Track gift certificates from the first issue to the last redemption.
A gift certificate tracking system should tell your team what remains and explain how the balance got there.
Keep issuance, payments, redemptions and corrections distinct. That makes the record useful to the person serving the customer and the person reviewing the books.
01
Start with a complete certificate record.
Record the recipient, sender, code, value and any message or delivery date. Treat the code as something that can spend value: keep it out of broadly shared spreadsheets and report screenshots. Staff should have only the certificate permissions their job requires.
- Recipient and delivery details.
- Issued value and current balance.
- Relevant dates and any applicable terms.
- A history of redemptions and changes.
02
Record each partial redemption against a booking.
If a customer uses $60 of a $150 certificate, the remaining balance is $90. The booking payment and certificate record should explain that change. In Everybooking, use the supported gift certificate payment workflow rather than reducing the balance with a manual correction.
- Confirm the certificate is valid and has sufficient value.
- Apply the supported gift certificate payment to the correct booking.
- Check the remaining balance after redemption.
- Review any later refund through the appropriate payment workflow.
03
Keep corrections separate from customer spending.
A top-up or correction is not a redemption. In Everybooking, adding or removing value requires a note. Reissuing a code retains the balance and history while invalidating the old code. Voiding stops future use and retains the record; it is permanent.
- Use a balance adjustment for an explained value correction.
- Use the payment workflow for a booking redemption.
- Reissue a code when the existing code needs replacing.
- Record a reason before voiding a certificate.
04
Review outstanding balances and period activity together.
The outstanding report shows current unspent balances with expired certificates separated. Period activity explains issuance, added value, removed value, redemptions, voids and expiries during the chosen dates. A current outstanding balance is not automatically the balance that existed at a historical month-end.
See the gift certificates accounting report →05
Distinguish value issued from money collected.
A certificate might represent purchased value, a promotion or a service adjustment. The certificate's face value alone does not tell you what cash was collected. Keep the supporting payment or business reason in your accounting workflow. Everybooking's current certificate feature is staff-issued management; it is not a self-service gift-card purchase checkout.
06
Give staff and your accountant different views.
The person helping the recipient needs permitted access to the certificate record. Your accountant may need totals, activity and an export without the redeemable code. Everybooking's accounting report and CSV omit certificate codes, and a restricted accountant login can access the selected report.
Choose who can issue, manage and report on certificates →Your questions, answered.
- What should a gift certificate tracking spreadsheet contain?
- At minimum, record issued value, recipient details, relevant dates, redemptions, adjustments and the remaining balance. Keep redeemable codes access-restricted. A system connected to booking payments reduces the need to update a separate sheet by hand.
- Is a balance adjustment the same as a redemption?
- No. A redemption pays for a booking with certificate value. An adjustment adds or removes value for a recorded reason. Mixing them makes it harder to explain the history.
- Can a reissued certificate retain its remaining balance?
- Yes. Everybooking's reissue action changes the code while preserving the balance and history. The previous code stops working.
- Should I automatically expire old balances?
- Do not choose an expiry policy from the age of the record alone. Check the terms and requirements that apply to your business. The software's expiry setting does not determine whether a policy is legally valid.
See how it fits your business.
Gift certificate management →
Issue certificates, track balances and keep their history.
Booking accounting reports →
See what is owed, due, received and still held for future bookings.
Staff roles and permissions →
Give each person access to the work they are responsible for.