---
title: Gift Subscription
slug: oms/gift-subscription
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-06-22T15:15:05.851Z
---

# Overview

A **gift prepaid subscription** is a prepaid subscription that one person **buys for someone else**. The purchaser pays upfront for a fixed number of deliveries, and the **recipient** receives and redeems the gift. Once redeemed, it behaves like any other prepaid subscription — deliveries are fulfilled on a set schedule until the prepaid term is used up.

It shares all the core prepaid traits:

- **Paid in advance** — there's no per-cycle charge; the deliveries are already paid for by the purchaser.
- **Fixed length** — it runs for a set number of deliveries and then ends on its own.
- **Can't be paused, skipped, or resumed** — the same self-service restrictions as any prepaid subscription.

What makes a gift different is the **redemption step** between purchase and activation. A gift doesn't necessarily start delivering the moment it's bought — in most cases it waits for the recipient to redeem it first.

As with non-gift prepaid, status is shown using **two status fields** (**State**: Active / Canceled / Inactive, and **Prepaid state**: Pending / Active / Completed / Canceled), plus a **Processing state** for the latest delivery. Gift subscriptions add two more fields that are specific to the gift flow:

- **Redemption Method** — how the gift is redeemed (**Ship**, **Email**, or **Print**).
- **Redemption Code** — the code the recipient uses to redeem (shown for gifts that require manual redemption).

# How a gift is redeemed

There are **two ways **a gift can be set up, which determines whether the recipient has to do anything:

## Auto-redeem gifts

The gift **activates automatically **— no action is needed from the recipient. It behaves like a normal prepaid subscription from the moment of purchase, shipping to the recipient's address. Auto-redeem gifts are always set to **Ship.**

## Manual-redeem gifts

The recipient must **redeem the gift** before it starts. The gift sits and waits until they do. The recipient redeems using one of three **redemption methods**:

- **Email** — the recipient is emailed a **redemption code** and a redemption link on a scheduled notification date. They click the link, confirm their details (and provide a shipping address), and the subscription activates.
- **Print** — the gift is delivered as a printed gift card (no email is sent). The recipient redeems the code printed on the card.
- **Ship** — redeemed by shipping the product to a provided address.

When the recipient redeems (by entering their code and email, plus a shipping address where required), the system **activates** the subscription: it creates an account for the recipient, sets their address, switches the subscription to draw from the prepaid funds (so the recipient is never charged), and begins fulfilling deliveries.

# Prepaid State

A gift prepaid subscription moves through the same prepaid stages as a non-gift one, but the **Pending **stage carries the extra redemption layer.

### Pending

The gift has been purchased but **hasn't started delivering yet**. For gifts, this stage is where the redemption happens.

- **What puts it here:** the gift is created in Pending at the time of purchase.
- **How it leaves Pending:**
  - **Auto-redeem gifts** leave Pending almost immediately and become Active on their own.
  - **Manual-redeem gifts** stay in Pending until the **recipient redeems** their code. Until then, no deliveries are made and the subscription isn't yet tied to the recipient.
- **Recipient notification (Email method):** for email-redemption gifts, the recipient is sent their redemption code and link on the gift's scheduled notification date. (Print gifts are not emailed; the code is on the printed card.)



![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/TmutqdeXiIw-V3gBZXVjd/iHupKKvQ2VFvctAdC-mlg_image.png)

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note: An unredeemed gift stays Pending until it's redeemed — it does not expire on its own.** There is no automatic time limit that moves an unredeemed gift to a finished state. A manual-redeem gift will remain in **Pending** indefinitely until the recipient redeems it, or until an admin cancels it. If you need an unredeemed gift to end, it has to be canceled — it won't lapse by itself.
:::

### Active

The gift has been redeemed (or auto-redeemed) and the prepaid term is underway. Deliveries are fulfilled on the set schedule, drawing down the prepaid balance one delivery at a time. At this point the **recipient** is the subscriber, and deliveries are paid for from the prepaid funds — the recipient is never charged.

- **What puts it here:** the gift is redeemed (manual) or activated automatically (auto-redeem).
- **Overall State: Active.**

****

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/TmutqdeXiIw-V3gBZXVjd/qSC890cV1Robf3h-CVSOD_image.png)

### Completed

All of the purchased deliveries have been fulfilled and the prepaid term is finished. The subscription has run its full course and won't place any more orders. This is a natural, successful end.

- **What puts it here:** the final delivery in the prepaid term is fulfilled.
- **Where you'll see it:** **Completed** on the **Prepaid Subscriptions** page; the linked subscription's own **Details** page shows **Inactive** (with a **Prepaid state** of **Completed**).



![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/TmutqdeXiIw-V3gBZXVjd/bvkvpfAGZwSjP-leBoTyo_image.png)

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note: "Completed" and "Inactive" are the same outcome, shown from two different views.** 

On the **Prepaid Subscriptions** page, the **State** describes the gift's prepaid term — when every delivery has shipped, it reads **Completed**. 

On the **Subscription → Details** page, the **State** describes the subscription itself — once the term is done, it reads **Inactive**, with a **Prepaid state** of **Completed** alongside it. 

Both are true at once: the term **Completed**, so the subscription is now **Inactive**. This is expected, not a discrepancy.
:::

### Canceled

The gift subscription was ended **early**, before all of its purchased deliveries were fulfilled. Because it was paid upfront, canceling triggers a **prorated refund** for the deliveries that were paid for but not yet received.

- **What puts it here:** the subscription is canceled (cancellation availability depends on a store setting — see *Available actions*).
- **Refund: **the unused (unfulfilled) portion of the term is refunded — as store credit to the recipient, or back to the original payment method.
- **Overall State: Canceled.**

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/TmutqdeXiIw-V3gBZXVjd/_xVGleoEIbnOZeXMdDH4E_image.png)

# Available actions

Gift prepaid subscriptions carry the same action restrictions as all prepaid subscriptions:

- **Pause, Resume, and Skip are not available** — the term is purchased in advance, so the schedule can't be changed this way.
- **Cancel is available only if the store enables prepaid subscription management** — by default it's turned off; when enabled, canceling triggers the prorated refund above.

When these actions are unavailable, the admin shows the banner:

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note:** "Some actions not available — Because this is a pre-paid subscription, certain fields are not editable and some actions (like Cancel, Skip and Pause) are not available."
:::

# What happens at the end of the term

When a gift prepaid subscription fulfills its last purchased delivery, it **Completes **and goes **Inactive**. 

Gift subscriptions are typically one-time — they do not automatically renew, and the recipient is never billed to continue. (If a gift were configured to renew or roll over into a standard subscription, it would follow the same end-of-term paths described in the Prepaid (Non-Gift) section.)

# Gift-specific admin fields

On a gift subscription you'll also see:

- **Gift? → Yes** — identifies it as a gift.
- **Redemption Method** — Ship, Email, or Print.
- **Redemption Code** — the code the recipient redeems with (shown for manual-redeem gifts; the recipient also receives this by email for the Email method).
- **Recipient / Purchaser **— the gift is tied to a recipient (who becomes the subscriber once it's redeemed) and a purchaser (who paid for it). On cancellation, the refund goes to the recipient as **store credit **by default, or back to the **purchaser's original payment method **if processed that way.