15 Balance Inquiry

The system creates accounts to track the activities that are related to various customer- related transactions. The status of an account may change from time to time as different events occur that affect the account. An individual customer may have several different kinds of accounts open at the same time. The Balance Inquiry process is associated with customer accounts and is used to check the amount remaining on a customer's store credit voucher, gift card, or gift certificate.

Note: Other customer account types such as Work Orders, Special Orders, Layaways, and Orders are documented in separate chapters in this book. House Account information can be found in Customer Maintenance.

About Store Credit and Gift Certificate Balance Inquiry

When a balance inquiry for a store credit or gift certificate is performed, Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service first determines which currency the store credit or gift certificate is in. If this currency is different than your store's local currency, then the foreign tender amount of the store credit or gift certificate is automatically converted to the local tender and amount using the current exchange rate on file. This localization is shown on the screen and on the receipt, if printed.

Balance Information

The Balance Inquiry function allows you to see the current balance on various types of accounts that a customer may have. The types of inquiries available depend upon the types of accounts that are offered by a store. For example, balance inquiries may be performed for:

• Gift Cards

• Gift Certificates

• Store Credit accounts

• Loyalty accounts

• Gift Receipts

1. After logging in to the Back Office (see Accessing the Back Office), select the Balance Inquiry option from the Customer menu to view the inquiry functions available in your store.

   Figure 15-1 Back Office Customer Menu - Balance Inquiry

   
   

2. Select the type of inquiry you want to perform by selecting the appropriate option from the Balance Inquiry menu.

   Figure 15-2 Balance Inquiry Menu

   
   

3. Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service prompts for a card or account number. The information required here varies with the type of balance inquiry you are performing. Enter the information or scan it from a card and press Enter to continue.

   Figure 15-3 Store Credit Account Number Prompt

   
   

4. Please wait while the system queries the centralized database for the balance information.

   
   

   Note: The system displays a message if the account is closed or cannot be located. If a deal or discount was applied to the gift item at the time of purchase, you cannot use Balance Inquiry to look up the price. No item price barcode is printed on the receipt.

   
   

5. Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service retrieves the account balance information and displays the information on the screen.

   • Press Y to print a receipt for this balance information.

   • Press N if you do not need a printed receipt for this balance information.

   • If the option to print a receipt is not available, press Enter to close the prompt.

   If you chose to print a receipt, the information shown on the receipt includes the date of this inquiry, the card or account information (masked), and the available balance on the card or account.

   Figure 15-4 Sample Balance Inquiry Receipts