> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orderprotection.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Store Credit
> Store credit as a claim resolution — the three types, the permissions each requires, how bonuses work, and how store credit is tracked for accounting.
Store credit is one of the ways a claim can be resolved. Instead of returning funds to the original payment method, the customer receives credit to spend with your store. Order Protection supports three forms of store credit, and you can add an optional **bonus** to make store credit more appealing than a refund.
## Store credit resolution types
You choose which form of store credit to offer under **Settings > Claims**. Each behaves a little differently for the customer:
| Type | What the customer receives | Reusability | Notes |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Gift Card** | A Shopify gift card (code + balance) | Multi-use until the balance is spent | Familiar if you already use gift cards |
| **Discount Code** | A single-use discount code | Applies to one order | Simple, one-and-done payout |
| **Account Credit** | Credit added to the customer's Shopify store-credit balance (their "wallet") | Multi-use, and **stacks across claims** | The most seamless option — no code to enter |
**Account Credit** is the most streamlined experience: the credit lives on the customer's Shopify account and applies at checkout like a payment method. If a customer has more than one approved claim, each credit tops up the same wallet balance rather than creating multiple separate codes to track.
## Permissions required
Each store credit type relies on specific Shopify access scopes being granted to the Order Protection app. If a required scope is missing, that option can't be offered until the app is re-authorized.
| Type | Shopify access scopes |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Gift Card | `write_gift_cards`, `write_gift_card_transactions` |
| Discount Code | `write_discounts` |
| Account Credit | `write_store_credit_account_transactions`, `read_store_credit_accounts` (plus `read_store_credit_account_transactions` for reporting) |
Scopes are granted when the Order Protection app is installed or updated. If you switch to a store credit type you haven't used before, you may be prompted to re-authorize the app so the new permissions can be applied.
## Configuring store credit for resolutions
Store credit is configured under **Settings > Claims**.
Turn on store credit as a resolution option.
Select **Gift Card**, **Discount Code**, or **Account Credit**.
Cap the amount offered per claim as a percentage of the total approved claim value.
Add a fixed or percentage bonus on top of the store credit to incentivize customers to choose it over a refund.
## How customers receive store credit
When a claim is approved with a store credit resolution, the credit is issued automatically and the customer is notified — a gift card is emailed, a discount code is generated, or credit is added directly to their Shopify account, depending on the type you've chosen.
For **Account Credit**, the amount is added straight to the customer's store-credit balance. If they already have a balance, the new credit stacks on top of it, so one wallet can hold credit from multiple claims.
## Store credit bonuses
A "bonus" can refer to two different things. They're configured in different places and serve different purposes.
### Bonus on claim resolutions
Configured under **Settings > Claims**, this is an extra amount added on top of a store credit resolution — as a fixed amount or a percentage — to encourage customers to accept store credit instead of a refund.
On claims eligible for reimbursement, the bonus portion is not reimbursed to you.
### Bonus at checkout
Separately, your cart widget can offer customers a free gift card or store credit as an incentive to add Order Protection at checkout — for example, "*& receive a free `{{store_credit_value}}` gift card*". The `{{store_credit_value}}` macro is replaced with the configured amount.
This incentive is turned on and customized in your widget settings. See [Widgets](/education-basecamp/customizations/widgets) for how to configure the cart and checkout widget.
## Accounting & reconciliation
The section below covers how store credit shows up for accounting — attribution, where to report on it, and how the credit and debit sides are recorded. It's collapsed because it's a lot of detail; expand it if you need it.
**The credit-in / debit-out model**
Store credit has two sides. When a credit is issued, an amount is **added** to the customer's balance (a credit). When the customer spends it at checkout, an amount is **drawn down** (a debit). Account credit can be spent partially and across multiple orders, so a single credit may be redeemed over time rather than all at once.
**Attribution**
Every store credit transaction in Shopify records the source that created it. Credits issued by Order Protection are attributed to the **Order Protection app** — visible in the **"Source"** column of the customer's store credit ledger (Customers → \[customer] → Store credit) and the **"Store credit source"** column of Shopify's store credit transactions report. Credits added manually by a staff member show that person's name instead.
**Where each side is recorded**
Issuance is recorded in both Order Protection and Shopify. Account credit *redemption* (the customer spending their wallet at checkout) is recorded by **Shopify**, not Order Protection. So Shopify is the source of truth for redemption and balance totals, while Order Protection is where you tie a specific credit back to the claim that generated it.
**Reporting in Shopify**
Shopify has two dedicated store credit reports at **Analytics → Reports → Categories → Finances** (these require new Shopify Analytics to be enabled):
* **Store credit transactions report** — every credit, debit, and expiration across all customers, with the store credit source and the associated order.
* **Outstanding store credit balance report** — starting and ending balance per period, with credited / debited / expired amounts and net change. This is your store credit liability over time.
Store credit also appears as a payment method in payments reports such as **Net payments by gateway** when customers redeem it.
**Admin GraphQL API**
For automated or BI reporting, the Shopify Admin GraphQL API exposes each customer's store credit account, balance, and full transaction history:
```graphql theme={null}
{
customer(id: "gid://shopify/Customer/1234567890") {
storeCreditAccounts(first: 10) {
nodes {
balance { amount currencyCode }
transactions(first: 100) {
nodes {
amount { amount currencyCode }
balanceAfterTransaction { amount currencyCode }
createdAt
}
}
}
}
}
}
```
A debit transaction's origin resolves to the order it was spent on, so redemptions can be traced to a specific order. For a store-wide export, use a bulk operation across customers. Required scopes: `read_store_credit_accounts` and `read_store_credit_account_transactions`.
**Bookkeeping mechanics**
Issuing store credit creates a store credit liability (the balance you now owe the customer). Redeeming it draws down that liability and is recognized as revenue when the order ships, with the store credit acting as the tender for the sale.
This describes the mechanics only. Confirm the exact general-ledger treatment with your accountant.
## Related
Configure store credit, the claim queue, offline claims, and sub-types.
Set up the cart and checkout widget, including the store credit incentive.
How customers and merchants file and resolve claims.