Getting started
How the iQpay platform is powered
This site explains the words we use, the InComm words behind them, and how a benefit card gets its buying power. It is written for everyone: CS, ops, and engineering.
The one diagram to remember
Everything in the portal hangs off two chains. Both start at catalogs and end at people.
The color code
We color every concept on this site. The colors tell you whose word it is.
| Color | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| InComm concept | Lives in InComm's systems. We mirror it in our database. | Offer, catalog, clip, ingenId, purse |
| iQpay concept | Ours. It exists only in the iQpay portal and database. | Program, organization, network, wallet |
| Muddy term | One word, more than one meaning. Two ways this happens: InComm and iQpay mean different things by the same word (card, banner), or the platform itself uses several names for one thing (a product is called an offer in half the UI). Handle with care. | Card, offer, banner, offer type, product, member |
iQpay's card is not InComm's card. They overlap but they are not the same thing. What is a card explains both definitions side by side. "Offer" is just as slippery: it can mean an InComm offer or a product depending on which part of the portal you are on, and we say "send an offer" and "send a card" interchangeably when we are sending a product. Products covers that switch.
Start reading
What powers a card
The three product shapes: InComm offer, Walmart offer, and Either/Or.
Core conceptsInclusion vs exclusion
The two catalog models, the X- tag convention, and how the scanner decides.
Core conceptsWhat is a card
InComm says customer. We say CardId. Both are right.
Core conceptsThe clip lifecycle
Clip, unclip, re-clip. How recurring orders refill balances.
InternalsDatabase map
Where every table lives and which joins are real foreign keys.
ReferenceGotchas
The traps. Terminology drift, string joins, and fields that lie.