When processing a payment in your Control Panel, you'll notice that there are two different options for Gift Certificates: System and External.

Gift Certificates - System

This option is for processing system-generated gift certificates. These are gift certificate codes that are sold and tracked directly through Starboard Suite.

Because we generate these gift certificates for you, we are able to verify their validity, value and redemption status.

When you redeem a system gift certificate, we will mark it as "redeemed", so that it can't be used again.

Gift Certificates - External

If you keep track of your gift certificates using an external system (outside of Starboard Suite), this is a way that you can apply those gift certificates as payments.

Since you tracked these gift certificates externally, we aren't able to validate them, check their value or mark them as redeemed. You'll need to track their validity, value and status on your own.

Living in harmony

If you sold some gift certificates externally, you can continue to process these as external gift certificates even after you begin selling system gift certificates. Just use the payment method that corresponds to the source of the gift certificate.