Merchant Setup Guide
This guide walks you through every section of your LocalLoyalty merchant dashboard. Follow it in order when you first set up, or jump to any section you need.
Your loyalty card is what customers collect on their phone. It represents your business and your reward. Getting this right first means everything else flows from it.
In the left-hand menu of your merchant dashboard, select Loyalty Card. If you haven't created one yet, you'll see a setup prompt — click Create Card.
Enter a card name — this is what customers see on their phone (e.g. "Mike's Coffee Rewards" or "Urban Cut Loyalty Card"). Upload your logo and choose your card's primary colour so it looks like it belongs to your brand.
This is the number of stamps a customer must collect before they earn their reward. The default is 10 stamps. You can set this to any number that makes sense for your average sale cycle.
A coffee shop might use 8 (buy 8 get 1 free). A hair salon might use 5 (5 cuts, then a discount). A lower number keeps customers engaged faster; a higher number increases the value of the reward.
Describe what the customer earns when they complete the card — "One free flat white", "20% off your next cut", "Free dessert with any main". Be specific. This text appears on the customer's app and is what motivates them to collect.
Once saved, your card is live and visible to any LocalLoyalty user who visits your business. From this point, every stamp you issue goes onto this card in every customer's app automatically.
Scanning is the fastest way to add a stamp at the point of sale. The customer shows their QR code, you scan it, and the stamp lands on their card instantly.
On any device logged into your merchant account, tap Merchant Counter. This is your point-of-sale stamping screen — it should stay open during trading hours.
The customer opens the LocalLoyalty app on their phone and taps My Loyalty ID. This shows their personal QR code.
Tap Scan QR in your Merchant Counter and point your device camera at the customer's screen. The stamp is added immediately and both parties see confirmation.
When a customer completes their stamp card, the app notifies them and shows a redemption prompt. Ask to see the reward screen, confirm it's valid, then tap Redeem in your dashboard. Their card resets and a new card begins automatically.
Best practice at busy counters
Keep the Merchant Counter open on a fixed tablet or second phone behind the till. Assign one team member to handle stamping so the flow stays consistent and stamps are never missed.
Receipt codes let customers add a stamp on their own — without you needing to be there with a scanner. They're ideal for busy periods, unattended setups, or when a customer forgot to get stamped at the time of purchase.
A receipt code is a short numeric code generated from your dashboard that your customers can enter manually in their LocalLoyalty app to claim a stamp. Each code is unique, single-use, and expires after 30 days.
In your dashboard go to Receipt Codes and click Generate New Code. The code is created instantly. You can generate as many as you need.
There are a few ways to get the code to a customer:
The customer opens LocalLoyalty, goes to Scan Card, scrolls down to the Receipt Code field, and types in the number. The stamp is added to their card immediately.
Each code is valid for 30 days from the date it was generated and can only be used once. After 30 days it becomes inactive — you don't need to manage this manually.
When to use receipt codes vs scanning
Use scanning at the till for fast, attended transactions. Use receipt codes for deliveries, online orders, quiet periods where staff can't stop to scan, or when a customer comes back later claiming a missed stamp.
Specials are time-limited promotions that appear on the Discover tab inside the LocalLoyalty app — visible to every user near your location. It's your free advertising channel to drive foot traffic on demand.
Select Specials from the menu and click Create Special.
The headline is the first thing a customer sees — make it specific and punchy. "2-for-1 on all smoothies today" outperforms "Great deals available". The description gives them the detail: conditions, times, what's included.
Choose a start and end date for the special. It will automatically appear in the app from the start date and be removed on the end date — no manual switching needed.
Specials with an image consistently outperform text-only listings. A clear photo of the product or a simple branded graphic is enough — it doesn't need to be professional.
Once saved, your special is live and will appear to LocalLoyalty users in your area. You can edit or remove it at any time from the Specials list.
Why specials matter
Most customers check the Discover tab when they're nearby and deciding where to go. A well-timed special — especially on a quiet Tuesday or before a long weekend — can directly convert nearby foot traffic into a visit. Use specials proactively, not just when things are slow.
Credits are a second loyalty layer on top of stamp cards. Instead of counting visits, they reward customers based on how much they spend — and that credit can only be used back in your store.
When a customer makes a qualifying purchase, you award them a percentage of the spend as credits. Those credits accumulate in their LocalLoyalty wallet and can be redeemed in-store — either as a discount on a future purchase or as a store gift card.
In your dashboard go to Credits and set your cashback percentage. This is the percentage of each transaction value that gets converted to credits. Start conservatively — 2–5% is typical — and adjust based on your margin.
After a customer pays, open the Credits section of your Merchant Counter, enter the transaction value, and confirm. The system calculates the credit amount and adds it to their account automatically.
When a customer wants to use their credits, they'll show you their credit balance in the app. You apply the redemption through your dashboard and deduct it from their total. The credits are cleared from their account on confirmation.
Credits also tie into the in-store gift card feature. A customer can convert their accumulated credits into a gift card — either for themselves or to give to someone else. Gift cards are issued through LocalLoyalty and redeemable only at your business.
Credits vs stamps — which to use?
Stamps reward frequency — they suit businesses where the value per visit is consistent (coffee, haircuts, gym classes). Credits reward spend — they suit businesses with variable transaction sizes (restaurants, retail, salons with add-ons). You can run both at the same time for different segments of your customer base.
Your LocalLoyalty data belongs to you. Exporting lets you analyse customer behaviour, plan campaigns, do your own reporting, or take the data into any spreadsheet or CRM you already use.
Select Export Data from the dashboard menu.
You can export:
Filter by date range to export only the period you need — last month, last quarter, or a custom range. Narrowing the range keeps file sizes manageable and data relevant.
Click Export and your file downloads immediately as a .csv file — compatible with Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, and most CRM and accounting tools.
Common uses: identify your most loyal customers and reach out personally, spot quiet trading periods to plan specials around, track which reward types drive the most return visits, or share stamp counts with an accountant for reporting.