Portless supports including a gift message with an order. When a customer's order contains a gift note, the message is printed on a card and included in the package at fulfillment. This is currently handled on a per-order basis through your support contact.
An automated gift note is possible; simply add a PDF to whatever you want us to print. If you're interested in this service, please reach out to our Services department to get a quote and assess feasibility.
This article covers printed gift notes only. For gift-with-purchase (a free item added to qualifying orders), see the Gift With Purchase section below.
How to request a gift note
Identify the order before it enters the packing stage. Gift notes cannot be added once an order has been picked and labeled. Check order modification cutoff times before submitting a request.
Contact support at [email protected] or through your Customer Success Manager (CSM). Include:
The order number
The full text of the gift message, exactly as it should be printed
Allow processing time. The request is relayed to the fulfillment center. Same-day fulfillment is not guaranteed. Submit as early as possible after the order is placed.
The fulfillment center will print the message on a card and include it in the package.
Cost
There is a charge associated with printing, and this will be determined by the Services team on a case-by-case basis for each merchant. This will be added to your monthly invoice as a line of custom printing.
Gift with purchase (GWP)
If you want to automatically include a free physical item with qualifying orders (e.g., orders over a certain value), this is a separate setup from gift note text and works differently.
How it works:
The GWP item is stocked at Portless as a regular inventory SKU with a barcode
A Shopify Flow automation adds the GWP SKU to qualifying orders before they sync to Portless
Third-party apps such as Monster Cart can also handle this logic at the cart level
Setup steps:
Ship your GWP items to Portless. If items arrive without barcodes, Portless can apply them. Contact your CSM for the current barcoding fee.
Assign a SKU and create the product in your Shopify store
Set up your Shopify Flow automation (or third-party app) to add the GWP SKU to eligible orders
Confirm with your CSM that the SKU is visible and inventory is available before the promotion launches
Important: If you fulfill some orders yourself and some through Portless, the Shopify Flow automation cannot distinguish between fulfillment locations. Work with your CSM to sync inventory timing and avoid the GWP being applied to orders you're fulfilling locally.
Common questions
Can gift notes be set up to apply automatically to all gift orders?
Gift notes are automatically set up through the Order Notes section in your Shopify store. We will then create a mapping so that it flows into our Warehouse Management System (WMS). The Pick + Pack team gets notified, prints the gift note, and then adds it to the package.
This setup needs to be completed and coordinated before going live, and only after we have gotten a go signal from the Services Team.
What if the order has already shipped?
Gift notes cannot be added after an order has been picked, labeled, or shipped. There is no retroactive option.
Does the gift note appear on the packing slip or as a separate card?
The gift note will appear as a separate card if the URL method (you add a URL to the PDF you want us to print) is used.
Standard packing slips are not issued for Portless merchants unless by special request. In these cases, the packing slip template cannot be modified extensively and contains basic information such as Order Number and Order Details, and can also be customized to have a preset note. This is another approach to a gift note, depending on your format preference.
Can I include a gift note on every order automatically?
If you want the same message on every order (e.g., a brand note or thank-you card), include physical cards with your inventory and configure them as an insert in your Packaging SOP. See Custom Packaging & Branded Inserts for details.