Restaurant Gift Cards and Vouchers

In short: gift cards and vouchers can bring cash in early and introduce new guests, but each one is a promise you must honour. Keep a clear register, write simple terms, check your local rules on tax and expiry, protect against fraud and decide whether a paper voucher, a tool you buy or an alternative such as a set menu offer suits you.

About 8 minutes to read. General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by country: check with your local authority and your accountant.

A gift card is a small piece of paper or a code with a big job. It lets a guest give your restaurant as a present, it brings cash into the till weeks before the meal, and it often brings a guest through the door who might not have come. It also creates a liability: until the card is used, you owe someone a meal.

A note on DineHarbor

DineHarbor has loyalty points, stamp cards and a wallet, but it does not have gift cards. This article is general guidance for any restaurant. If you decide to sell gift cards, you will run them on paper, in a spreadsheet or with a separate tool, and you should take care that your till and your records agree.

Why restaurants sell gift cards

• Cash flow. The money arrives first, in the quiet months, and the meal comes later. See cash flow.
• New guests. Recipients are often people who have never been. A good first visit can create a regular.
• Gifting seasons. Many restaurants see more demand around holidays and celebrations.
• Corporate gifts and rewards. Local companies may buy cards for staff or clients.
• Partial redemption. Many guests spend more than the card's value, so the card works as a starter, not a cap.

The downsides

• A liability. Until redeemed, the value is owed. Never treat unredeemed cards as profit without checking the rules.
• Admin. Numbering, selling, tracking and redeeming take time.
• Fraud and loss. Cards can be stolen, copied or sold twice.
• Timing. A rush of redemptions in a busy month can displace full price bookings.
• Closure risk. If you close, you owe guests money. Your terms and the law decide what happens.

Decide the form

DineHarbor does not cover any of these, so choose with your accountant and your point of sale in mind. A money value card is flexible; an experience voucher protects you from underpricing only if the contents are carefully set.

Write simple terms

Print the terms on the card or the certificate and show them where the card is sold. Cover:

• Value or contents and whether it can be used on food, drink, tips or service charge.
• Validity. If you set an expiry date, check your country's rules first, because some places limit or ban expiry dates on gift cards.
• Redemption: at the venue, online, takeaway, delivery.
• Part use and change. Can the balance be used later? Is change given?
• Lost or stolen cards and whether you can replace them.
• Booking. Does the card guarantee a table or only pay for the meal?
• Refunds. Can the card be refunded for cash?
• Closure or change of ownership.
• Your legal name, address and contact details.

Keep the language plain, and ask an adviser or your local consumer authority to review it.

Tax and accounting

Rules differ by country and change. A UK example, as of October 2026, from the legislation: the UK's VAT rules for vouchers (Schedule 17 of the Finance Act 2019) distinguish two types. A single purpose voucher is one where the place of supply of the goods or services and the VAT due on them are known when the voucher is issued; its issue or transfer is treated as a supply of the underlying goods or services, so VAT is charged when the voucher is sold. A multi purpose voucher is any voucher that is not single purpose; the consideration paid for the voucher itself is disregarded, and tax is charged on redemption, when the goods or services are provided. Where only part of a voucher is used, the taxable amount reflects the corresponding part of the value.

That is a summary of legislation, not a statement about your particular card. Whether your restaurant's card is single purpose or multi purpose, and how to account for unused cards, depends on facts that your accountant must judge. For the wider picture, see VAT and sales tax and accounting basics. In other countries ask your tax authority.

In your books, record the sale as a liability, not as ordinary sales, unless your accountant tells you otherwise. Reconcile the register to the books each month.

Keep a register

Whatever the form, keep one record. At minimum:

Reconcile it weekly: cards sold plus opening balance minus redemptions should equal the closing balance. Share the register only with people who need it, and keep personal data to the minimum. In the UK the ICO describes data minimisation as holding data limited to what is necessary for your purpose; ask only for what you need.

Redeeming at the table

Make redemption simple for servers.

1. Ask for the card or code at the start of the bill, not at the end.
2. Check it against the register: valid, not already used, enough balance.
3. Record the amount used and write the new balance on the card or the register.
4. Take the rest of the bill on card or cash.
5. Do not give cash back for a partly used card unless your terms and the law allow it.
6. Keep any used paper card.

Tell servers what to do when a guest forgot the card: take a name and number, check the register, and decide at the manager's discretion.

If your till does not have a gift card payment type, agree with your accountant how to record each redemption so that your cash up still balances. See cash handling.

Fraud and security

• Number every card and keep a register.
• Keep blank cards locked away and count them each week.
• Limit who may issue cards.
• Be wary of unusually large orders by phone, repeated purchases with several cards or a buyer who wants the code sent quickly to a stranger.
• For online sales, use a payment provider that handles the card details so you never see them.
• Cancel and reissue lost cards where your terms allow it.
• Check the identity of corporate buyers for large orders.

Selling gift cards well

• Make them easy to find: a counter display, a line on the menu, a page on your website and a note on your booking confirmation.
• Time the push: weeks before gifting seasons.
• Offer a presentation: a nice envelope or card, not a till receipt.
• Suggest values that match your menu: a card for two main courses, or a tasting menu.
• Train staff to mention cards at the end of a good meal.
• Do not discount cards as a habit. A bonus card, such as "buy 100 get 10 free", changes your margin and your liability, so cost it. See how to price a menu and loyalty programmes.

Alternatives

If a gift card is more admin than you want, consider:

• a set menu voucher for a defined experience;
• a tasting menu booked and paid in advance by the host, handled in line with your policy;
• loyalty points and stamp cards, which DineHarbor supports, for repeat guests;
• simple booking and an honest reminder, which cost nothing.

See set menus and lunch deals.

Common mistakes

• No register, so nobody knows the liability.
• No terms printed on the card.
• Setting an expiry date without checking the local rule.
• Counting unredeemed cards as sales.
• Letting every server issue cards.
• Giving cash back on a part used card without a policy.
• Forgetting about the cards when you close or sell the business.

A checklist

1. Decide the form: paper, a separate tool or an experience voucher.
2. Write and print clear terms and check them locally.
3. Ask your accountant how to treat the sale and unredeemed cards.
4. Keep a numbered register and reconcile it weekly.
5. Make redemption a three step routine.
6. Lock away blank cards and limit who issues them.
7. Promote them before gifting seasons.
8. Review how many cards are redeemed and what it costs.

Sources

• UK legislation, Finance Act 2019, Schedule 17: vouchers, the definitions of single purpose and multi purpose vouchers, read in October 2026.
• ICO, A guide to the data protection principles.
• Your tax authority and local consumer authority for the rules where you operate.

Want loyalty points and stamp cards for repeat guests? Start the 30 day free trial with no card needed.