Extension page: http://ecommerce.aheadworks.com/magento-extensions/points-and-rewards.html
This Magento extension offers points & rewards system implemented as well as the referral program. Points can be awarded automatically (and manually by the merchant) for making purchases, reviewing products, inviting friends, or carrying out any other admin-specified action. Later these points can be redeemed for discounts.
Installation
1. Backup your web directory and store database.
2. Log in to the Magento backend
3. Disable compilation
4. Flush store cache
5. Download the extension package from your account and extract the downloaded archive
6. Copy the content of /Step_1/ folder to your store's root directory
7. Copy the content of /Step_2/ folder to your store's root directory
8. Flush store cache again; log out from the backend and log in again.
Set up cron
The Rewards & Points extension uses cron for checking points expiration and sending notifications about points expiration. Read the following instructions on setting cron job for your Magento store: Magento user guide. If you have already configured cron jobs for your Magento installation then you can skip this step.
Generally it would be enough to run in SSH console of your server:
crontab -e
And add the following line:
Zero Checkout
Providing you want to let your customers to checkout solely with points (paying for the whole order with points) the Zero Subtotal Checkout should be enabled.
To enable Zero Subtotal Checkout navigate to your Magento backend System > Configuration > Sales> Payment Methods > Zero Subtotal Checkout and set 'Enabled' field to 'Yes'.
Now your customer can checkout with points solely.
Configuration
Basic configuration
The extension's general settings can be specified in System-> Configuration-> aheadWorks Extensions-> Points And Rewards (or in Promotions-> Points And Rewards-> Configuration) backend page.
General
- Enable - activates / deactivates extension's functionality
- Points Unit Name - this option defines the frontend points unit title
- Enable rewards history - shows / hides the Transactions History block in the frontend customer dashboard
- Enable reward rules functionality - enables / disables points rules
- Show points block at product page - enables/disables the pre-calculated earned points amount block in the product view page
- Points earning calculation(Before Tax/ After Tax) and Points spending calculation(Before Tax/ After Tax) - these options define how the tax amount is treated in the calculations
- Cancel earned points after order refunding - removes the points earned for an order in case this order gets refunded.
- Restore spent points after order refunding - returns the points spent on an order in case it gets refunded.
- Minimum reward points balance to be available to redeem - sets the minimum required to apply points. A customer cannot use the points if their current balance is below the value specified in this field
- Maximum available points balance - sets the upper limit on the available balance. A customer cannot accumulate more reward points than the value set in this field at a given moment
- Reward points expire after, days - sets the points expiration period
- Amount available for paying at checkout by points, % - this option restricts the portion (in %) of the order total that can be covered by the points. E.g., if this option is set to 50%, a customer will only be able to pay half of the total with points.
- Info page - this selector allows you to select a Static CMS page, where the details on the reward program are explained. The link to the selected page will be included in several blocks
- Can use points with Magento coupon - allows / prohibits applying the points together with the native Magento coupons. If this option is disabled, using any discount code at the Shopping Cart will remove the option for using Reward Points during the checkout.
Earning Points
In this tab, you can define the rewards for non order-related activities (sign-up, reviewing products, etc). The rewards setup in this tab are awarded even in case the Earn Rate is not specified.
- Registration - here, you can specify the reward for creating a new customer account
- Newsletter signup - reward for subscribing to NL
- Consider newsletter subscription by admin - defines whether the reward will be granted if the store admin subscribes a customer
- Reviewing product and Reviewing product points/day limit - these options set the reward for a product review and the daily limit* for earned points respectively.
- Minimum number of words in the review - defines the minimal review length that qualifies for the reward
- For Video Testimonials and For Video Testimonials points/day limit (require Video Testimonials extension) - set the reward for a submitted testimonial and the daily limit* for earned points.
- Only those who purchased product can gain points - limits points earning to the customers who have actually purchased the reviewed product.
- Tagging product and Tagging product points/day limit - set the reward and the daily limit* for tagging an item.
- Participating in poll and Participating in poll points/day limit - set the reward and the daily limit* for voting in a poll.
- Customer birthday - sets the reward granted when the specified customer birthday date arrives. If the Birth Date is not specified in the account settings, no bonus will be granted.
*Daily limit restricts the total amount of points a customer can earn for the correspondent activity a day. Once the limit is reached, the customer can still take the same actions, but no extra rewards will be granted.
Referral System
The Points And Rewards extension features referral system. It is possible for a customer to earn the points for inviting friends, and for their referral's orders. The personal Invitations can be sent from the special area in a customer account dashboard. Referring people is also possible via special broadcast link, which can be posted in public sources.
- Enable referral system - activates / deactivates the referral bonuses
- Points for inviting a friend - sets the amount of points for inviting a friend (the points are added after a referral navigates to the store and creates an account)
- Day limit for points for inviting a friend - this option restricts the total amount of points a customer can earn for invitations a day. After the limit is reached, the customer will still be able to send invitations, but they will not get the rewards for the "extra" invitations
- Points awarded to customer for their referrals' purchases (Each Order / First Order) - defines whether a referrer will earn bonus for their referral's initial order only, or for each of their subsequent orders as well. The points are granted when a referral's order reaches "Complete" state.
Note, this limit is per-referral - Points awarded to customer for their referral's purchases (fixed and % amounts) - sets the actual amount of referral bonus.
Note, the 2 amount stack, so if you specify both kinds of bonus, a referrer will earn fixed + %.
Notifications
The extension's notifications can be configured in System-> Configuration-> aheadWorks Extensions-> Points And Rewards-> Notifications.
In this tab, you can Enable the emails, select their Sender and the templates for each of the supported message types:
Balance Update, Points Expiration, Customer Birthday and Invitation email
Subscribe customers by default (Yes / No) option defines whether the customers will be automatically subscribed to module's notifications.
Email sending before points expiring (in days) option sets the period before the expiration when the expiration warning will be sent.
Advanced
Reset all transactions option is meant for moving a store from staging to live. Clicking this button will set balance to "0" for all the customers, transactions history will be cleared up as well.
The extension's settings, rules and rates will not be deleted.
Points Rates
The Earn and Spend rates define the conversion rates of point units.
The rates can be set in Promotions-> Points And Rewards-> Points Rates-> Earn / Spend Rate.
- Spend Rate defines how points are treated when applied to an order. Setting Spend Rate is obligatory, no points earned for any kind of store activities can be applied unless the spend rates are set.
- Earn Rate defines what percentage of the customers spendings will be converted to points. If no Earn Rates are created, a customer will only be able to receive points for general store activities, for referring friends and via the special points rules.
A rate setup is pretty straightforward: you can choose the website and customer group (s) the specific rate will apply to.
The rate itself is set like X $ >> Y Reward Point(s) for earning and X Reward Point(s) >> Y $ for spending
NOTE: Do not use decimal values in rates. If you need to set up 10% rebate rate, set it like this: 10$ >> 1 point . If you need 1 point to equal $0.1 on the checkout, set it up like 10 points >> $1
Points rules
Along with the regular rewards for store activities and the % of spendings, the Points And Rewards extension allows providing special fixed-amount points bonuses if an order meets certain conditions.
This option is implemented via rule system, similar to the standard Shopping Cart Price Rules. The points rules can be created and managed in Promotions-> Points And Rewards-> Reward Rules grid.
The rule configuration is mostly identical to any other Magento rules. In General Information tab, you are to specify the basic rule parameters (Name, Description, Status, From-To Dates, etc). In Conditions tab, you can define the actual criteria for triggering the rule (Available conditions are based on Shopping Cart contents).
In Actions tab, you can specify the actual rule reward.
Note, that the module only supports fixed amount actions. No % or other values types are allowed.
In Related Blocks tab, you can choose the info block to be displayed in the Shopping Cart page if rule is triggered. You can select any of the existent CMS blocks.
Coupons
The Points And Rewards extension allows issuing coupons (or vouchers) - special codes that can be applied in the customer account dashboard. Applying a coupon immediately updates the reward points balance, the target points bonus is instantly granted.
Applying a coupon is a one-time operation, and a given coupon can be used only once per account. The general number of uses can be specified in the coupon settings - see below.
The coupons can be setup in Promotions-> Points And Rewards-> Coupons grid.
The standard options include Coupon Name , Description, Websites and Customer Groups selectors, From-To Dates and coupon Status.
- Coupon Code - in this field, you should specify the actual voucher code that your customers will need to submit to gain the bonus. You can use any text here. The extension does not generate any codes automatically.
- Uses per Coupon - limits the total number of voucher uses
- Activation Count - this counter will show the total number of coupon activations.
Transactions
The extension keeps record of every points-related transactions. You can view them on per-customer basis (in the Reward Points tab of the backend Customer View screen), or for the entire store in Promotions-> Points And Rewards-> Transactions.
From the Transactions grid, you can also perform mass balance updates. You should just click Add New button, select the customers (if Market Segmentation Suite is installed, you can use its rules to filter the customers ), and specify the transaction comment and amount*.
*Negative values are also allowed, in this case, saving the transaction will subtract the target amount from customers' current balance.
Current Balance widget
The Points And Rewards extension adds a new widget type: AW Points Balance
This widget is displayed for logged in users, and show the current points balance of their accounts. The usage is identical to any standard Magento widgets
Integration with other aheadWorks modules
The Points And Rewards extension features integration with the following aW products:
- Market Segmentation Suite - the MSS rules can be applied to customer list when adding mass transaction.
- Video Testimonials - if this module is installed, you can reward your customers for submitting product videos.
- Product Questions 2 - if this module is installed, you can reward your customer for answering Product Questions. New option appears in the Earning Points tab of the modules' s config.
Important notes
- Points section is located at the Payment Section at the Checkout page (4th step), so if payment method with its own checkout (e.g. PayPal) is used and it is selected on the Shopping Cart page (e.g. the Check out with PayPal button is clicked) , points can not be applied as discounts. The best solution here is to disable this payment button for the Shopping Cart page (Example for PayPal Express at Magento 1.5: go to System > Configuration > Express Checkout Settings > Shortcut on Shopping Cart and set 'No')
- For Magento 1.3 only: the extension is NOT compatible with PayPal.
- Please, note that different Payment Gateways process the order payments in different ways, some of them do not accept the zero-subtotal orders.
If you allow your customers to fully pay the order amount with the reward points, please, make sure that your payment methods accept such orders.
In case your payment provider turns out not to allow it, you can consider the following scenarios:
- allow Zero Checkout payment method at your store;
- specify the point usage limit via the "Amount available for paying at checkout by points, %" option in System-> Configuration-> aheadWorks Extensions-> Points And Rewards-> General backend menu;
- try switching the "Points spending calculation" option between "Before Tax" and "After Tax" to see whether the payment method starts accepting the orders.
- The points block at product page will only be displayed for Simple, Virtual, Downloadable and Configurable products. For the Grouped and Bundle items, this block will not be shown.
Uninstallation
If you just need to temporary disable the extension, you can just do the steps 1-5, without deleting the files of the extension.
- Disable compilation, in case it is enabled.
- Login to your FTP, navigate to app/etc/modules/
Open the file AW_Points.xml and change the following line:
to
Now your Magento is unaware of the existence of this module.
- Clear the cache under var/cache
- Make sure that the site is working properly, otherwise roll back the changes and apply to our technical support.
- If everything works fine, it is safe to delete the files of the extension.
- In case you need to clean the database, backup your database and then run the following queries in MySQL:
Note, if you are using the table with prefixes, you must specify them in all table names.
If you are not sure how to do that or expect any troubles with it, please contact your server administrator regarding the matter.
If you remove the tables as it is described above, you will need to create all rules again after the extension is reinstalled. All transactions history will be lost as well.
Troubleshooting
After the extension installation the store gives an error, or blank page, or suggests to start Magento installation procedure.
Change the owner of the extracted extension files to the web server user and set 775 permissions on them. Clear the store cache and try again.
After the extension installation I receive 404 error in System->Configuration->Points & Rewards.
Logout from backend and login back again.
There is no aheadWorks extensions under my configuration section, or having the extension tab clicked I get a blank page, or Access Denied error.
Clear the store cache, browser cookies, logout and login again.
I've set up everything correctly, inserted the HTML code but there is nothing on that page.
Clear the store cache, clear your browser cache and domain cookies and refresh the page.
My configuration changes do not appear on the store.
Clear the store cache, clear your browser cache and domain cookies and refresh the page.
I have enabled and configured the extension, but the Apply Points option does not appear in the checkout.
Make sure that you have setup Points Spend Rate.
You can always find the latest version of the software, full documentation, demos, screenshots and reviews at http://ecommerce.aheadworks.com
License agreement: http://ecommerce.aheadworks.com/LICENSE-M1.txt
Contact us: http://ecommerce.aheadworks.com/contacts/
Copyright © 2019 aheadWorks Co. http://www.aheadworks.com