Common BackerKit Support Questions - A How to!

Common BackerKit Support Questions - A How to!

This document should provide some details on how to handle common questions when helping your backers complete their surveys in BackerKit.

Feel free to share any feedback or reach out with additional questions from our contact page.

In this article

Helping backers through BackerKit

How can I locate a backer in BackerKit?

There are two ways to look up a backer in your project:

  1. You can look up a backer by going to your project page in BackerKit. Once there, you can enter the backer’s email address or name in the search bar to locate their account. Fun Fact: You can also use the search bar to quickly access other pages such as the add-ons page etc.
  2. As an alternative, you can pull up your project page on BackerKit and go to “segments” and search for the backer. Backer’s aren’t always sure what name or email address they used, but if they can provide any other details, you should be able to create a segment to search for them.
  • How to change a backer’s email address (including our best practices)
    • First search for the backer in BackerKit. Once you’ve located the backer you can click on their name to navigate to their pledge. At the top of their pledge page you’ll see an email address. Next to the email address there is a small edit and pencil button. Click that button to update the backers email address. See more detailed instructions here: https://backerkit.helpscoutdocs.com/article/411-411
  • How do I change a pledge level?
    • First, pull up the backer’s pledge page. Scroll down to the “Pledge Level” section. There is a drop-down box that will allow you to switch the level that the backer is in. Once the new level was selected, make sure to click Save and you’re all set!
  • Updating a backer’s address?
    • Until a backer’s address is locked, they can make the changes themselves. The best way for them to access the relevant place is if you send them their unique survey link which can be found on the top page of their survey in BackerKit. Alternatively you can also make the update for them, though we always suggest to have the backer confirm all is correct once done! To do so, just open the backer’s page, and on the right-hand column you’ll see the option to “Edit” in the Shipping Information section.
    • BackerKit does NOT offer the option to ship to multiple addresses within one survey/pledge. If you would like, we can split a pledge into multiple pledges (there needs to be one survey per address). See more detailed instructions here: https://backerkit.helpscoutdocs.com/article/372-372
    • BackerKit does allow a backer receiving two separate shipments, or split shipments, to update their address after the first shipment has been sent. This will require using BackerKit’s Split Shipment feature, and we recommend connecting with your Success rep on implementing the feature
    • If you prefer for orders to NOT be split up, that’s entirely up to you! You can also offer to either charge or cover shipping. Saying “no” is perfectly fine, if that’s what you prefer.
  • How do I remove an add-on?
    • To remove an add-on, first pull up the backer’s order page in BackerKit. Once there, you’ll be able to scroll to the bottom of the page to the add-on section. Click on “edit” where you’ll be taken to the backer’s survey. On the right-hand side of the page, you can click on the trash icon can next to the item you’d like to remove. After that, click on “Next” which will save your change. If you click on the backer’s name at the top of the page, you’ll be able to return to the admin page for that backer in BackerKit, and you can confirm that the item is no longer in the add-ons section.
  • How to add a free item to a backer
    • If an item is free, you can add it as a manual SKU to the backers order. On the right hand side of the backer’s order, you’ll see the a list of all items in their order. There is a section underneath “Manually Added Items” that reads “Add SKUs”, click that to add the ite to the order. Reminder - the “add SKU button” only adds SKUs and does not charge the backer for any added items.
  • Editing the add-ons that a backer has selected:
    • In the backer’s pledge page, scroll to the bottom. There is a section that says, “Add-ons”. There is an “edit” button on the top right side of that section. Once you’ve clicked on that, you can add items from the add-on page. You’ll need to make sure to press “next” on the order page to save the changes that you’ve made.
  • Adding extra funds for a backer?
    • Open up a backer’s pledge page. Once there, scroll down to the “Pledge Level” section. You can then add positive credit in the “Complimentary Credit” box. You will need to press “Save” in the box at the top of this section to make sure the change stays. The credit can be edited and added/removed at any time. Negative credit should never be added.
  • What if a Backer says their BackerKit survey is showing an error message.
    • In the case where a Backer is reporting an error message from their survey, please reach out to us and supply as much information about the error as possible including the backer name/email.
  • A backer wants to cancel a pre-order!
    • That depends on your policy. To cancel a pre-order that has already been charged, you’ll need to first process your refund for the order. After you’ve refunded the order, then you can click “Actions” towards the top right-hand side of the customer page. A drop-down box will appear and from there, you will see the option to cancel the pledge. Only cancel a pre-order after you have refunded the backer. If they haven’t been charged, you OR the backer can cancel the order.
  • What do I do if the surveys are locked, but a backer wants to make changes?
    • You can make these changes from the backer’s page. In the backer’s pledge page, scroll to the bottom. There is a section that says, “Add-ons”. There is an “edit” button on the top right side of that section. Once you’ve clicked on that, you can add items from the add-on page. You’ll need to make sure to press “next” on the order page to save the changes that you’ve made. You can see more details notes here: https://backerkit.helpscoutdocs.com/article/378-378

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  • I have Backer Support enabled. Can I get access to my backer's support tickets?

    • If a backer submits a ticket using the dropdown selection 'I have a question for the project creator,' 'My reward arrived but something isn’t right,' or 'I want a refund for my initial campaign pledge', these will be automatically forwarded to your support email address.

      Otherwise, our team will handle these tickets and forward anything that we can't answer, like a product-related question, to your support email address.

  • Do I have to offer local pickup if backers ask for it?
    • Nope! You are not required to offer it in any way. If you’d like to, you can though! Typically, creators will refund the shipping fee once the item is picked up, or they will make a pledge level or add-on item that adjusts the shipping amount.
  • The backers are asking lots of questions about items
    • If you haven’t already, it may be a good idea to set up the FAQ with common questions that you’re seeing. If BackerKit is noticing that we’re getting a lot of the same question, we may simply make an FAQ with the questions to help backers out. The more clarity that the backers have, the more confident they’ll be in their purchases and add-ons!
  • What do I do with feedback that a backer provides about BackerKit accounts?
    • For all feedback about BackerKit accounts, please forward the email support@backerkit.com.
  • All of the updates are set to private, so not all backers can see them.
    • Any backers that are pre-order backers won’t be able to see your “For Backers Only” updates on Kickstarter. You can make sure those folks are included by creating a mailing list and sending to them, or you can make sure that your updates are open to the public. It’s up to you, but backers love seeing updates and what’s going on!

Payments

  • How can a backer update their payment details?
    • A backer can update their payment details only if they have an outstanding balance (a balance due). If they do not owe anything, the payment option will not appear to them.
    • Backers can update their payment methods by visiting their survey. On the Review page of the survey, there will be an option to click on “Update payment method”. Once they click that box, the payment details section will appear.
    • If you have PayPal as an option, the PayPal will also show up only once the backer has clicked to edit the payment details, it is not a separate payment button.
  • How does a pre-order backer update their payment details?
    • Pre-order backers sometimes have trouble with updating details on their order. If you switch the backer into a different pledge level, the issue should disappear. Typically, creators will switch the backer into the “$0 Backers in this tier chose to not receive a reward” since it shouldn’t offer any additional perks or change the shipping prices.
  • A backer is having payment issues.
    • A backer can experience payment issues for a number of reasons. In order to assist them, we’ll need some more information:
    • Have they checked in with their card provider? If everything looks fine on their end, it may be time to check out Stripe. Your Stripe account will provide some general decline reasons as well.
  • A backer doesn’t have a credit or debit card. Can we use PayPal?
    • You can receive payments from backers via PayPal, but you must have a PayPal Premier or Business Account to use this feature. Sometimes, creators will not connect their account with PayPal, but do offer to accept a PayPal payment on a case-by-case basis. Just let us know, and we can forward any backers with this request to you!
  • What do I do if a Backer files a chargeback.
    • Chargebacks are when a Backer files a dispute with their bank. Depending on the financial institution, backers may only have a limited amount of days to file a chargeback. Since chargebacks or disputes often cost project creators hefty fines, and lower credit scores, it’s best to immediately reach out to a backer to try and settle the dispute. You can see more details notes about this here: https://backerkit.helpscoutdocs.com/article/384-384
    • Some backers file chargebacks because they do not recognize the name of a company that charged them. You may have a company name that is running a project, but when it shows up on a credit card statement the backer may not recognize it and flag it as fraudulent. This is why it is important to immediately reach out to the backer. If the backer knows the charge is from you, they can contact their bank to reverse the chargeback.
    • For more information please check Stripe’s Support page for details on Disputes and Chargebacks.
  • How do I see what this payment decline is and what it means?
    • To see a payment decline, you’ll need to log in to your Stripe account. You’ll also need to pull up the backer’s pledge page (you can find out how to do that in number 8). On the backer’s pledge page, you’ll notice there is a summary of the amount pledged, and any amount due on the left-hand column. You’ll also be able to see what kind of card the backer used, and the last four digits. It should appear like this “Mastercard 1234”. You can use the card type and last four to search for the backer in Stripe. Once you’ve located the backer in Stripe, you can open their order and review their decline code. This is a code the backer can take back to their back to try and fix the issue. The most common decline code is “do not honor” which usually means the bank is blocking the transaction. …?

Post Shipping Inquiries

  • What if a backer receives damaged or incorrect rewards, or items are missing?
    • Because BackerKit is not involved in the production or shipping in any way, we really can’t help backers with these specific issues. Any backers with issues like these — we’ll send them your way!
  • How to handle Returns & Exchanges
    • Since BackerKit does not have access to the product, we cannot assist with exchanges or returns. In this case, it is best to converse with the backer directly to organize a return or exchange.
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