Why Use the Receipt Submission Rule?
Most loyalty programs only track online orders. If your brand sells through physical retail locations, pop-ups, or wholesale stockists, those customers are invisible to your loyalty program, and they don't come back online.
The Receipt Submission rule solves this. It captures in-store purchase data and connects it to your loyalty program, creating a single unified experience for customers, no matter where they shop.
Capture loyalty data from in-store and wholesale purchases
Increase repeat visits - customers return online to claim their points
Give stockist and retail customers a reason to engage with your brand directly
Built-in fraud detection keeps the program fair and financially sound
How the Receipt Submission Rule Works
Unlike other earning rules that fire automatically, receipt submissions go through a multi-step validation process. Here is the full flow from submission to points:
Step | Stage | Detail |
1 | Customer submits receipt | Customer photographs their in-store receipt and uploads it through the loyalty sidebar, widget, or landing page. |
2 | AI scans the receipt | Mage Loyalty's AI (powered by OpenAI Vision) reads the receipt image and extracts the merchant name, purchase total, date, and transaction ID. |
3 | Validation checks run | The system checks the receipt against your configured rules: accepted stores, minimum purchase amount, maximum receipt age, and fraud signals. |
4 | Fraud detection | The AI flags manipulated images, impossible dates, duplicate transaction IDs, and other signs of a fake receipt. Detected fraud is automatically rejected. |
5 | Approval or review | If Auto-approve is on, valid receipts earn points immediately. If Manual review is on, receipts enter a queue for you to approve or reject. |
6 | Points awarded | Once approved, points are credited to the customer's loyalty account, and they receive a notification. |
🛡️ Fraud Protection
Mage Loyalty uses AI-powered fraud detection on every receipt submitted. The system automatically identifies and rejects manipulated images, digitally generated receipts, impossible dates, and duplicate transaction IDs. You do not need to catch fraud manually; the system handles it for you.
Create the Receipt Submission Rule
Follow these steps to add the Receipt Submission rule to your loyalty program.
From your Shopify admin, open the Mage Loyalty app.
In the left menu, click Loyalty.
Scroll to the Earning Points section and click Add Earning Rule.
Select Submit a Receipt from the rule type list.
Configure the rule settings (covered in detail in the sections below).
Click Save Changes. The rule is now Active.
Earning Method
The Earning Method controls how points are calculated from each receipt. You have two options:
Field | What It Does | Options / Default |
Points per amount spent | Customers earn a set number of points for every $1 spent on the receipt. Works like your Purchase earning rule. | e.g. 1 point per $1 spent |
Fixed points | Every approved receipt earns the same flat number of points, regardless of the purchase total. | e.g. 50 points per receipt |
✅ Tip
Points per amount spent is the most common choice. It naturally rewards higher-value purchases and feels fair to customers. Use Fixed points if your in-store purchases tend to be a similar value, or if you want to keep the reward simple and predictable.
Receipt Validation ~ Approval Settings
All receipts are automatically scanned by AI for fraud before reaching this stage. The Approval setting controls what happens to receipts that pass the AI check.
Field | What It Does | Options / Default |
Auto-approve validated receipts | Points are awarded immediately once a receipt passes the AI validation. No manual action needed from you. | Fastest experience for customers |
Require manual approval | Validated receipts enter a review queue. You must approve or reject each one before points are awarded. Detected fraud is still rejected automatically. | Default -recommended for most stores |
ℹ️ Note
Mage Loyalty recommends starting with Manual approval while you get familiar with the types of receipts your customers submit. Once you are confident in the quality of submissions, you can switch to Auto-approve.
✅ Tip
If you choose Manual approval, set aside time each week to review your submission queue. Customers are waiting on their points; a long delay reduces the impact of the reward. You can access the queue by clicking View Submissions on the right side of the rule settings page.
Accepted Stores
By default, Mage Loyalty accepts receipts from any store. If you only want to accept receipts from specific retail locations, for example, your own physical stores or authorised stockists, you can restrict this here.
To accept receipts from specific stores only:
Check the box labelled Only accept receipts from specific stores.
Enter the names of the stores you want to accept receipts from.
The AI will use fuzzy matching to verify that the merchant name on each submitted receipt matches your accepted stores list.
ℹ️ Note
Fuzzy matching means the AI can recognise slight variations in store names. For example, "Nike Store" and "Nike Retail" would both match "Nike". You do not need to enter the exact name as it appears on every receipt.
⚠️ Common Mistake
If you leave Accepted Stores unchecked, customers can submit receipts from any store, including unrelated purchases. If your brand sells through specific locations only, always restrict this to prevent off-topic submissions.
Receipt Requirements
Receipt Requirements let you set minimum conditions that a receipt must meet to be eligible for points. Both fields are found in the Receipt Requirements section of the rule settings.
Field | What It Does | Options / Default |
Maximum receipt age | Receipts older than this number of days will be automatically rejected. Prevents customers from submitting old receipts long after the purchase. | Default: 30 days |
Minimum purchase amount | Receipts below this dollar value will not earn points. Set to $0 to accept any purchase amount. | Default: $0 (no minimum) |
✅ Tip
A 30-day maximum receipt age is a sensible default for most stores. If you run seasonal in-store events or want to capture receipts from a recent campaign, you can temporarily increase this window.
⚠️ Common Mistake
Setting a minimum purchase amount too high can deter customers from participating. If your average in-store transaction is $40, a $50 minimum will exclude most genuine submissions. Start at $0 and adjust if you see a pattern of very low-value receipts.
Earning Limit
The Earning Limit option lets you cap how often a customer can earn points through receipt submissions within a set time period. This helps prevent customers from gaming the program by submitting receipts in bulk.
To enable an earning limit:
Check the box labelled Limit how often customers can earn points by submitting receipts.
Set the maximum number of receipts a customer can submit within the time period.
Set the time period (e.g. 1 receipt per 7 days, or 3 receipts per 30 days).
ℹ️ Note
If you leave this unchecked, customers can submit an unlimited number of receipts. This is fine for most stores, especially if you have Manual approval turned on, as you can catch unusual submission patterns in the review queue.
Custom Icon
You can upload a custom icon for the Receipt Submission rule. This icon appears next to the rule in the customer-facing Ways to Earn section of the loyalty sidebar, widget, and landing page.
Click Add image in the Custom Icon panel on the right side of the settings page.
Upload a square image: PNG or SVG recommended.
If no icon is uploaded, a default icon will be displayed.
Complete Field Reference
A quick reference of every configurable field on the Edit Receipt Submission Rule page:
Field | What It Does | Options | Default |
Earning Method | How points are calculated per receipt | Points per $1 / Fixed points | Points per $1 |
Points per $1 Spent | Points awarded per dollar on the receipt | Any number | 1 |
Fixed Points | Flat points per approved receipt | Any number | — |
Receipt Validation | What happens after AI validation passes | Auto-approve / Manual review | Manual review |
Accepted Stores | Restrict submissions to specific store names | Off / Specific stores list | Off (all stores) |
Maximum Receipt Age | Oldest receipt that will be accepted (in days) | Any number of days | 30 days |
Minimum Purchase Amount | Lowest receipt value eligible for points | Any dollar amount | $0 (no minimum) |
Earning Limit | Cap how many receipts a customer can submit per time period | Off / On with frequency settings | Off |
Custom Icon | Icon shown next to the rule in the loyalty UI | Image upload | Default icon |
Status | Enable or disable the rule | Enabled / Disabled | Enabled |
Managing Receipt Submissions
Once the rule is live, customers will begin submitting receipts. You can review and manage all submissions from the Receipt Submissions panel.
To access the submissions queue:
Open the Receipt Submission rule settings page.
On the right side, click View Submissions in the Receipt Submissions panel.
Approving or Rejecting a Submission
Click on any submission to view the receipt image and the AI-extracted details (merchant name, purchase total, date, transaction ID).
Review any fraud indicators flagged by the AI.
Click Approve to award points, or Reject to decline the submission.
When rejecting, you can enter a reason - this is visible internally and helps you track patterns.
ℹ️ Note
Even with Auto-approve enabled, receipts that trigger fraud detection are still sent to the manual review queue. You will always have the opportunity to review suspicious submissions before points are awarded.
What Happens After Activation
Once the Receipt Submission rule is Active:
The rule appears in the Ways to Earn section of the loyalty sidebar, widget, and landing page.
Customers can upload receipt photos directly from any of those touchpoints.
Receipts are processed immediately. The customer sees a confirmation that their submission is under review.
Points are credited once the submission is approved (automatically or manually, depending on your setting).
Customers receive a Points Earned email notification when points land in their account (if email notifications are enabled).
Common Mistakes to Avoid
⚠️ Common Mistake
Leaving Accepted Stores open when you only have one or two specific retail locations: Customers will submit receipts from unrelated stores. Always restrict to your actual accepted locations if applicable.
⚠️ Common Mistake
Choosing Auto-approve before you know your submission patterns: Start with Manual review. Once you have seen a few weeks of submissions and trust the quality, you can switch to Auto-approve.
⚠️ Common Mistake
Setting a maximum receipt age too short during launch: If you announce the receipt rule in a newsletter but set a 7-day window, many customers will miss it. Start with 30 days and adjust over time.
⚠️ Common Mistake
Not setting an earning limit: Without a limit, a motivated customer could submit many receipts in a short period. If you are using Auto-approve, an earning limit is especially important to have in place.
Troubleshooting
A customer's receipt was rejected but they believe it is valid
Ask the customer to check that the receipt is clear, unfolded, and fully visible in the photo. Poor image quality is the most common cause of rejection.
Review the submission manually in View Submissions. Check the AI fraud indicators to understand why it was flagged.
If you are satisfied the receipt is genuine, you can manually approve it and add the points. Go to Customers, find the customer, and use Manual Points Adjustment if needed.
The receipt rule is not appearing in the loyalty sidebar
Confirm the rule status is set to Enabled in the right-hand panel of the rule settings page.
Check that your overall Program Status is set to Enabled on the main Loyalty Program page.
Submissions are not appearing in the review queue
Make sure customers are logged into their account when submitting. Guest sessions cannot submit receipts.
Check that the receipt meets your Receipt Requirements (age and minimum amount). Submissions that fail these checks are rejected before reaching the queue.
I want to change from Manual approval to Auto-approve
Open the Receipt Submission rule, go to Receipt Validation, select Auto-approve validated receipts, and click Save Changes.
This change applies to new submissions only. Receipts already in the queue are not affected.
🗨️ Still need help or can’t find the answers you’re looking for? Reach out to the Mage Loyalty team through our live chat support.