The Submit a Receipt rule lets customers upload a photo of a receipt from an in-store, pop-up or stockist purchase and earn for it. Each receipt is read and checked automatically, then held for you to approve or reject. Nothing is awarded until you approve it.
How to add the rule
From your Shopify admin, open the Mage Loyalty app and click Loyalty.
In the Earning Points section, click Add Earning Rule.
Open the In-Store tab and choose Submit a Receipt.
Fill in the settings below.
Click Save Changes.
Settings
Setting | What it does |
Earning method | Per amount spent works like your Purchase rule, for example 1 point per $1 on the receipt. Fixed gives the same amount for every approved receipt. |
Receipt validation | Every receipt is scanned automatically and then waits for you to approve or reject it. Nothing is awarded without your approval, and there is no automatic approval option. |
Accepted stores | Off by default. Tick Only accept receipts from specific stores, then tick the stores you accept from the list: Target, Walmart, Costco, CVS, 7-Eleven, Walgreens, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Best Buy, Macy's, Nordstrom, Sephora and Ulta. You cannot add your own store names. A receipt from any other store is not blocked: it is flagged when you review it. Close matches on the store name count, so the wording does not need to match the receipt exactly. |
Maximum receipt age | Receipts dated more than this many days ago are flagged when you review them. They are not rejected. Default 30 days. |
Minimum purchase amount | Receipts with a total below this value are flagged when you review them. They are not rejected. Leave at 0 for no minimum. |
Earning limit | Caps how many receipts a customer can submit in a period, for example 3 per month. Off by default. A customer who has reached the limit cannot upload another receipt until the period has passed. Rejected receipts do not count towards it. |
Email reminders | On by default. Mage emails you once a week while receipts are waiting for your review. |
Custom description | Under Advanced settings. Replaces the text customers see for this rule, up to 100 characters. Type {amount} to show the amount earned and {spend} to show the spend it is earned on. Leave it blank to keep the automatic text. |
Custom icon | An image shown next to the rule on your storefront. A default icon is used if you do not upload one. |
Status | Turns the rule on or off for customers. |
How it works
The customer opens the rule in your Rewards Widget, Account Sidebar or Loyalty Pages and uploads a photo of their receipt (an image up to 5 MB). They need to be signed in.
A receipt that has already been submitted (the same photo, or the same transaction number) is turned down straight away. Any other receipt is accepted, and the customer is told it is being reviewed.
Mage reads the store name, total, date and line items from the image, then checks the receipt against your settings and for signs of a fake or a duplicate. A receipt that does not meet your store, age or minimum amount settings is not rejected: it is flagged for you.
The receipt waits under Pending Review until you approve or reject it.
When you approve it, the amount is added to the customer's balance straight away.
When you reject it, the customer is emailed your reason if the Receipt Rejected Email is switched on. See the next section.
Reviewing submissions
Open the Submit a Receipt rule and click View Submissions in the panel on the right, or click Submissions on the rule's row on the Loyalty page.
The list opens on Pending Review. Use the filter to switch to Processing, Approved, Rejected or All, or search by customer email. The Fraud Risk column rates each receipt Low, Medium or High.
Click Review to see the receipt image, the details read from it and the AI Review card. The card lists anything that needs your attention, such as a possible duplicate, a store that is not on your list, a receipt older than your limit or a total below your minimum.
Under Line Items, tick the items that qualify, or click Include all. No item is ticked to begin with. With the per amount spent method, each ticked item is filled in at your rate, and you can type a different amount against any item. Click + Add line item to add an item of your own with a description, a price and an amount.
Check the total, then click Approve & Award. The button shows the amount the customer will receive. To turn the receipt down instead, enter a Rejection Reason and click Reject.
A new receipt shows Processing for a short time while it is being read, then moves to Pending Review. If you do not want to wait, or the receipt could not be read, open it and add a line item to set the amount yourself.
Write the rejection reason for the customer. It is emailed to them if the Receipt Rejected Email is switched on under Email Templates, in the AI Receipts group. That email is off by default, and without it the customer is not told about a rejection. You cannot change a decision once a receipt is approved or rejected.
Common mistakes to avoid
Relying on Accepted stores to block receipts. A receipt from a store that is not on your list still reaches your queue with a warning, and it is up to you to reject it.
Leaving the earning limit off. Every receipt needs your approval, so a customer who submits many receipts in a short period fills your queue.
Setting a short receipt age at launch. If you announce the rule by email with a 7 day window, many receipts will arrive older than the limit and be flagged for you to check. 30 days is a sensible starting point.
Approving without checking the total. No line item is ticked to begin with, so the amount to award starts at 0. Tick the items that qualify before you click Approve & Award.
Troubleshooting
A customer's receipt was rejected but they say it is valid
Open the submission under the Rejected filter to read the rejection reason. One marked Auto-Rejected was turned down automatically, usually because the same receipt had already been submitted.
If the photo was the problem, ask them to submit a clear, flat, fully visible receipt. A receipt you have rejected can be submitted again.
If you are satisfied it is genuine, add the amount manually from the Customers page.
Submissions are not reaching my queue
Customers must be signed in to submit. Guests cannot upload.
A new receipt sits under Processing for a short time before it moves to Pending Review.
A receipt that was already submitted goes straight to Rejected.
A customer who has reached your earning limit cannot upload until the period has passed.
A receipt from a store that is not on my list is in my queue
This is expected. Accepted stores, Maximum receipt age and Minimum purchase amount add a warning to the receipt when you review it. They do not stop it being submitted. Reject it with a reason if it does not qualify.
A receipt was approved but the customer earned nothing
The total was 0 when it was approved, usually because no line items were ticked. An approval cannot be changed, so add the amount manually from the Customers page.
The rule is not showing on my storefront
Check the rule status is on and Program Status is Enabled on the Loyalty page.