# FAQs ## Getting Started ### How does Giveaway Gator integrate with my Shopify store? Install directly from the Shopify App Store. Giveaway Gator sets up webhooks automatically, adds optional theme blocks for your storefront, and includes a checkout extension for entry confirmation on the thank-you page. The entire setup takes under 5 minutes. ### How long does it take to set up? Most merchants are up and running in under 5 minutes. Create a promotion, set your dollar-per-entry rate, and entries start calculating on your next order. Theme blocks and bonus configuration can be added at any time — they're not required to get started. --- ## Entries & Calculations ### How are entries calculated? You set a dollar-per-entry rate (e.g., $1 = 1 entry). A $100 order earns 100 base entries. Bonuses and multipliers stack on top via a layered calculation engine that ensures the correct priority is always applied. See [How Entry Math Works](entry-math.md) for the full breakdown. ### Do entries sync automatically? Yes. Giveaway Gator processes new orders and calculates entries in real-time as they come in. No manual sync is needed. ### What about post-purchase upsells? Post-purchase upsell orders are processed automatically. The upsell amount is included in the entry calculation just like a regular order. ### What about TikTok Shop and Meta orders? Orders from TikTok Shop, Meta, and other sales channels that sync to Shopify are processed automatically. As long as the order appears in your Shopify admin, Giveaway Gator will calculate entries for it. ### Are refunded or cancelled orders removed? Yes. When an order is refunded or cancelled in Shopify, Giveaway Gator automatically adjusts the customer's entries accordingly. ### Are there any entry or order limits? No. All plans include unlimited orders and unlimited entries. Whether you process 100 orders or 100,000, you never hit a limit. ### Can I add entries manually? Yes. You can add manual entries from within the app (go to your promotion, click the **Entries** tab, then **Add Manual Entry**). You'll need the customer's email and the number of entries to award. See [Manual Entries](manual-entries.md) for details. ### Can I add entries through an API or Shopify Flow? Yes to both. Giveaway Gator has a [REST API](api-reference.md) for creating entries programmatically, and a [Shopify Flow](shopify-flow.md) action for building no-code automations — award entries when customers sign up, leave reviews, hit loyalty milestones, or anything else Flow can trigger. ### Do entries carry over between promotions? No. Each promotion tracks entries independently. When a promotion ends, those entries are final. A new promotion starts with a clean slate for every customer. ### What happens if I need to resync entries? One-click resync reprocesses all historical orders against your current promotion rules. If you change multipliers or add new bonus configurations, resync recalculates every entry. Useful if you make changes mid-promotion and want them applied retroactively. ### How does timezone handling work? All calculations respect your promotion's timezone setting. Bonus periods activate and deactivate at the correct local time. Order timestamps are converted from Shopify's timezone to your promotion timezone for accurate eligibility — so a "weekend bonus" starts at midnight in your timezone, not UTC. --- ## Promotions ### Can I run more than one promotion at the same time? Yes. Every order automatically earns entries in all active promotions — customers don't have to choose. Just make sure your bonus period multipliers are aligned across promotions so the product entry tags on your storefront display correctly. See [Running Multiple Promotions](multiple-promotions.md). ### Can I edit a promotion after it starts? Yes. You can change bonus periods, order bonuses, discount codes, and product bonuses at any time. Entries that were already calculated for past orders won't be retroactively changed, but all future orders will use the updated settings. Use resync if you want changes to apply to past orders. ### What happens when a promotion ends? The promotion stops accepting new entries. Existing entries are preserved — you can still view, export, and manage them. The promotion will no longer appear in the Entry Checker or on product tags. ### Can I delete a promotion? Yes, but be careful — deleting a promotion permanently removes all of its entries. If you just want to stop collecting entries, let the promotion reach its end date instead. ### Why is the countdown timer showing the wrong promotion's end time? When you run multiple promotions with different bonus periods, the countdown timer prioritizes the bonus period end time over the regular promotion end time. If two promotions have bonus periods ending at different times, the timer may display the one you don't expect. To fix this, align your bonus period start and end times across all active promotions so the timer shows a consistent countdown. See [Running Multiple Promotions](multiple-promotions.md) for more on managing overlapping promotions. ### Can I change multipliers week-to-week? Yes. You can adjust multipliers at any time by editing your bonus periods. Create separate bonus periods for each week with different multiplier values. Future orders will use the new multiplier automatically. If you want past orders to reflect the change, use the resync feature. See [Bonus Periods](bonus-periods.md). --- ## Bonuses & Multipliers ### What are product bonuses? Product bonuses let you assign higher multipliers to specific products. Customers buying those products earn more entries per dollar spent. You can set permanent shop-wide Super Bonuses or time-limited Product Bonus Periods. ### What's the difference between a bonus period and an order bonus? A **bonus period** multiplies all entries by a set amount during a specific timeframe (e.g., 10x entries this weekend). An **order bonus** awards flat bonus entries when a customer's order total exceeds a threshold (e.g., 50 bonus entries on orders over $100). They can stack — a customer can earn both in the same order. ### How do Order Multiplier Products work? Order Multiplier Products are virtual products in your Shopify store that customers can add to their cart. **Multiplier Upgrades** replace the current multiplier for the entire order (e.g., upgrade from 25x to 100x). **Super Multipliers** multiply the final entry count after all other calculations (e.g., a 10x Super Multiplier turns 250 entries into 2,500). Customers purchase them like any product — it's a way to sell multipliers instead of giving discounts. See [Order Multiplier Products](order-multipliers.md) for setup instructions. ### Can I stack multiple bonuses on a single order? Yes. Giveaway Gator applies bonuses in layers. A single order can benefit from product bonuses, an active bonus period multiplier, an order bonus, a discount code bonus, and an order multiplier product — all at once. See [How Entry Math Works](entry-math.md) for the full calculation order. ### How do discount code bonuses work? You add your Shopify discount codes to Giveaway Gator and assign bonus entries to each one. When a customer uses that code at checkout, they earn the bonus entries on top of their regular entries. The discount code itself is still managed in Shopify — Giveaway Gator just watches for it. See [Bonus Discount Codes](bonus-discount-codes.md). --- ## Storefront & Customer Experience ### How do the theme extensions work? Giveaway Gator includes drop-in blocks for your Shopify theme: a countdown timer for bonus periods, an entry checker for customers to look up their entries, and entry tags for product pages. All blocks can be added without code through the theme editor. For placements where Shopify doesn't support app blocks natively, our team will handle the install for you — no extra charge. ### How can customers check their entries? Add the **Entry Checker** block to a page on your store. Customers enter their email and instantly see their total entries and a breakdown by order. See [How Customers See Entries](entry-checker.md). ### What do customers see on product pages? Product entry tags show how many entries a product is worth at its current price, including any active multipliers. These update automatically as bonuses change. See [Entries on Product Cards](product-entry-tags.md). ### What do customers see after checkout? The thank-you page extension shows customers exactly how many entries they earned from their order, broken down by promotion. It activates automatically after installation. See [Thank You Page](thank-you-page.md). ### Can I survey customers after they buy? Yes, on Unlimited Pro. Post-purchase surveys appear on the thank-you page and the order status page and reward customers with bonus entries for answering. You get charts, audience segments, side-by-side comparisons, and CSV export of the results. See [Post-Purchase Surveys](surveys.md). ### Can I reward customers for following us or referring friends? Yes, on Unlimited Pro. Post-purchase actions add buttons to the thank-you page that award bonus entries when a customer follows you on social, completes a custom action, or (coming soon) refers a friend. See [Post-Purchase Actions](post-purchase-actions.md). ### Can I show entries in the order confirmation email? Yes. Giveaway Gator generates a branded image you can add to your Shopify order confirmation email template. It displays the customer's entry count for that order. See [Order Confirmation Email](order-confirmation-email.md). ### Do the storefront blocks work with all themes? The blocks are built as Shopify theme app extensions, so they work with any Online Store 2.0 theme. You add them through the theme editor just like any other block. ### Can I customize the appearance? Yes. All theme blocks are fully customizable through the Shopify theme editor — colors, fonts, border radius, and more. The blocks are designed to inherit your theme's styling so they feel native to your store. ### Can I show just the multiplier without a ticking countdown? Yes. If your template only uses `${multiplier}` or `${multiplierX}` without any time variables (`${days}`, `${hours}`, etc.), the element renders once and doesn't tick every second. This is perfect for displaying a static "50X Bonus Entries" badge or banner. The value still refreshes every 5 minutes to stay current. See [Countdown Timer — Multiplier-Only Display](countdown-timer.md#multiplier-only-display). --- ## Integrations ### Does Giveaway Gator work with Shopify Flow? Yes. Giveaway Gator connects to Flow as both an action provider and a data source. You can build visual automations in your Shopify admin without writing any code. The most common use is the **Add Entries** action, but Flow also lets you combine Giveaway Gator with other apps — for example, awarding entries when your loyalty app detects a tier upgrade, or when your reviews app receives a new submission. See [Shopify Flow](shopify-flow.md) for setup instructions and example workflows. ### Does it work with Shopify POS? Yes. Customers can claim entries from in-store POS purchases by entering their receipt number on your website. See [POS Claim API](pos-claim-api.md). ### Can I use Giveaway Gator with a headless storefront? Yes. Giveaway Gator provides full API support for Hydrogen, custom storefronts, and headless builds. You can calculate entries, check customer totals, and display promotion data through the API. See the [API Reference](api-reference.md). ### Can I award entries for email signups or social media follows? For **email signups**, use [Shopify Flow](shopify-flow.md) with the "Customer created" trigger to automatically award entries when someone subscribes. You can also create a bonus discount code that new subscribers receive, giving them bonus entries on their first purchase. See [Bonus Discount Codes](bonus-discount-codes.md). For **social media follows**, there's no built-in integration. Social platforms don't provide reliable follow-tracking integrations for Shopify stores. If you want to reward social engagement, consider sharing a bonus discount code with your followers — when they use the code at checkout, they earn bonus entries automatically. See [Bonus Discount Codes](bonus-discount-codes.md). ### Can I integrate Giveaway Gator with Klaviyo? There's no direct Klaviyo integration, but they work well together. Since Klaviyo signup forms create Shopify customer records, you can use the same Flow-based approach described above to award entries on signup. For Klaviyo-specific strategies, try adding a bonus discount code to your Klaviyo welcome series — subscribers get bonus entries on their first purchase, which incentivizes both the signup and the sale. ### Does Giveaway Gator work with subscription apps like Appstle or Recharge? Yes. Orders from subscription apps are processed like any other Shopify order, so entries are calculated automatically on each recurring charge. If you want to award a fixed number of bonus entries per subscription (rather than per-dollar entries), set the product's multiplier to 0 and add a bonus entry amount instead. This way subscribers get the same entry count regardless of the subscription price. --- ## Reliability ### How does webhook recovery work? Giveaway Gator uses self-healing webhooks that automatically detect if they've been deleted or interrupted, and recreate themselves without any manual intervention. Your order processing never misses a beat. ### What if something goes wrong with an order? Every entry includes a detailed audit log showing exactly how it was calculated — base entries, each bonus applied, and the final total. If something looks off, the audit log tells you why. You can also resync individual orders or your entire promotion at any time. --- ## Managing & Exporting ### How do I export entries? Go to your promotion's **Entries** tab and click **Export Entries**. You can export all entries, a date range, or just selected entries. The CSV format is ready for your sweepstakes administrator or compliance agency with no additional formatting needed. See [Exporting Entries](exporting-entries.md). ### Can I use test mode before going live? Yes. Test mode lets you preview entry calculations without processing real orders. It uses simulated data so you can verify your bonus setup is working correctly before launching. See [Test Mode](test-mode.md). ### Where do I find my Promotion ID? Open **Giveaway Gator** in your Shopify admin, click **Manage** on a promotion, and copy the ID from the URL: `/app/promos/{promotion-id}`. --- ## Troubleshooting ### My entry badges are showing 0 — what's wrong? This is usually caused by one of these issues: 1. **The app embed isn't enabled.** Go to **Online Store > Themes > Customize**, click the **App embeds** tab (puzzle piece icon), and make sure **Giveaway Gator** is toggled on. 2. **The product variable doesn't match your theme.** The entry tag snippet uses a variable like `card_product.id` to identify the product. If your theme uses a different variable (e.g., `product.id` or `item.id`), the tag won't find the product and will show 0. Check what variable your theme uses in the same template file and update the entry tag to match. 3. **The `data-price` attribute is empty or invalid.** Make sure the Liquid filter outputs a clean number (no currency symbols or commas). Use `| money_without_currency | strip`. 4. **No active promotion.** Entry tags only display when there's an active promotion with a dollar-per-entry rate set. See [Entries on Product Cards](product-entry-tags.md) for the full troubleshooting checklist. ### Entry tags stopped working after a theme update — what should I do? Theme updates can overwrite custom code you've added to template files. After updating your theme: 1. Check if the entry tag snippet is still present in your product card template (usually `snippets/product-card.liquid` or `snippets/card-product.liquid`). 2. Verify the product variable still matches — theme updates sometimes rename variables (e.g., `card_product` might become `product` or vice versa). 3. Make sure the app embed is still enabled in **Online Store > Themes > Customize > App embeds**. If the tag was removed by the update, re-add it using the instructions in [Entries on Product Cards](product-entry-tags.md). If you're not comfortable editing theme files, reach out to our support team — we'll reinstall it for you at no charge. ### How do I find the right product variable for my theme? Open your theme's product card template file (common locations: `snippets/product-card.liquid`, `snippets/card-product.liquid`, or `sections/main-collection.liquid`). Look for references to the product's price or title — the variable used there is the same one you need for the entry tag. For example, if you see `{{ card_product.price }}`, use `card_product.id` in your entry tag. If you see `{{ product.price }}`, use `product.id`. The variable must match exactly or the entry tag won't work. ### Entries aren't syncing automatically — how do I fix this? If new orders aren't generating entries: 1. **Check your webhooks.** Go to **Giveaway Gator > Settings** and look for the webhook status. If webhooks appear disconnected, use the detach and reattach option to reset them. 2. **Verify you have an active promotion.** Entries are only calculated for orders placed during an active promotion's date range. 3. **Try a manual resync.** Go to your promotion and click **Resync** to reprocess recent orders. This catches any orders that may have been missed. Giveaway Gator's webhooks are self-healing and will automatically reconnect if interrupted, but occasionally a manual reset is needed after Shopify platform updates or app reinstalls. ### The app isn't loading in Shopify — what should I try? If Giveaway Gator shows a blank screen or won't load in your Shopify admin: 1. **Clear your browser cache** and reload the page. 2. **Try a different browser** or open an incognito/private window. 3. **If using the Shopify mobile app**, close and reopen the app, or try accessing Giveaway Gator from a desktop browser instead. 4. **Check Shopify's status page** — if Shopify is experiencing an outage, third-party apps may be affected. If the issue persists, email us at **support@support.giveawaygator.app** with a screenshot of what you see. ### The Entry Checker search isn't finding a customer — what's happening? The Entry Checker searches by the email address associated with the customer's Shopify order. If a customer can't find their entries: - Make sure they're entering the **same email address** they used at checkout. - Phone number search is not supported — only email lookup is available. - If the customer used a different email for their order, they'll need to search with that email instead. ### Can I show entries on the cart page? The cart page doesn't support Shopify app blocks natively, so entry tags can't be added there through the theme editor. Displaying entries on the cart page requires custom theme code. If this is something you need, contact our support team and we can help with a custom implementation for your theme. ### Which features require Shopify Plus? Most Giveaway Gator features work on every Shopify plan. The one thing to know is about checkout: - **Showing entries inside checkout (Checkout Bonus)** requires your store to be on **Shopify Plus**, because only Shopify Plus stores support checkout extensions. Checkout Bonus is part of the **Unlimited Pro** plan. The thank-you page entry display is different — it works on every Shopify plan and both Giveaway Gator plans. Everything else — entry tags, countdown timers, the Entry Checker, bonus periods, order bonuses, the thank-you page extension, email images, Shopify Flow, and the API — works on every Shopify plan. Note: "Shopify Plus" here means your store's Shopify subscription, which is separate from your Giveaway Gator plan (Unlimited or Unlimited Pro). --- ## Billing & Support ### Is there a free trial? Yes. Giveaway Gator includes a free trial so you can set up and test everything before committing. ### What plans does Giveaway Gator offer? Two plans, both with unlimited orders and entries, in-app live chat, and a 1:1 onboarding session: - **Unlimited ($199/month)** — every giveaway and storefront feature: promotions, bonuses, multipliers, storefront blocks, POS claims, Shopify Flow, and the API. - **Unlimited Pro ($299/month)** — everything in Unlimited, plus customer analytics, post-purchase surveys, post-purchase actions, the Checkout Bonus, product restricted promotions, and order tag bonuses. See [Plans & Pricing](what-is-giveaway-gator.md#plans-pricing) for the full breakdown. ### What support is included? Both plans include in-app live chat support and a 1:1 onboarding session, plus email support. Reach us anytime through the in-app chat or at **support@support.giveawaygator.app**. ### How do I cancel my trial or subscription? To cancel, simply uninstall the Giveaway Gator app from your Shopify admin. This ends your subscription immediately. If you're on a free trial and want to upgrade instead, go to **Giveaway Gator > Settings** and select a plan. You can also downgrade or change plans from the same Settings page. ### How do I get help? Reach out through the in-app support chat or email us at **support@support.giveawaygator.app**. We're happy to help with setup, troubleshooting, or custom integrations.