Set up purchase cashback
This article's section starts at 1:04 in the video.
By the end of this page you'll have a live purchase cashback program: a percentage or fixed amount back on orders, optionally limited to certain products and capped by dates, frequency, or order goals.
Prerequisites
Widgets activated in your theme so customers can see what they earn; see Activate widgets in your theme
Global settings reviewed (calculation base, trigger, holding period); see Settings
Step 1: Create the program
Open DollarBack admin → Cashback and choose the Purchase reward type.
Give the program a name customers will recognize. It appears in widgets and emails.
Pick the value style with the Percentage / Fixed / Order goal selector:
Percentage: e.g. 10% of the eligible amount back.
Fixed: a set amount per item. Fixed values multiply by quantity, and per-line cashback never exceeds what the customer actually paid for that line.
Order goal: tiered rewards by spend, on the whole order or just targeted products (next step).
Step 2: Order goals (optional)
With Order goal selected, you build a ladder of spend thresholds instead of a single rate.
Pick the Goal type, which controls how every rung of the ladder pays out:
Percentage of order goal: the reward is a percentage of the eligible spend.
Fixed cashback: the reward is a set credit amount.
Each goal has two fields: When order value equals or exceeds (the threshold, in your store currency) and Customer will earn store credits (the percentage or amount). Use Add order goal to add more rungs; a program keeps at least one.
For example: $5 back at $75, $15 back at $150.
Goals are highest-met wins, not cumulative. An order of $160 with the ladder above earns $15, not $5 + $15. Widgets show customers their progress toward the next threshold.
Scoped goals: count only certain products toward the target
Order goals respect the program's product targeting from Step 4. With All products selected the threshold is measured against the whole order, but if you target Specific collections, Specific products, or Specific variants, both sides of the goal narrow to the matching lines:
The threshold counts only spend on matching items. A $150 goal on your Serums collection needs $150 of serums in the cart; other products don't move the needle.
The payout is based on the same spend. A percentage goal pays its percentage of the matched spend, not the full order, and the credit is attributed proportionally across the matching lines (which keeps later refund clawbacks accurate per line).
This is how you build offers like "spend $100 on skincare, get $10 back" without the rest of the cart qualifying the goal.
A few details that keep expectations straight:
Spend is measured after discounts on the matching lines, and store credit spent on the order reduces the matched spend proportionally before the threshold check.
Thresholds are set in your store currency; for customers shopping in another currency, DollarBack converts at the order's rate automatically.
Gift-card lines don't count toward goals unless your global settings give cashback on gift cards.
Step 3: Dates and frequency
Start date / End date: the program only pays inside this window. Use an end date for seasonal boosts; you don't need to remember to switch them off.
Frequency limit: cap how often each customer can earn from this program using the Limit, Period, and Calculation method fields (e.g. once per customer per month).
Step 4: Choose which products earn
Under the targeting options, pick one:
All products
Every line in the order
Specific collections
Lines whose product is in the selected collections
Specific products
Lines for the selected products
Specific variants
Only the selected variants (e.g. just the 30 ml size)
For Order goal programs this same selection also decides what counts toward the goal threshold; see Scoped goals above.
Programs compete; they never stack. When more than one program matches the same order line, exactly one wins for that line. Specific programs (variant → product → collection) run before all-products programs, so a line claimed by a specific program is excluded from your store-wide program. If two programs still match one line, the higher cashback wins. Full detail in How cashback is calculated.
Step 5: Advanced options
In the program's advanced section you can also:
Give cashback when discount codes are used: uncheck to skip orders that used a discount code.
Restrict to sales channels: limit earning to specific channels (Online Store, POS, Draft orders, …). Leave all unchecked to allow every channel.
Save the program and confirm it shows as enabled in the program list.
Verify it works
On the storefront, open a targeted product. The product-page message should show the cashback for it.
Place a test order that qualifies (and crosses a goal threshold if you set one).
In DollarBack admin → Analytics → Activity, find the order and check the credited amount and program name match what you expect. Remember the trigger event and holding period from your global settings control when the credit appears; see When credit is issued.
Common issues
Order earned less than expected: usually a discount on the order or a competing program winning the line; see How cashback is calculated.
No credit at all: check trigger timing, dates, frequency limits, and exclusions: A customer didn't receive cashback.
Nothing shows on the product page: see A widget isn't showing on my store.
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