Audience Search – Gift Subscription Management
- Bettina Lippisch
- Jason Arnold
Gift Subscription Management
A gift subscription includes a donor and a gift recipient. The donor does not need to subscribe to the product while the gift recipient receives the product subscription which is paid by the donor. To setup a gift subscription, 1) create the donor as a customer (if s/he doesn’t already exist) and enter his/her billing address in addition to other information, 2) create the recipient (if s/he doesn’t already exist), 3) add a gift subscription for the gift recipient.
The instructions provided above detail the process for entering individual gifts. However, if you plan to input multiple gifts using Audience Search, we offer a feature known as “Gift Mode.” This tool enables you to enter Paid with Order credit card purchases in bulk and process the card for a single total charge. For all other non-credit card gift orders, you can utilize our Paid mode batching tool to batch the order. For more on Gift Mode, see the “Using Gift Mode To Take Orders” section below.
Adding a Gift Subscription
Ensure the donor has already been created as a customer with billing address. Take note of the customer Id of the donor.
Ensure each gift recipient has already been created as a customer. Follow the instructions in Adding a Subscription. The billing information and payment information will be tied to the donor. For each gift recipient’s subscription, select Yes for Gift Sub and enter the donor’s customer ID in the Donor ID field. There also is an option to enter a custom gift message that will be sent to the recipient on your behalf. This is done on per brand basis so please make sure your brand handles this feature. To enter a custom message, select “Customer” in the Gift Message field and enter your message up to 50 characters in the Label Note field.
Renewing a Gift Subscription
Follow the same instructions in Renewing a Subscription except for each subscription, select Yes for Gift Sub and enter the donor’s customer ID in the Donor ID field. Renew the subscription for each recipient. You may include the custom message if you would like for each recipient.
Adjusting a Gift Subscription
Follow the same instructions in Adjusting a Subscription. Adjust each gift recipient’s subscription.
Suspending a Gift Subscription
Follow the same instructions in Suspending a Subscription. Suspend each gift recipient’s subscription.
Reinstating a Gift Subscription
Follow the same instructions in Reinstating a Subscription. Reinstate each recipient’s subscription.
Cancelling and Refunding a Gift Subscription
Follow the same instructions in Cancelling and Refunding a Subscription Refund each recipient’s subscription.
Gift Mode
When processing gift orders, you may encounter donors who wish to give multiple gifts simultaneously. For those who prefer to make a single payment using their credit card at the time of purchase, the Gift Mode feature allows you to consolidate all gifts into one total charge on their card. This approach not only expedites the order entry process but also minimizes the risk of payment declines, which can occur when processing each gift individually due to potential fraud alerts on the donor's card.
If the payment method is anything other than a credit card or if the order is not intended to be charged during submission, you can follow the previously mentioned guidelines to configure gifts either individually or in bulk using our Paid Mode option.
Configuring Gift Mode
Before using Gift Mode, you’ll want to reach out to your CSM and make sure you have the Payment Type “Donor Paid” enabled. We will cover what Donor Paid is used for a little later in this article. Gift mode can be accessed via the Audience Search tool, under the “Mode” drop down.
Once Gift Mode has been selected, the user can start a new batch or select a paused batch to resume. The batches shown will only be batches configured with Gift Mode, existing or new Paid Mode batches will be accessible via the Paid option still.
When initiating a batch, users have the option to configure default settings, which can significantly streamline the bulk gift entry process. To set and save your defaults, simply click the “set defaults” option located next to the batch dropdown. A window will appear, allowing you to customize the defaults that will automatically apply to each order. While this step is not mandatory, we strongly recommend establishing your defaults whenever possible, as it will expedite the entry process. Be sure to select the product default, set Gift Sub to "Yes," and specify the Donor ID.
Note: To utilize Gift Mode, users must first configure the Product default and only submit orders for that specific product. Bulk gift orders should be organized into separate batches. For instance, if a donor wishes to purchase two products totaling 100 magazines, with 50 of each product, these should be entered as two distinct batches. Ensure that the Product default selection, Gift Sub (Yes), and Donor ID are properly set.
Using Gift Mode To Take Orders
Using Gift Mode to set up orders follows the same steps as outlined for individual gift entry, with one key difference: Gift Mode allows you to utilize a specific Payment Type, Donor Paid, for each gift after the initial gift has been entered which will then allow those purchases to be totaled into one charge. Currently, Gift Mode is designed for bulk credit card orders for a single product, which will be charged as a total amount upon batch end.
Once you have started or resumed your batch and configured your defaults, you will enter the first gift in the same manner as described for individual gift entry. For the first gift, process it as a standard credit card gift order. Record the payment as "paid with order," select the Payment Type corresponding to the specific card brand (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc), input the card details along with any other required information, and then save the customer updates. You should receive a confirmation message indicating that the charge was successful and the amount charged.
Next, return to your Audience Search results to check on your batch. The charged total should align with what you just observed on the customer record. For each subsequent gift you wish to charge to this order, repeat the same entry process. However, this time, instead of selecting the credit card brand under Payment Type, choose the “Donor Paid” option. (Note: If you do not see "Donor Paid" as an option, please contact your CSM to have it enabled.) After saving the customer record, complete your gift entries. When returning to your batch you will notice the charged total is the same as before, but the uncharged total is now totaling all the gifts you have since entered. Finally, return to your batch and click “End Batch.” This action will finalize your batch and charge the remaining gifts to the original charge via a Payment Adjustment.
Table of Contents