program no longer apply to that version. Discount codes obtained from the loyalty program will remain valid, but customers can only use them in versions where the loyalty program is visible.