More Power to Your Promos: GoTab’s Loyalty & Promo APIs Just Leveled Up

Promotions and loyalty shouldn’t feel like bolt-ons. For hospitality operators, they need to work inside the ordering experience: cleanly, instantly, and without friction for guests or staff. And for partners, promo and loyalty tools need reliable, real-time signals that reflect what’s actually happening at checkout.

That’s exactly what the latest updates to GoTab’s Promo and Loyalty APIs are designed to deliver.

With these enhancements, operators get a smoother, more intuitive promo and rewards experience for guests, from instant promo code validation to automatic loyalty rewards that surface at the right moment. No extra apps. No confusion at checkout. Just clearer value, better conversion, and accurate promo accounting tied directly to order state.

For partners and promo platforms, the updates unlock deeper control and visibility. Real-time events notify your system the moment a promo is applied, redeemed, or reversed, while flexible validation logic lets you decide how offers behave within GoTab’s ordering flow. Combined with richer order and customer data, loyalty platforms gain a more complete picture of guest behavior—not just intent, but actual purchases.

In short: smarter promos, seamless loyalty, and cleaner data that is built to scale with modern hospitality.

More About the GoTab Promo API

The GoTab Promo API is a connector that allows GoTab to integrate with an external promotional (promo code) system, i.e., a brand’s own coupon engine or third-party promotion platform for example. Through this integration, GoTab can send events to your promo system when guests enter codes, and your system can respond with offers that should be applied to the guest’s tab.

It’s event-driven, meaning GoTab sends specific notifications (events) to your system and expects structured responses based on what promo codes have been entered and whether they’re valid.

What Your Developer Needs to Integrate to the GoTab Promo API

To connect with GoTab’s Promo API, your system needs a public endpoint URL which is a web address (URL) where GoTab can send promo-related events (for example, https://yourpromo.platform/api/gotab/events). You'll also need an optional Authorization Header which is a secret header value your system can use to verify that requests really came from GoTab. This helps secure the integration.

How the Promo API Works — Event Types

There are three main event types that GoTab will send to your system:

INQUIRE — Guest Enters a Promo Code - This event happens when a guest enters a promo code (e.g., on a mobile menu or checkout screen). GoTab sends the promo code the customer typed, the current tab/cart details (items, subtotal, total), and the location ID and other relevant info. Your system should respond with a 200 (OK) status and a list of associated offers (tells GoTab the promo code is valid and what deals/offers should apply), a 404 (Not Found) if the promo code is invalid (your response message will show to the guest), or a 400 (Bad Request) for other errors. This step ensures guests only get offers that are valid and helps increase conversions by allowing promo codes to trigger in real time. 

REDEEM — Confirming Offers to Apply - After an INQUIRE event, GoTab triggers a REDEEM event. It includes the list of offer IDs your system provided earlier. Your system’s job here is to validate which offers are still valid (things can change between INQUIRE and redemption. For example, quotas might have been met) and return which offers should be applied and which should be rejected (this ensures that only valid promotions are actually applied at checkout). This prevents outdated or ineligible offers from being applied, maintaining accuracy and trust with guests and operators.

REVERSAL — Undoing Applied Offers - A REVERSAL event happens asynchronously (in the background) when a discount is removed from a tab or the entire tab is refunded or voided. GoTab sends the list of offers that were previously applied, and your system can then mark them as available again (so they could be reused if appropriate). This keeps your promo system’s inventory and offer status accurate, ensuring promo codes behave correctly across refunds or changes.

Find all of the documentation on the GoTab Promo API at docs.gotab.io. 

More About the GoTab Loyalty API

The GoTab Loyalty API is a technical bridge that lets GoTab connect with an external loyalty or rewards system (for example, a third-party loyalty platform that a restaurant, brewery, or hospitality brand uses to manage rewards, points, member statuses, etc.). It enables GoTab to send customer and purchase events to that loyalty system so guests can earn points, see offers, and redeem rewards within the GoTab experience. This API is event-driven, meaning GoTab sends specific events (like “lookup this customer” or “apply points/offers”) to your partner’s loyalty software, and your system responds with data about points, rewards, or availability.

What Your Developer Needs to Integrate to the GoTab Loyalty API

For your loyalty platform to work with GoTab, your developer must provide an endpoint (URL) where GoTab can send loyalty events (like customer lookup or reward application), a secret authorization token/header so your system knows the request is legitimately coming from GoTab, and a lookup type; i.e., what identifier GoTab should send to identify a customer (e.g., phone number, email, or a loyalty ID). 

How the GoTab Loyalty API Works

The API works by sending different event types to your loyalty platform. These fall into two categories: synchronous and asynchronous events.

Synchronous Events

These are requests your system responds to immediately:

INQUIRE - GoTab sends this when a guest enters a phone number/email/etc. to identify themselves. Your system responds with the customer’s rewards info — like current points or available offers. If the customer isn’t in your system, you return an error indicating no record found. This lets your loyalty program tell GoTab who the customer is and what rewards/points they have right now before a purchase is completed.

REDEEM - After a guest selects a reward/offer to use (like applying points for a discount), GoTab sends this event with the selected reward IDs. Your system then returns which offers are valid and should be applied to the customer’s bill and which are invalid (e.g., already used, expired). This ensures the customer only gets valid rewards applied and the loyalty system stays accurate.

Asynchronous Events

These happen in the background and do not need an immediate response.

ACCRUAL - These are sent automatically after a tab closes and include details about the completed tab (items purchased, customer info, etc.). Your system can use this to credit points or rewards based on spend or visit behavior — even if the guest wasn’t in the loyalty program at the time. This provides a way to grow loyalty engagement and retroactively reward guests.

REVERSAL - This is sent if an offer was applied and then voided or refunded. It allows your system to make that offer available again if appropriate. This keeps your loyalty balances accurate when orders change.

Find all of the documentation on the GoTab Loyalty API at docs.gotab.io. 

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