Would you like to reward members with points every time they buy from your store? The Make a purchase action in RewardsWP awards points on each paid order, at a rate you set, on the items you choose.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through setting up Make a purchase. We’ll also explain when RewardsWP awards purchase points and when it takes them back. All you need is RewardsWP connected to a WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads store.
Requirements: Specific items, which lets only the items you pick earn points, requires a Plus license level or higher.
- Turning On Make a Purchase
- Setting the Earning Rate
- Choosing Which Items Earn Points
- When Are Points Awarded?
- What Happens to Points When You Refund an Order?
- FAQ
Before you get started, make sure RewardsWP is installed and activated on your WordPress site, and connected to your WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads store.
Turning On Make a Purchase
To get started, we’ll open the Make a purchase action and turn it on.
From your WordPress admin sidebar, go to RewardsWP » Settings and click the Points tab.
Under Ways to Earn, find the Make a purchase action and click its Edit button.
At the top of the drawer, the Status switch must be on. While it’s off, orders earn no purchase points.
With Make a purchase turned on, you’re ready to set its earning rate.
Setting the Earning Rate
The earning rate decides how many points members get for what they spend.
Under Earning rate, enter the points members earn in the first field and the spend amount that earns them in the second.
A new Make a purchase action starts at 5 points per 1 unit of your store’s currency. For a currency without decimals, the default spend amount is 100. The spend amount is a whole number.
For example, to reward 10 points for every $2 spent, enter 10 in the points field and 2 in the spend amount field. The example under the fields shows what a member earns on a sample product at your rate. This lets you check the rate before you save.
The note under the fields is a reminder that points count the matching items’ subtotal, excluding tax and shipping, and round down.
Members in a VIP tier earn at the tier’s multiplier. The product page points notice shows each logged-in member the boosted amount. RewardsWP rounds boosted points down to a whole number.
See Setting VIP Points Multipliers.
Next, you’ll choose which items earn points at this rate.
Choosing Which Items Earn Points
The Earns on setting chooses which items in an order earn points.
- Entire order: every item earns points. Items you list under Exclude, such as gift cards, earn nothing. Choose this if most of your catalog earns points.
- Specific items: only the items you pick earn points. Choose this if only a few products earn points. It needs the Plus license level or higher.
Points then count only the matching items’ subtotal. On the product page, each product that earns points shows a notice with the points a member earns when they buy it.
A product that earns nothing shows no points notice on its product page.
To set up these rules, read Excluding products from rewards and points.
At the bottom of the drawer, the summary describes what members earn in one sentence. When the summary looks right, click Save.
The drawer’s Save only updates the page. After that, click Save Changes in the bar with the settings tabs.
Your Make a purchase settings are now saved. Next, we’ll cover when members receive their points.
When Are Points Awarded?
Points aren’t awarded the moment a customer clicks “Place order.” Until the order is paid, its points are pending. RewardsWP approves them when the order reaches a qualifying status in WooCommerce:
- Processing: points are awarded when the order moves to processing. This is the most common trigger for standard payment methods, such as credit cards and PayPal.
- Completed: points are also awarded when the order moves to completed. Cash on Delivery (COD) orders wait for this status. Their points stay pending while the order is processing, until you mark the order completed.
If an order moves directly from “pending” to “completed” (skipping “processing”), points are still awarded exactly once. RewardsWP tracks which orders have already been credited to prevent duplicate points.
With Easy Digital Downloads, RewardsWP approves an order’s points when the order is complete.
If an order ends unpaid because it’s cancelled, fails, or is refunded before payment, RewardsWP removes its pending points.
To learn more, read Understanding points statuses.
Once points are approved, a refund in your store can still take them back.
What Happens to Points When You Refund an Order?
When you refund an order in your store, RewardsWP automatically takes the matching points back from the member’s balance. How many it takes depends on the refund:
- Full refund: RewardsWP takes back the order’s own purchase and first-order points. It never takes back birthday or referral points.
- Partial refund: RewardsWP takes back only the points the refunded items earned. A refunded item that earned no points takes nothing back. Refunding only shipping takes no points. However many partial refunds you make, RewardsWP never takes back more than the order earned.
- Refunding the rest of an order: after a partial refund, refunding the remaining items takes back only the points that are left.
- Refund while points are pending: a partial refund updates the order’s pending points. Payment then approves only the points for what the member kept.
RewardsWP logs the reversal in the member’s activity log as a “Refunded” entry. On the member’s admin profile, a partial refund shows as “Partially Refunded.” This gives both you and the member a clear record of what happened.
That’s it! Members now earn points on every paid order, on the items you choose. Next, to keep products such as gift cards from earning points, read Excluding products from rewards and points.
FAQ
Below, we’ve answered some of the most common questions about earning points from purchases.
Do points count the order total or only the subtotal?
Points count the subtotal after discounts, excluding tax and shipping. With an Earns on rule, only the matching items’ subtotal counts. Coupon codes, loyalty discounts, and other reductions lower the points earned in proportion. RewardsWP rounds the result down.
Can I set different earn rates for different products or categories?
The Earns on setting chooses which products and categories earn points at your rate. With Entire order and exclusions, items such as gift cards earn nothing, on every license level. Specific items, on the Plus license level or higher, lets only the items you pick earn.
See Excluding products from rewards and points.
What happens to orders paid while Make a purchase is off?
They don’t earn any points, even if you turn the action back on later. RewardsWP checks the action when an order is first paid. An order paid while it’s off never earns.
Can I adjust a member’s points by hand?
Yes. You can add or deduct points for any member from RewardsWP » Members, with the Adjust points option on the member’s row or profile.
See Managing members.