Switching from Smile.io to CounterQuest
A Smile.io alternative for Shopify shops that do a lot of their business across a counter. Your members' balances come with you at the same dollar value, and the register becomes the place rewards actually get used.
Who this is for
You run a Smile.io program, you sell in person on Shopify POS as well as online, and you'd like the in-store side to do as much as the website: rewards that show up when a customer is added to the sale, and points for the things that happen in your shop, not only for orders.
Why shops with a counter pick CounterQuest
- One tap at the register, on POS Lite or Pro. Add the customer to the sale and the Rewards tile shows their points. Tap a reward and CounterQuest makes a single-use code for that customer and applies it to the cart itself. Nobody reads a code off a phone.
- Rewards sized to the sale. The Rewards screen points out the best fit for the cart. If a reward is bigger than the sale, staff can turn it into a gift card so the customer doesn't lose the difference.
- Points for anything that happens in store. Quick-reward buttons for league nights, reviews or follows, a Give points button with a reason, trade-in points, and event check-ins. Every manual change lands in a change log you can undo.
- A flat price. One plan with every feature and no order or customer limits, so the bill doesn't move when a busy month does. Compare with your current Smile plan on Smile's own pricing page.
CounterQuest was built at Level Up Games, a card shop running Shopify POS Lite, which moved its members off Smile.io in October 2026. The import was built around that real export, including rows with no email that need a person to check them.
Export your customers from Smile.io
- In the Smile admin, open Customers and click Filter and export.
- Scroll to the right end of the table and open the ⋯ menu.
- Choose Download results, pick CSV and click Download. Smile emails you the file.
Smile notes that changes can take up to 24 hours to appear in its export. Turn off earning in Smile on switch-over day and export after that, so late points make it into the file.
What CounterQuest reads from Smile's file
| From Smile | In CounterQuest |
|---|---|
| Points balance | Starting balance, converted by value. The import fills in Smile's default (100 points = $1 off); if you changed your rewards in Smile, enter your own numbers (Smile shows them under Program → Points → Ways to redeem). |
| Email, Shopify (platform) customer ID, first and last name | Used to find the customer in Shopify. Customer ID and email first, exact name only when one customer has it. |
| Date of birth | The customer's birthday (dates like "March 4, 1990"). Placeholder years are ignored and the customer is asked again. |
| VIP tier | Not copied. CounterQuest tiers come from Shopify lifetime spend, so set your tiers and customers fall into place. |
Smile's VIP metafield sync only writes tier names to Shopify, not balances, so a Smile switch always uses the export file.
What stays behind
- Points history. Each customer starts with one line, "Imported from the old app: N". Their old activity stays in the old app (export it first if you want a copy).
- Reward codes already handed out. These are discount codes in your Shopify admin, so they keep working until they expire or you delete them under Discounts.
- Smile referral URLs. Members get a new link from your rewards page.
Questions about leaving Smile.io
Can we keep the program name our customers know?
Yes. Name the program and the points anything. If you also keep the same point value, tick Keep the same numbers and every balance comes across unchanged.
We want a different point value. Is that a problem?
No. Say what 100 Smile points were worth and CounterQuest converts. For example, a customer with 1,000 Smile points worth $10 has $10 of points in CounterQuest, whether your new rate makes that 1,000 or 100,000 points.
Someone earned in Smile after we imported. What now?
Re-running the import skips anyone already imported, so it won't top them up. Use Adjust points on that customer with a reason like "From Smile". Exporting after earning is off avoids this.
Do customers have to sign up again?
No. Points sit on their Shopify customer record, so signing in to your store is all it takes to see them online, and adding them to a sale shows them at the register.
Founding 25
Claim a founding spot
The first 25 shops get CounterQuest for $19/month for life. After that it's $29/month or $290/year, with a 14-day free trial. One plan: every feature, no order limits, no customer limits.
CounterQuest isn't on the Shopify App Store yet. Leave your details and we'll email you when it's ready for your store. No payment now.
Claim a founding spot