Gift cards
Issued, redeemed and part-spent — online and at the counter, against one balance.
Gift cards are unusually good business: paid for up front, redeemed later, frequently for more than their face value, and sometimes never redeemed at all.
How it works
- Sold as a product, with a code issued on purchase.
- Redeemable online and at the till against the same balance, so a card bought as a present can be spent in the shop.
- Part-spending leaves the remainder on the card rather than voiding it, which is the behaviour customers expect and the one cheap systems get wrong.
- Usage is recorded, so a disputed balance has an answer.
The liability nobody books
An unredeemed gift card is money you owe. It arrives as cash and leaves as stock, months later, in a different accounting period. Balances are recorded per card so the outstanding total is a figure you can look at rather than a surprise — check it before you run a promotion that encourages redemption.
What it does not do
Gift cards are not a payment method for wholesale accounts, and they do not expire automatically. Expiry rules on gift cards are legally constrained in a way that varies by jurisdiction, so it is a decision to take with advice rather than a switch to flip.
Stop reconciling stock by hand
One catalogue, six channels, one stock figure that stays right.