# Giveaway Gator — Support Topics This page maps common merchant questions and issues to the right help articles. --- ## Getting Started & Setup **What is Giveaway Gator and how does it work?** Giveaway Gator is a Shopify app that automatically calculates sweepstakes entries based on customer purchases. → [What Is Giveaway Gator?](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/what-is-giveaway-gator) **How do I set up Giveaway Gator for the first time?** Install from the Shopify App Store, create a promotion, set your dollar-per-entry rate, and enable the app embed. → [Initial Setup](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/getting-started) **What should I check before launching my first promotion?** Verify your promotion dates, timezone, dollar-per-entry rate, and that the app embed is enabled. → [Initial Setup](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/getting-started) **How do I enable the app embed on my Shopify theme?** Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds, and toggle Giveaway Gator on. → [Initial Setup](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/getting-started) --- ## Entry Math & Calculations **How are entries calculated from an order?** You set a dollar-per-entry rate. A $50 order at $1/entry earns 50 base entries. Bonuses and multipliers stack on top. → [How Entry Math Works](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-math) **Why did a customer get fewer entries than expected?** Entry math uses whole dollars only — $9.99 at $1/entry = 9 entries, not 10. Multipliers also follow a priority hierarchy. → [How Entry Math Works](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-math) **What is the bonus hierarchy? Which multiplier takes priority?** Product Bonus Periods > Super Bonuses > Default Bonus Period Multiplier > Order Bonuses > Discount Code Bonuses > Order Multiplier Products. → [How Entry Math Works](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-math) **Do entries sync automatically from Shopify orders?** Yes. Giveaway Gator processes orders in real-time via webhooks. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **What about refunded or cancelled orders?** Entries are automatically adjusted when orders are refunded or cancelled. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Do post-purchase upsells count toward entries?** Yes. Post-purchase upsell amounts are included in entry calculations automatically. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Do TikTok Shop, Meta, or other sales channel orders earn entries?** Yes. Any order that appears in your Shopify admin earns entries automatically. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) --- ## Promotions **How do I create a promotion?** Open Giveaway Gator in Shopify, click Create Promotion, set your dates, timezone, and dollar-per-entry rate. → [Initial Setup](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/getting-started) **Can I run multiple promotions at the same time?** Yes. Every order earns entries in all active promotions simultaneously. → [Running Multiple Promotions](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/multiple-promotions) **Can I edit a promotion after it starts?** Yes. Changes apply to future orders. Use resync to apply changes retroactively. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **What happens when a promotion ends?** It stops accepting new entries. Existing entries are preserved for export and management. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **How do I resync entries after changing settings?** Go to your promotion and click Resync. This recalculates entries for all orders in the promotion period. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **How does timezone handling work for promotions?** All calculations respect the promotion's timezone setting. Bonus periods activate at midnight in the promotion's timezone, not UTC. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Where do I find my Promotion ID?** Open Giveaway Gator, click Manage on a promotion, and copy the ID from the URL. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) --- ## Bonus Periods **What are bonus periods and how do they work?** Bonus periods multiply all entries during a specific timeframe — like "2X entries this weekend." → [Bonus Periods](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-periods) **Why does my bonus period show "Upcoming" when it should be active?** Bonus periods activate based on the promotion's timezone, not your local time. Check your promotion timezone setting. → [Bonus Periods](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-periods) **Can I change multipliers week-to-week?** Yes. Create separate bonus periods for each week with different multipliers. → [Bonus Periods](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-periods) **My bonus period dates are outside the promotion dates — will it still work?** Bonus periods outside the promotion date range won't affect orders. Make sure bonus period dates fall within the promotion's start and end dates. → [Bonus Periods](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-periods) --- ## Order Bonuses **What are order bonuses?** Order bonuses award flat bonus entries when a customer's order total exceeds a threshold — like "50 bonus entries on orders over $100." → [Order Bonuses](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-bonuses) **What's the difference between a bonus period and an order bonus?** Bonus periods multiply entries by a set amount. Order bonuses add a flat number of entries based on order total thresholds. They can stack. → [Order Bonuses](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-bonuses) --- ## Discount Code Bonuses **How do discount code bonuses work?** Add your Shopify discount codes to Giveaway Gator and assign bonus entries to each one. When a customer uses the code, they earn bonus entries on top of regular entries. → [Bonus Discount Codes](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-discount-codes) **Can I use discount codes to reward email signups or social media followers?** Yes. Share a bonus discount code with subscribers or followers. When they use it at checkout, they earn bonus entries. → [Bonus Discount Codes](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-discount-codes) --- ## Order Multiplier Products **What are Order Multiplier Products?** Virtual products customers add to their cart to multiply their entries. Multiplier Upgrades replace the current multiplier. Super Multipliers multiply the final entry count. → [Order Multiplier Products](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-multipliers) **What's the difference between an Upgrade and a Super Multiplier?** An Upgrade replaces all other multipliers with its value. A Super Multiplier multiplies the final total after all other calculations. → [Order Multiplier Products](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-multipliers) --- ## Storefront Features ### Entry Tags on Product Cards **How do I show entries on product pages and collection pages?** Add the Giveaway Entry Tag app block in the theme editor — no code on Horizon and newer themes. Older themes use a small code snippet for collection cards. → [Entries on Product Cards](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-entry-tags) **How do I preview my storefront blocks without a live giveaway?** Turn on Preview mode in the Giveaway Gator app embed in the theme editor — it fills entry tags and countdowns with sample data and never affects your live store. → [Test Mode](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/test-mode) **My entry tags are showing "0 entries" — how do I fix this?** Usually a product variable mismatch. Your theme may use "product" instead of "card_product". Check your theme's product card file for the correct variable. → [Entries on Product Cards](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-entry-tags) **Entry tags stopped working after a theme update — what do I do?** Theme updates can overwrite custom code and change variable names. Re-add the entry tag snippet and verify the product variable matches your updated theme. → [Entries on Product Cards](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-entry-tags) **How do I find the right product variable for my theme?** Open your theme's product card template and look for references to the product's price or title. The variable used there is the one you need. → [Entries on Product Cards](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-entry-tags) ### Countdown Timer **How does the countdown timer work?** The timer shows the current bonus multiplier and counts down to when the bonus period ends. Add it as an app block in the theme customizer. → [Countdown Timer](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/countdown-timer) **The countdown timer is showing the wrong promotion or multiplier — why?** With multiple active promotions, the timer may display a different promotion's bonus. Align bonus periods across promotions for consistent display. → [Countdown Timer](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/countdown-timer) **Can I show just the multiplier without a countdown?** Yes. Use only multiplier variables in the template without time variables. The element renders once without ticking. → [Countdown Timer](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/countdown-timer) ### Countdown Progress Bar **What is the countdown progress bar?** A visual progress indicator that shows how far into (or how close to the end of) a bonus period you are. → [Countdown Progress Bar](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/countdown-progress-bar) ### Entry Checker **How do customers check their entries?** Add the Entry Checker block to a page on your store. Customers enter their email to see their total entries and order breakdown. → [How Customers See Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-checker) **The Entry Checker isn't finding a customer — what's wrong?** The Entry Checker searches by the email used at checkout, not the customer's account email. Make sure they're entering the exact email from their order. → [How Customers See Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-checker) **Can customers search by phone number?** No. The Entry Checker only supports email lookup. → [How Customers See Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-checker) **Entries don't appear in the Entry Checker after the promotion ended — why?** The Entry Checker only shows entries for active promotions. Keep the promotion active if you want customers to still look up their entries. → [How Customers See Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-checker) ### Thank You Page **What do customers see after checkout?** The thank-you page extension shows how many entries they earned from their order, broken down by promotion. → [Thank You Page](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/thank-you-page) ### Order Status Page **Can customers see entries on the order status page?** Yes. The order status extension displays entry counts for the order. → [Order Status Page](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-status-entries) ### Order Confirmation Email **Can I show entries in the order confirmation email?** Yes. Giveaway Gator generates a branded image you add to your Shopify order confirmation email template. → [Order Confirmation Email](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-confirmation-email) ### Post-Purchase Surveys & Actions (Unlimited Pro) **Can I survey customers after they buy?** Yes, on Unlimited Pro. Build a survey that appears on the thank-you and order status pages and rewards bonus entries. Review answers with charts, segments, comparisons, and CSV export. → [Post-Purchase Surveys](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/surveys) **Can I reward customers for following us, referring friends, or other actions?** Yes, on Unlimited Pro. Post-purchase actions add buttons to the thank-you page that award entries for social follows, custom actions, or referrals (coming soon). → [Post-Purchase Actions](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/post-purchase-actions) **Can I tag customers based on their survey answers?** Yes. Each survey question can apply a customer tag from the answer — like tagging a 5-star rating or a birthday month — to build audiences for later. → [Post-Purchase Surveys](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/surveys) --- ## POS (Point of Sale) **Does Giveaway Gator work with Shopify POS?** Yes. Customers can claim entries from in-store purchases by entering their receipt number on your website. → [POS Claim Block](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/pos-claim) **How does POS entry claiming work?** Add the POS Claim block to a page. Customers enter their receipt number and email to claim entries from in-store purchases. → [POS Claim Block](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/pos-claim) --- ## Managing & Exporting Entries **How do I export entries?** Go to your promotion's Entries tab and click Export Entries. Export all, a date range, or selected entries as CSV. → [Exporting Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/exporting-entries) **How do I add entries manually?** Go to your promotion, click the Entries tab, then Add Manual Entry. You need the customer's email and entry count. → [Manual Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/manual-entries) **Can I test entry calculations before going live?** Yes. Test Mode lets you preview calculations with simulated data without processing real orders. → [Test Mode](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/test-mode) --- ## Integrations **Does Giveaway Gator work with Shopify Flow?** Yes. Use the Add Entries action in Flow to award entries for signups, reviews, loyalty milestones, or any other Flow trigger. → [Shopify Flow](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/shopify-flow) **Can I award entries for email signups, reviews, or loyalty actions?** Yes, via Shopify Flow. Set up a Flow automation with the relevant trigger and the Giveaway Gator "Add Entries" action. → [Shopify Flow](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/shopify-flow) **Can I integrate with Klaviyo?** No direct integration, but Klaviyo signup forms create Shopify customer records, which can trigger Shopify Flow to award entries. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Does it work with subscription apps like Appstle or Recharge?** Yes. Subscription orders are processed like any Shopify order, so entries calculate automatically on each recurring charge. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Can I use Giveaway Gator with a headless storefront?** Yes. Full API support for Hydrogen, custom storefronts, and headless builds. → [API Reference](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/api-reference) --- ## Shopify Admin Extensions **What is the Product Bonuses block in Shopify admin?** A block that appears on the Shopify product detail page showing any active bonuses configured for that product. → [Product Bonuses Block](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-bonuses-admin) **What is the Order Entries block in Shopify admin?** A block on the Shopify order detail page showing how many entries that order generated. → [Order Entries Block](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/order-entries-admin) --- ## Developer & API **Is there an API for creating entries programmatically?** Yes. The REST API supports creating entries, looking up customers, and managing promotions. → [API Reference](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/api-reference) **How do I use the Manual Entries API?** Send a POST request with the customer email, entry count, and promotion ID. Requires an API key. → [Manual Entries API](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/manual-entries-api) **Is there an API for POS entry claims?** Yes. The POS Claim API lets you build custom claim flows for in-store purchases. → [POS Claim API](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/pos-claim-api) --- ## Troubleshooting **Entries aren't syncing — orders aren't generating entries.** Check webhooks (Settings → detach/reattach), verify the promotion is active with correct dates, and try a resync. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Entry tags show "0 entries" on product pages.** Usually a product variable mismatch in the theme code. Check your theme's product card template for the correct variable name. → [Entries on Product Cards](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-entry-tags) **Entry tags disappeared after a theme update.** Theme updates overwrite custom code. Re-add the entry tag snippet and re-enable the app embed. → [Entries on Product Cards](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/product-entry-tags) **The app shows a blank screen in Shopify admin.** Try clearing your browser cache, using incognito mode, or a different browser. Check Shopify's status page for outages. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **The countdown timer shows the wrong multiplier or promotion.** When running multiple promotions, the timer picks one to display. Align bonus periods across promotions for consistency. → [Countdown Timer](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/countdown-timer) **Bonus period isn't activating at the expected time.** Bonus periods use the promotion's timezone setting, not your local timezone. Check your promotion timezone. → [Bonus Periods](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/bonus-periods) **Customer can't find entries in the Entry Checker.** Make sure they're searching with the exact email from their checkout, not their account email. → [How Customers See Entries](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/entry-checker) **Can I show entries on the cart page?** Not through the theme editor. This requires custom theme code — contact support for help. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **Which features require Shopify Plus?** Only the Checkout Bonus (showing entries inside checkout) needs your store on Shopify Plus, and it's part of Unlimited Pro. Everything else works on every Shopify plan. "Shopify Plus" is your store's Shopify subscription, separate from your Giveaway Gator plan. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) --- ## Billing & Support **Is there a free trial?** Yes. Giveaway Gator includes a free trial to set up and test before committing. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **What plans does Giveaway Gator offer?** Two: Unlimited ($199/month) with every giveaway and storefront feature, and Unlimited Pro ($299/month) which adds customer analytics, post-purchase surveys and actions, the Checkout Bonus, product restricted promotions, and order tag bonuses. Both include live chat and 1:1 onboarding. → [Plans & Pricing](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/what-is-giveaway-gator?id=plans-pricing) **How do I cancel or change my plan?** Uninstall the app to cancel, or go to Settings to change plans. → [FAQs](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/faqs) **How do I get help?** Use the in-app support chat or email support@support.giveawaygator.app. → [Contact Support](https://docs.giveawaygator.app/#/support)