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Wallet Pass Planning Worksheet
Decide the front, the back, the change field, and the barcode before anyone opens the design tool.
The one rule this worksheet enforces
A wallet pass has two surfaces, and they do different jobs. The front is a glance: the customer flips their phone out at the till and needs to see one thing, how many points, what balance, how close the next reward. The back is a reference: terms, how it works, contact details, the fine print nobody reads until they need it.
The most common pass-design failure is swapping them, putting the terms and conditions on the front and the balance on the back. Fill this worksheet top to bottom and that mistake becomes impossible. You decide the front slots first, name the single value that earns a lock-screen notification, then push everything else to the back. Print this page and write in the slots before you touch a design tool.
Front of the pass: the seven slots
This is the card the customer sees. Fill each slot with a label and a value. Aim for five visible values or fewer; if a slot has nothing essential, leave it blank rather than pad it.
Slot 1 — Logo (top left)
Your mark, not your full name. Simple and high-contrast. This same image appears on the lock screen, so it must be recognisable at thumbnail size.
Slot 2 — Brand name / logo text
The short name beside the logo. If the logo already contains your name, leave this blank so it does not read twice.
Slot 3 — Header field (top right)
One glanceable value visible even when passes are stacked, for example points balance or member tier. Often the only thing seen in a crowded wallet, so make it count.
Slot 4 — Primary field (the big one)
The single most important value, the one that changes: points, balance, stamps, or next-reward progress. This is why the customer opens the pass. Write the label and the starting value.
Slot 5 — Secondary field (left)
A supporting detail that rarely changes, such as member name or account status. Label plus value.
Slot 6 — Secondary field (right)
A second slow-changing detail: tier, member-since date, or reward threshold. Label plus value.
Slot 7 — Auxiliary field / offer line
Room for one more low-priority detail or a short current-offer line. If nothing essential fits, leave it empty. Empty beats filler.
The change field: the message that reaches the lock screen
This is the field that produces the lock-screen line. When you later update its value, a purchase adds points or a campaign tops up a balance, the wallet shows the message you write here. In a wallet-native tool like PushNotice, editing this one field is what the customer sees; every other field should change quietly.
Field that carries the change message
Name the one field worth interrupting a customer for. Usually the primary field (points or balance). Only one field should own the lock-screen line.
Change message wording
The sentence the wallet shows when that value updates. Use the platform placeholder for the new value, for example 'Balance is now %@' or 'You have %@ points'. One line, no exclamation storm.
What actually triggers the update
Name the real event that moves the value: a purchase, a scan, a manual top-up, a campaign. If nothing realistic will change it, it should not carry a change message at all.
Fields that must stay silent
List the front fields that may update WITHOUT a message. Everything except the change field belongs here, so one edit fires one notification, not five.
Back of the pass: the reference list
The back is a scrolling list of rows. This is where every non-glance detail lives, including the terms that people wrongly put on the front. Fill the rows that apply; delete the ones that do not.
How to earn
One or two lines on what a customer does to add points, stamps, or value. The most-read row on the back.
How to redeem
Exactly how the reward is claimed, in-store or online. Remove every bit of friction you can here.
Reward / tier detail
The threshold and what it unlocks. Spell it out: 'X points equals Y'.
Terms and conditions
Short plain terms, or a link to the full page. This lives on the BACK, never the front.
Expiry / balance rules
Whether points or the pass expire, and when. If nothing expires, say so plainly.
Business contact
A phone number or email a customer can actually reach. A dead number erodes trust fast.
Website / manage link
Where to view the account, get help, or unsubscribe. Use a real, working URL.
Locations
Address or a store-finder link, if location matters to redemption.
Support / how to re-add
One line on getting help or reinstalling the pass if it is deleted.
Barcode format picker
Pick the format your point-of-sale scanner already reads, not the one that looks best. Confirm with whoever runs the till before you commit. All four formats below work in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
| Format | Encodes best | Scanner it needs | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| QR code | Short IDs and URLs, dense 2D | Any 2D imager or phone camera | Most retail and camera-based tills; the safe default if you are unsure |
| PDF417 | Longer membership numbers, stacked 2D | 2D imager (common on loyalty and boarding-pass scanners) | Your POS already scans PDF417 loyalty or boarding passes |
| Aztec | Compact 2D, tolerant of damage | 2D imager | Transit or ticketing scanners that standardised on Aztec |
| Code 128 | Numeric or alphanumeric linear (1D) | Older 1D laser scanner | Your only scanner is a legacy 1D laser, not a 2D imager |
| Human-readable text | The raw code number under the barcode | Human eyes and a keypad | Always include it, so staff can key the code when a scan fails |
Pre-flight before you build
Run every box before the pass goes to whoever builds it. Each unchecked line is a design failure that is cheap to fix now and expensive to fix once passes are in customers' wallets.
The changing value is on the front
Points, balance, or stamps sit in the primary field, not buried on the back.
Terms are on the back, not the front
The classic failure. Legal text belongs in the back list, never crowding the glance.
The logo reads at lock-screen size
Shrink it to a thumbnail. If you cannot tell what it is, simplify the mark.
Only one field carries a change message
Confirm every other front field updates silently, so one edit sends one line.
The change message is a real sentence
Read it aloud with a sample value in place of the placeholder. It should sound like a person wrote it.
The barcode format matches the scanner
Confirm with whoever runs the till which format their scanner reads before you commit.
The human-readable code is visible
The number appears under the barcode for manual entry when a scan fails.
Contrast passes a glance test
Text stays legible on the background colour in bright sun and in dark mode.
No empty-looking filler fields
Every slot earns its place. A blank slot beats a label with nothing behind it.
The front holds five values or fewer
If it feels crowded, demote detail to the back. Glanceable beats complete.
One person can describe the pass in a sentence
'It shows your points and how close the next reward is.' If you cannot, the front is doing too much.
From the guide: In-Store Marketing: Wallet Loyalty for Retail Stores
This resource accompanies the full article — worth reading before you commit to a tool.