Purpose

This document is a User Guide for Customer Balance and Rewards module for Magento. It describes how work with the extension.

Customer Balance & Rewards unites ability to for customers to have a positive balance on the website (via monetary top-ups or transfer of points to money) as well as rewards’ system where customers earn points for special actions and can then use these points for future payments

System Requirements

The extension works under Magento from 1.4.x and higher.

The extension works with Apache 1.3.x and higher, PHP 5, Linux or IIS.

The extension’s correct work is guaranteed with the following browsers:

• IE7+
• FireFox 4.x+
• Google Chrome 15.x+
• Safari 5.x+

The correct work with other Magento versions, other browsers and Apache/PHP versions is not guaranteed.

Installation

All our Magento extensions and templates are installed via IToris Installer.

Download IToris Installer and un-pack to the root of your website. It will then appear in menu System –>IToris extensions –> IToris Installer.

Open it and you will see all our Magento Extensions and Templates, both installed and available. You can install, update and un-install them with one click now.

Find Customer Balance & Rewards in the list of extensions and press Install button. It will ask for the license key that you will receive after the purchase. Enter the key and submit. The extension will be installed. It will be available in menu System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards

License

Magento modules developed by IToris are provided with 3 license types - regular, premium and multi-host.

Regulal license is partially encrypted. This license is website-dependent. By ‘website’ here we understand the website in Magento terms. Under one Magento installation one license key of the extension can activate all stores/storeviews. within one website. If your configuration has several Magento websites - a separate license will be required for each.

One license also supports a number of sub-domains for development/testing purposes in addition to the live website. Please see the full list of available sub-domains and additional information about the license in our Terms and Conditions

Premium license activates one Magento installation. All websites, stores and storeviews under one installation are covered with one license. Premium license is 100% open-source and is recommended for customizations. Premium license is installed via IToris Installer.

Multi-host license provides ability to install the module to an unlimited number of hosts. It is 100% and is installed as an archive.

You can switch the license from one domain to another – login to IToris website using the credentials you will receive after the purchase. Go to My Downloads area, find your key there and reset it from the current website. Then use it again to activate another website.

The license also includes free life-time updates for the extension.

Overview

Customer Balance & Rewards module is a multi-functional Magento extension. There are several ways you will benefit from it:

New purchases are stimulated. Customers purchase products and receive points for the orders, that can be used to partially pay the following orders. As the points can expire (this depends on the settings you select), customers make new orders sooner to redeem their points.

Your store is visited more often. As points can be provided for “purchase-associated” activity - registration, visiting the website, reviews - customers visit your store more often that stimulated purchases as well.

Social activity and new leads - points can be provided for referrals, there is ability to share balance with friends - this is a source of new leads for your store from your current customers.

Configuration

To manage the extension’s configuration select System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards -> Configuration

There will be 4 main areas:

• General Configuration - general settings and configurations: how prices and rewards should be displayed, which payment combinations are available, and so on.
• Account Balance Configuration - settings and configurations for customers’ balance, ability to top up balance in advance as well as convert rewards to balance
• Rewards Configuration - settings and configurations for reward points
• Gifting Configuration - settings and configurations for gifting area, ability for customers to refer friends, to top up other customers’ balance and so on

General Configuration

To manage general configuration select System -> IToris Extensions -> Customer Balance & Rewards -> Configuration

There will be a tab General Configuration selected by default

The following configurations and settings are available:

• Extension Enabled - when “yes” is selected, the module is enabled
• Product Default Purchase Mode - how products can be purchased on the website
  • Purchase using Price Configured Only - standard Magento way, with money only
  • Purchase using Price & Reward Points - with money as well as earned reward points (transferred in money at a special rate)
  • Purchase using Reward Points only - with earned reward points only
• Catalog Prices Display Mode - how products prices should be displayed in catalogs of products
  • Prices only - default Magento way, only prices
  • Prices & Points - prices as well as points (at which products can be purchased as an alternative of money)
  • Points only - only points at which products can be purchased
• Product Prices Display Mode - how prices should be displayed on product pages
  • Prices only - default Magento way, only prices
  • Prices & Points - prices as well as points (at which products can be purchased as an alternative of money)
  • Points only - only points at which products can be purchased
• Credit or Point Balance Adjustment Email Template - which email template should be sent when there is a change in customers’ credit or points
  • Do not sent this email
  • {selection of available email templates}
• Reward Points visible short alias - how reward points will be marked on product, catalog pages and so on
• Reward Points visible long alias
• Show detailed calculation on Checkout - if during the purchase reward points have been used (together with money or alone), there will be detailed calculation shown - at which rate poinst are transferred to money, and so on
• Refer a Friend Email Template
  • Do not sent this email
  • {selection of available email templates}

Configuration

Account Balance Configuration

To manage account balance configuration select System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards -> Configuration

There will be a tab Account Balance Configuration

The following configurations and settings are available:

• Account Balance Engine Enabled - when “yes” is selected, customers’ balance functionality is activated
• Allow to Purchase Credits - ability for customers to top up balance with money and keep it positive
• Minimum Amount - the minimal sum of payment’s top up. 10 [main currency] set by default, 10 USD on the screenshot above
• Credits Purchased Email Template - which email template should be sent to the customer when balance is topped up
  • Do not sent this email
  • {selection of available email templates}
• Show Customer Balance on Dashboard - when customers open up their profile they will see their balance in dashboard
• Show Customer Balance in Side Block - there will be a special side block added, where customers will see their balance
• Show Customer Balance in the List of Customers- from the back-end there will be a new column in Customers -> Manage Customers table, that will show customers’ balance
• Show Balance Activity Report to Customer - customers will see how much they have topped up, earned (transferred from points) and spent
• Allow to Convert Credits into Reward Points - in case there are products/services that can be purchased using reward points only, customers may want to convert their monetary balance into reward points
• Conversion Rate 100 Points =
• Minimum Amount to Convert

Configuration

Rewards Configuration

To manage rewards configuration select System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards -> Configuration

There will be a tab Rewards Configuration

The following configurations and settings are available:

• Rewards System Enabled - when yes is selected, customers’ rewards system is activated
• Show Available Reward Points on Dashboard - when customers open up their profile they will see their reward points in dashboard
• Show Available Reward Points in Side Block - there will be a special side block added, where customers will see their reward points
• Show Available Reward Points in the List of Customers - from the back-end there will be a new column in Customers -> Manage Customers table, that will show customers’ reward points
• Show Points Activity Report to Customer - customers will see how many points they have earned, transferred from balance and spent
• Allow to Convert Points into Credits - ability for customers to exchange their points with money at the set conversion rate
• Conversion Rate 100 Points =
• Minimum Points to Convert
• Enable Points Expiration - if this setting is enabled, points will have “shelf life” period after which they become invalid
  • Expire after - expiration period
• Points Will Expire Soon Email Template - email notification for the customers to war that their points will expire soon
  • Do not sent this email
  • {selection of available email templates}

Configuration

Gifting Configuration

To manage gifting configuration select System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards -> Configuration

There will be a tab Gifting Configuration

The following configurations and settings are available:

• Gifting Engine Enabled - when “yes” is selected, gifting functionality is enabledd
• Allow to Gift Credits - if customers can present money to other customers (transfer money to their balance)
• Minimum Amount - the minimal amount to be gifted
• Allow to Gift Points - if customers can present reward points to other customers (transfer points to their balance)
• Minimum Points - the minimal amount to be gifted
• Send Credits to a Friend Email Template - email notification to be sent when points/money is gifted
  • Do not sent this email
  • {selection of available email templates}

Configuration

Email Templates

There are pre-created email templates integrated as part of Magento’s email functionality. If you need to edit an email or create a new one - use the standard Magento functionality:

Select System –>Transactional Emails. Create a new email template there and select one of the pre-created templates.

Load the template and edit it the way you need. The new email template will be available in the extension’s settings.

The following email templates are available:

• Credit or Point Balance Adjustment Email Template. When a balance has been changed - customer will receive this email
• Refer a Friend Email Template. This is an invitational email to the referred friend(s)
• Credits Purchased Email Template. This email is sent to the customer when credits have been purchased
• Points Will Expire Soon Email Template. If points have expiration date - this is a reminder to customers when it is close
• Send Credits to a Friend Email Template. This email is received by customers who have achieved credits/points that have been shared with them by their friends

Also 2 standard email templates are changed - a new block with reward points is added:

• New Order
• Invoice

If you do not want an email to be sent - you can switch it off directly in the settings by choosing “do not send this email” option.

Customers Balance

Overview

Balance reflects mutual settlements between customers and website. There are two currencies that are used and can be converted to each other (depending on selected settings) - money and reward points.

If all extension’s areas are activated - customers can top up their balance with money (buy credits). This means that they have a positive monetary amount on the website, which can be used to purchase goods/services later on.

Balance also shows all earned reward points. Depending on settings reward points are assigned to customers for certain actions (friends’ referrals, reviews writing, other general activity) as well as for purchasing products.

Credits (money) and reward points are exchangeable. Rates and exchange rules can be set in the configurations.

Depending on settings customer can use either credits or reward points or both in combination for future purchases.

Customers as well as administrators (from the back-end) can view the balance history.

Settings

To select or change balance settings and configurations please see this chapter.

Customers Balance

Back-end

View Customer’s Balance

From the back-end administrators can see the customers’ balance in the list of customers, as well as detailed information in a customer’s profile.

To see current balance (both credits and reward points) administrator can open up the list of customers. There will be 2 new columns there (depending on settings) - Balance and Reward Points:

On customer’s details page there is both short and detailed information about the balance available. Short Information is displayed in Customer View tab:

For the balance history open up Customer Balance and Rewards tab:

Here administrator can view how many rewards and credits have been received as well as spent.

Customers Balance

Back-end

Manage Customer’s Balance

Administrators from the back-end can manage customers’ balance (add/remove credits as well as reward points).

To do this administrator needs to open a customer’s profile and either press Manage link in Customer View tab, or select Customer Balance and Rewards tab:

Administrators have the following options:

• Convert credits into reward points

To do this admin enters the amount of money (credits) to be converted. By default the full available amount is entered in the conversion field.

Administrator cannot enter a larger credit that the customer has available now.

When Convert button is pressed - the credit is withdrawn from the customer’s balance and the reward points are added to it (the conversion rate is set in the configuration, administrator will see it before the conversion).

• Add credits to balance

To add money (credits) to the customer’s balance administrator enters the amount, adds a comment and presses Add Credits button. The money is added to the customer’s balance.

• Subtract credits from balance

Administrator can subtract money from the customer’s balance the same way as adding credits there. Only the value should be negative (-30).

• Convert reward points into credits

To convert points into credits administrator enters the number of points to be converted (by default all available points are entered in the field) and presses Convert button that converts the points at the set exchange rate.

• Add reward points to balance
  • Subtract reward points from balance

To add reward points to the customer’s balance administrator enters the quantity, adds a comment and presses Add PR button. The points is added to the customer’s balance.



Administrator can subtract points from the customer’s balance the same way as adding them there. Only the value should be negative (-30).




Customers Balance





Front-end


Balance Display

There are several areas where customers can view their balance (this depends on the settings).

There is a block with short balance information on customers’ dashboard. When a customer opens up his/her profile the block is displayed:



There can also be a side block on the website’s pages with the short balance information:



Detailed balance history is displayed in customers’ account in Manage Balance and Rewards tab. Here customer will see all earned as well as spent points, as well as credit movements in his/her balance, with dates and comments:






Customers Balance





Front-end


Balance Management

There are several ways customers can add/earn credits (money) as well as reward points (depending on the selected settings and configurations):

• Top up (credits only) by customer (please see detail here)
• Convert (from credits to reward points and vs. - available balance only) (please see detail here)
• Get rewards for actions on website (please see details here)
• Get rewards for purchases of some products (please see details here)
• Top up by admin (both credits and rewards - please see more here)

Customer can spend both credits (money) and reward points on purchasing goods and services from the website as well as gifting them to friends (other customers) - depending on selected settings and configurations.

When purchasing products/services, customer can pay using a combination of reward points, credits and regular payments.




Customers Balance





Front-end


Top Up

In addition to the ability to earn credits (depending on settings) customers have ability to top up their balance. There is ability to top up credits (money) only, not points. Yet if there is a conversional rate set, customers then can convert credits into points.



When it is clicked - there is a special form displayed for topping up. This is a special case of order payment, so all standard Magento fields required for a purchase are populated.

There is also minimal amount for credits displayed (from the settings and configurations):



Customer enters the amount he/she wants to add to the balance, selects/populated the required fields and presses Top Up button. The credit is added to the balance.

Customers Balance





Front-end


Conversion

There is ability to convert credits to points and vs. - depending on the settings and configurations. Conversional rate is set there as well.

Customer can convert credits to points or points to credits in the account (they need to be logged in). There is functionality for converting and exchange rates in Dashboard as well as in Manage Balance and Rewards tab.

There are sliding bars where customers can select how many credits/points to be converted. Minimal value in the sliders is the set minimal amount for conversion. Maximal value - currently available amount the customer has.

As customer changes the values in the sliders - the conversion result is re-calculated in the field below immediately. Customer can also enter a value directly in the field.



After a value has been selected, customer presses Convert button, and the selected credit amount/number of points is converted and added to the balance.




Rewards System





Overview


Reward system is the functionality that promotes the store and encourages customers to make purchases as well as be active on the website in order to get rewards that can be spent on future purchases.

Rewards can be monetary (credits) as well as points.

Administrator from the back-end create rules and promotions based on which rewards are earned.

These rules can include registration on the website, making a purchase (first, any, larger that a set amount, and so on), participation in reviews, signing for newsletters, referrals.

Promotions deal with purchases of special products. Rules can be based on different attributes of products, their combinations and so on. There is ability to set time limitation for the promotions.





Settings

To select or change rewards’ system configuration and settings please see this chapter.




Rewards System





Back-end


Administrators from the back-end can view as well as manage customers’ rewards. Please see this chapter for more information.

Administrators also create reward rules and promotions.





Rewards’ Rules

Reward rules can be created in System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards & Reward Rules



There is an area for creating new rules as well as managing the existing ones.



To create a new rule administrator presses Add New Rule button. This opens up an area for creating a rule. Administrator selects a rule type:



and presses Continue button.

The following rule types are available:

• Customer registration
• Customer made first order
• Customer made any order
• Customer made a large order
• Poll voted
• Product sent to a friend and purchased
• Sign up for a newsletter
• Product tagged
• Product reviews
• Customer birthday occurred
• Referred customer registered
• Referred customer made first order
• Referred customer made any order

Depending on the selected type there can be additional fields (for example, for large orders there is ability to enter the minimal order amount).

There are also general rule’s fields common for all types:



• Rule Name - how the rule will be displayed in the list of rules and in the rewards history.
• Status - only enabled rules will be applied
• Start Date, End Date - if you set the date range, rule will be applied only within these dates. Otherwise, it will be applied all the time while it stays enabled
• Add Balance Credits, Add Reward Points - how many credits and/or reward points customers will receive when the rule is performed
• Store Views - you can limit the rule to be applied on selected stores only. By default all stores are selected
• User Groups - you can limit the rule to be applied for selected customer groups only
• Send email to customer - when this setting is checked, there are additional fields displayed for the email to be sent



To edit an existing rule administrator opens the list of rules and clicks edit link. The rule is opened up for editing:






Rewards System





Back-end





Rewards’ Promotions

Reward rules can be created in System –>IToris extensions –> Customer Balance & Rewards & Reward Promotions



All existing rules will be shown in the list there. Administrators can create new rules by pressing Add New Rule button. This opens up an area for creating a promotion rule:



The following fields should be populated to create a promotion:

• Rule Name - how the rule will be displayed in the list of rules and in the rewards history.
• Condition - here administrators set a condition or a combination of conditions that should be fulfilled in order to receive a reward. Please see a screenshot with sample below.
• Status - only enabled rules will be applied
• Start Date, End Date - if you set the date range, rule will be applied only within these dates. Otherwise, it will be applied all the time while it stays enabled.
• Add Balance Credits, Add Reward Points - how many credits and/or reward points customers will receive when the rule is performed.
• Store Views - you can limit the rule to be applied on selected stores only. By default all stores are selected.
• User Groups - you can limit the rule to be applied for selected customer groups only
• Send email to customer - when this setting is checked, there are additional fields displayed for the email to be sent.




Condition sample - customer who purchase an Apple product that costs more that $1500 during the period from the 11th to the 25th of April will earn 200 reward points:



Additional fields for email templates are the following:






Rewards System





Back-end





Rules for a Single Product

Settings reward rules and promotions for products usually means they will be applied to a group of product (a category, or a number of products selected by an attribute, and so on).

In addition to this you can set special rules for selected products individually. To do this open up a product, there will be a new tab Purchase Rules:



The following settings are available there:

• Purchase Mode - how the product can be purchased. The following options are available:
  • Global - will be taken from the global settings and configurations
  • Purchase using price configured - product can be purchased with a regular payment or for a credits only
  • Purchase using price & reward points - product can be purchased with a regular payment or for a credit as well as for reward points
  • Purchase using reward points only - only reward points can be used to purchase this product. If a customer has no (enough) points, he/she will not be able to complete the purchase.
• Product price in reward points mode
  • Calculate automatically based on exchange rate - conversion rate from the settings will be taken
  • Override price in reward points - special price will be used for this product. When this setting is selected, there are additional settings:
  • Product Price in Reward Points - set the “cost” of this product in reward points
  • Group Price in Reward Points - ability to set a special points’ price for groups
  • Tier Price in Reward Points - ability to set a special points’ tier price
• Purchase using RP is allowed from (inclusive)/Purchase using RP is allowed to (inclusive) - You can limit this rule with a period of time during which it will be applied - or leave it “permanent”

Please see the settings in the screenshot above (the product can be purchased for reward points only, 300 points). Customers will see the following:



If a customer has no (enough) reward points - effort to purchase the product will show the following message:






Rewards System





Front-end

Earning Rewards

There are several ways customers can earn rewards. This depends on the settings and configurations in admin area.

Rewards earning can be for special activity on the website (registration, reference, participation in the polls, and so on) as well as for purchasing special products or product combinations.

Apart from earning there are other ways of getting rewards (administrator can provide them manually, customers can top up their balance themselves, there can be gifts from other customers).





For purchasing products

Let us, for example, create a rule that customers, who purchase any shoes during the period from August, 08 to August, 15 get 300 reward points:



Now one of our customers purchases shoes. The promotion will be shown on the products’ pages:



After the order has been completed, the customer will see the reward points added to his account and displayed in the balance history. There will also be a special email if this is selected in the rule’s settings.







For special activity

Let us create a rule that customers get 80 reward points for product reviews.



One of the customers reviews a product and the review has been approved by admin:



Customer will see points added to the balance now:







Conversion

For more details about conversions please see this chapter.





History

For more information about balance history please see this chapter.




Rewards System





Front-end

Spending Balance and Rewards

Customers can spend their balance (both credits and reward points) on purchasing products/services as well as on gifting them to other customers.



On the screenshot there is a product (computer mouse) that can be purchased on reward points only. There are also products that can be purchased on money and/or reward points. The second type will allow combination (partially points, partially money) as well.

When customer adds these products to the cart - apart from the price information there is a special block where customers can select how to pay:



There customers can select how many reward points as well as credits to be used for the purchase. The rest of the amount (should there left any) will be taken in a regular way.

As the mouse can be purchased using reward points only - 300 reward points are set as a minimum. The rest of the amount can be varied.

Let us select 300 more points to be used for the purchase (600 totally now) as well as $50.99 from the credit. The rest will go as a regular payment.



As we proceed to checkout - there can be additional payments calculated (taxes, shipping and so on), so there will be ability to adjust the payment there as well. We will leave them unchanged, so totally we will spend 600 points, $50.99 from the credits and $20 as a regular payment:



As soon as the order has been validated - we will see short rewards’ calculation in balance history:



As well as a detailed one in customers’ account in the order details:






Gifting System





Overview


Gifting system provides ability for customers to preset their reward points and/or credits (depending on settings) to other customers.

When points or credits are gifted - customer initiates generation of a special code that then is sent to the friend. Codes are redeemable in the customers’ account.





Settings

Please see more details about gifting system’s settings in this chapter.





Front-end

Gifting Credits and/or Points

Customers can gift credits and/or points to their friends in their account. To do this customer can either click Gift Credits or RP link in the Dashboard,



or open Manage Balance & Rewards tab.



There will be a special area for gifting.

Customer sets the number of points and credits to be gifted using the sliders and presses Create Code button. This generates a new code, shows a message that the code has been created and adds the code to the customer’s account:



Now the code can be emailed to a friend - there is a link Notify Friend near each code. Customer populates the details and sends the notification:



There is also ability to cancel (delete) a generated code by clicking Cancel Code link. This cancels the code and returns reward points/credits back to the balance:







Redeeming Gifts

To redeem a gift code customer copies it and applies in his/her account.



The code is applied: