CounterQuest

Getting started

From install to your first test reward in about half an hour. You can change every setting later.

On this page

The "Get set up" checklist

When you first open CounterQuest, the Dashboard shows a Get set up checklist with the same steps as this guide: set up your program, set a start date, turn on the Rewards button, add Rewards to your POS, and two optional ones (import from Smile, preview your rewards page). Work down the list and tick things off as you go.

1. Install the app

  1. Install CounterQuest on your Shopify store and approve the permissions it asks for.
  2. Open it from Apps in your Shopify admin. The menu has: Dashboard, Customers, Events, Bonuses & extras, Reports, Change log, Settings, Switch apps and Backups.
Nothing earns until you save

Customers don't earn points from orders until you have saved your settings once. Until then the Dashboard shows "Set up your program first".

2. Set up your program (Settings)

Open Settings. You only need the first few boxes to get going.

  1. Program name: the title customers see on the rewards window and page, for example "Card Club Rewards".
  2. Name of your points: what customers collect, for example "Points" or "XP". Every amount customers see uses this name.
  3. Points earned per $1 spent: counted on the order subtotal after discounts, before tax and shipping. Orders online and at your register both count.
  4. Points needed for each $1 off: how many points make one dollar of discount.
  5. Reward amounts ($ off): the rewards customers can pick, separated by commas, for example 1, 5, 10, 25. Below the box the app shows what percentage customers get back, so you can sanity-check your numbers.
  6. Optional: Sign-up bonus, Birthday bonus and Profile bonus under Automatic bonuses. Leave a box empty to turn that bonus off.
  7. Press Save.
Tip

Moving from another loyalty app? The import converts old balances so they keep their dollar value, whatever rates you pick here. See Switching from another loyalty app.

Quick rewards (buttons for staff), free item rewards, points events, referrals, VIP tiers and badges are further down the same page. You can add them later; see Tiers, badges and games and At the register.

3. Set a start date

  1. In Settings, scroll to Start date.
  2. Enter the day your program starts, as YYYY-MM-DD. Only orders on or after this date earn points.
  3. Press Save.

Set this before you turn on a sign-up bonus. Without a start date the app looks back a few days when it first runs, so recent orders and new customers could earn or get the sign-up bonus. If you are switching from another rewards app, use your switch-over day so orders the old app already rewarded don't earn twice.

4. Turn on the Rewards button

  1. In Shopify admin go to Online Store → Themes and press Customize on your live theme.
  2. Open App embeds (the icon in the left sidebar) and switch on Rewards button.
  3. Pick a logo, button style, label, main color and corner, then press Save.
What customers see

A floating button in the corner of every page. Signed-in customers see their balance, rewards they can redeem and their progress; signed-out visitors see how the program works and a sign-in link.

More website options (product-page reminders, the rewards page link, hearts, the phone app) are in Your website.

5. Add Rewards to your POS

Do this on each register device.

  1. Open the Shopify POS app and go to Settings.
  2. Open the apps tab. It may show only an icon with no label (it holds the Add options for apps).
  3. Find Rewards and add it, then add the Rewards tile to your POS home screen.
Check the device

Adding the tile in the POS editor in Shopify admin isn't enough on its own: the app also has to be added in the POS app's own Settings on that device. If the tile doesn't appear, check you edited the right device.

Redeeming works on both Shopify POS Lite and POS Pro: the app applies the reward to the sale as a single-use discount code, so staff never type a code.

Optional: import from Smile

If customers already have points in another loyalty app, bring them over before you announce the new program. Follow Switching from another loyalty app.

6. Test it on yourself

  1. Online: sign in to your store as a customer (use your own customer account) and press the Rewards button. You should see your balance and the rewards list.
  2. Preview the rewards page: visit /apps/rewards on your store (for example yourstore.com/apps/rewards). It uses your theme.
  3. At the register: add yourself to a sale. The Rewards tile changes to "Rewards: your name" with your points.
  4. Tap the tile, and under Adjust points add enough points for your smallest reward with the reason "Test".
  5. Add an item to the sale, then tap a reward under Redeem. The discount should appear on the sale by itself after a few seconds.
  6. Clean up: remove the sale, then take the test points back with Remove points (or undo the adjustment in Change log). A redeemed reward you didn't use stays under Saved rewards on your account, ready for next time.

Points from real orders arrive automatically within a few minutes of the order being paid.