When a customer adds a gift message

On Shopify Plus, the Giftnote Gift Message checkout block adds one marked surcharge line (the product variant you selected in Settings > Gift Orders > Advanced settings > Surcharge & visibility) to apply the fee, and removes it if the message is removed. This is how Shopify works — it doesn't support add-on charges directly, so we use a proxy product.

To avoid confusing customers or cluttering your packing slips and emails, there are a few things you'll need to configure on your end.

1. Product settings (in Shopify)

Go to Products, open your surcharge product and confirm:

Giftnote doesn't need a particular vendor. The examples below filter on the vendor Giftnote Surcharge. If your product uses a different vendor, replace it in every snippet, or filter on the tag instead.

• Vendor: a value you'll use in your filters (these examples use Giftnote Surcharge)
• Product type: Digital Gift Message (optional)
• Requires shipping: Unchecked
• Tags: giftnote-digital

2. Hide it from the storefront

You don't want customers finding this product in search, collections, or menus.

Option A – Without code

• Go to Products > Collections
• Create a new collection with this condition:
  Product vendor is not equal to Giftnote Surcharge
• Update your main navigation to point to this collection

Option B – With code
If your team manages theme code, they can filter it out like this:

{% unless product.vendor == 'Giftnote Surcharge' %} <!-- show product --> {% endunless %}

This is just an example. If your team isn't sure how to implement this, speak to Shopify support or we can introduce you to a trusted partner.

3. Stop customers from checking out with only a gift message

In some cases, a customer might try to add a gift message without any actual products.

You'll want your theme to catch that and block checkout. Here's a sample:

{% if cart.item_count == 1 and cart.items[0].product.vendor == 'Giftnote Surcharge' %} <script> alert("Please add a product to go with your gift message."); window.location.href = "/collections/all"; </script> {% endif %}

We don't apply this by default — it's up to your team to add it if needed.

4. Remove it from packing slips

By default, Shopify will print the gift message product like any other item — even though there's nothing to pack.

To prevent that:

• Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Packing slips
• Edit the template and replace your product loop with:

{% for line_item in line_items %} {% unless line_item.product.vendor == "Giftnote Surcharge" %} <!-- your current layout --> {% endunless %} {% endfor %}

If you use a 3PL or external warehouse system, ask them to ignore any products with the vendor Giftnote Surcharge or tag giftnote-digital.

5. Exclude it from Klaviyo emails

You might see the gift message show up in your order confirmation emails or gift recipient flows. This happens if your product blocks aren't filtering it out.

Here's an example your Klaviyo dev can use:

{% if item.Product.Vendor != "Giftnote Surcharge" %} <!-- show product --> {% endif %}

If you're not sure where to do this, your Klaviyo strategist can help — or we can introduce someone.

6. Optional: adjust packing slip item counts

If you include a line that says "Total items: X" in your packing slip, it may count the gift message unless you exclude it manually.

{% assign totalProductsOrdered = 0 %} {% for line_item in line_items %} {% unless line_item.product.vendor == "Giftnote Surcharge" %} {% assign totalProductsOrdered = totalProductsOrdered | plus: line_item.quantity %} {% endunless %} {% endfor %} Total items: {{ totalProductsOrdered }}

7. Turn on auto-fulfilment for the surcharge line — it is not automatic

Marking the product as digital ("Requires shipping" unchecked) does not make Shopify auto-fulfil it. Giftnote fulfils the surcharge line item itself, and only if you've enabled it:

• Go to Settings > Gift Orders > Advanced settings in the Giftnote app.
• Turn on the setting that marks the surcharge item as fulfilled automatically. Save if a save bar appears.

With this on, Giftnote fulfils the surcharge line item automatically, matched against the exact surcharge variant selected in the Surcharge & visibility card. If it's off, the surcharge line sits unfulfilled with your other order items and will show up on packing slips and in "unfulfilled" reports until someone fulfils it manually.

Final checklist

Here's what your team or dev should confirm:

• The product is hidden from collections, search, and menus
• Customers can't check out with only a gift message
• The product is excluded from packing slips
• It's filtered out of Klaviyo product blocks
• Automatic fulfilment of the surcharge item is turned on in Settings > Gift Orders > Advanced settings (it does not auto-fulfil just because it's marked digital)
• Optional: it doesn't get counted in "total items" summaries

We don't make theme or email template changes directly, but if you need help, we're happy to point you to a developer or ecommerce partner who's worked with this setup before.

On a paid plan (Core or Professional) and want us to take a look at your current setup, or connect you to someone? Chat with us using the chat button in the help centre or in the app, or email support@giftnote.com. If we need to look at your store, we'll send a Shopify collaborator request.

Selling through a multi-gift storefront?

The Message Fee on a multi-gift storefront's Pricing tab (Settings > Multi Gifts, Edit on the storefront, then Pricing) is a separate fee from the checkout surcharge in this checklist. It is also a real product in your store and can carry through to each recipient's order. Check that product's vendor and tags in Shopify, and adapt the hiding, packing slip and email filters above to match them.

Related articles

• 3. Upsell Giftnote at Checkout
• 4. Upselling and Charging for Giftnote at Checkout on Shopify Plus
• 1. Charging Customers for Giftnote (Developer Setup)
• 3. Klaviyo flow templates and event reference