Can I sell gift cards online as a small business?
The simple way, what goes on the voucher, tracking, VAT, and why to do it before December.
See the templatesThe short answer: yes, and it is one of the easiest things a cafe, salon, studio or shop can add. A gift card is a product with a value and no postage. The buyer pays, gets a voucher with a code by email, and the recipient brings the code in. The part people get wrong is keeping track of them.
The simple way
- Add gift cards as products: £20, £50, £100
- Each sale sends a voucher by email with a unique code and an expiry
- Keep a list of codes, values and whether they have been used. A spreadsheet is fine
- When one is redeemed, mark it
What goes on the voucher
- Your name and logo
- The value and the code
- An expiry date. Twelve months is normal. Say it clearly
- A message from the buyer if they left one
VAT
For most UK businesses a gift voucher for a single kind of thing at one VAT rate is taxed when sold; a voucher usable for things at different rates is taxed when redeemed. If you are VAT registered, ask your accountant which yours is. If you are not registered, it does not arise.
Why before December
Gift cards sell from mid November to Christmas Eve. A salon or cafe that has them on the site in October gets the whole run. One that adds them on 20 December gets four days.
On our shop template
A gift card is a product like any other: set the values, the order lands in your email, and you send the voucher and keep the code list yourself. If you sell enough of them to want it automated, that is a quoted add on.
Want to see yours? Pick a website template and fill it in for free. You only pay when you want it live. Already have a site? Bring it in and we fill a template from it.