What is the Loyalty module?
The Loyalty module lets your clinic reward Pet Parents with points they earn automatically when they spend, and redeem later for discounts on products and services. It's used by front desk staff and vets as part of everyday billing and visits.
Note: This is an early version of the module. Earning points is automatic, but redeeming is a two-step manual process - the system updates the points balance, and staff apply the matching discount on the invoice separately.
Why offer loyalty points?
Loyalty points are a retention tool for your clinic. By rewarding Pet Parents for spending they already do with you, you give them a reason to keep coming back instead of switching to another practice - which protects and grows your recurring revenue and strengthens client relationships over time.
Your front desk and vets handle the day-to-day actions (earning happens automatically; redeeming and applying discounts are done at billing), but the real payoff lands at the clinic level: higher Pet Parent retention and loyalty.
How Pet Parents accumulate points
Pet Parents earn points automatically - there's nothing for staff to do at the till. Every time a Pet Parent pays for products or services, points are added to their balance based on your clinic's earn rate.
Points earned = amount paid × your Loyalty points earning rate.
For example, with an earn rate of 5 (5 points per $1), a Pet Parent who pays a $42 record earns 210 points.
A few things to know about how points build up:
Points are added the moment a record's payment is completed, and the transaction is logged as Earned with a reason such as "Record paid - $42 spent → +210 points".
The earn rate is set once by an Administrator in Administration → Preferences → General (the Loyalty points earning rate field) and applies to every Pet Parent at your clinic.
Only spending after the module is enabled earns points - past visits aren't counted automatically (though a starting balance can be imported once during onboarding).
If a paid record is later refunded, the points it earned are removed automatically and logged as a Refunded entry - balances always stay accurate.
Points have no cash value on their own - Pet Parents redeem them for discounts (see below).
Where you'll see a Pet Parent's balance
A Pet Parent's current points balance is always one glance away while you work:
Patient File - the balance shows in the client summary on the left and in the client panel on the right. The right-side panel also holds the Redeem, Adjust Points, and View History actions.
Inside a medical record - the same left-side client panel stays in view, so you can see the balance (and redeem points) without leaving the record you're billing.
How to redeem points
Redeeming points adjusts the Pet Parent's balance. It does not automatically discount the invoice - you apply the actual monetary discount manually as a second step.
Each clinic sets its own reward rules - how many points equal a given discount (for example, "20,000 points = $100 off"). These rules live outside Digitail, so staff decide how many points to redeem for the reward the Pet Parent is claiming.
Tip: Redeem directly from the medical record whenever you can. The record number is then referenced automatically in the transaction history, so every redemption is traceable back to the visit it belongs to.
Open the medical record for the visit (recommended), or the Pet Parent's Patient File.
In the Loyalty section, check the Current balance, then click Redeem.
In the Redeem Loyalty Points window, enter the number of Points to redeem.
Add a Reason / Note (recommended) describing the reward - for example, "$100 off the spay surgery". This keeps the history clear for auditing.
Click Redeem Points. The points are deducted from the balance immediately.
Apply the discount manually- add it as a line-item discount where possible, to avoid conflicts with any existing global discount. Use the discount reason field to note it was a loyalty redemption.
You'll know it worked when you see the "Points redeemed successfully" confirmation and the balance updates. The record then shows how many points were redeemed and how many are left.
Other things you can do
Adjust points manually
For corrections, bonus points, migrated balances, or zeroing out a balance, click Adjust Points in the Loyalty section, enter the amount in the Manual Adjust Points window, add a reason, and confirm with Adjust Points.
View the transaction history
Click View History to open the Loyalty Transaction History. Each entry shows the Date, Type, Points, Reason, and Staff member. Transaction types are:
Earned - points accrued automatically from a paid record
Redeemed - points the Pet Parent spent
Imported - opening balance migrated from a previous system
Refunded - points automatically restored after a record was refunded
Manual adjustment - a manual change by staff
Tips & best practices
Redeem from the record. Redeeming inside the medical record auto-references the record number in the history, making every redemption easy to trace back to a visit.
Points are not money or store credit. They're contextual discounts you apply to specific rewards - they can't be cashed out or used as a payment method.
Don't forget the second step. After redeeming, always apply the discount on the invoice - the two actions aren't linked, so it's easy to deduct points and forget the discount.
Keep your reward tiers written down. Digitail doesn't store your reward definitions (e.g. "20,000 points = $100 off"), so keep a shared list your team can reference when redeeming.
Prefer line-item discounts over global ones when applying a loyalty reward, so it doesn't clash with an existing global discount.
Use the Reason / Note field on every redemption and manual adjustment - it keeps the history clean for auditing.
Refunds are handled for you. Refunding a paid record automatically removes the points it earned, so balances stay accurate without any manual cleanup.
Common questions
Why don't I see loyalty points anywhere?
The Loyalty module is enabled per clinic. If you don't see it, it may not be turned on for your clinic yet - contact Digitail support. You also need the Manage Loyalty Points permission to adjust or redeem points.
Why didn't a Pet Parent earn points on a payment?
Points only accrue when the Loyalty points earning rate is set (greater than 0), the record has a Pet Parent assigned, and the payment was made after the module was enabled. Check Administration → Preferences → General to confirm the rate.
What happens to a Pet Parent's points if I refund a payment?
The points earned on that payment are removed automatically. When you refund a paid record, Digitail reverses the earned points and adds a Refunded entry to the history (for example, "Record refunded, points restored") - you don't need to adjust anything by hand.
Can a Pet Parent pay with points?
No. Points can't be used as a payment method or converted to money. They represent a discount that staff apply manually on the invoice.
A Pet Parent already had points from our old system - how did they get there?
Existing balances are migrated once by Digitail during onboarding and appear in the history tagged Imported.