Gift Cards – How They Work

Gift cards in Vendion are a complete digital solution that replace physical paper gift cards. They are VAT-compliant under Swedish law, traceable, secure, and easy to use in both POS and online.

What is a gift card in Vendion?

A gift card is a prepaid value that the guest can use to pay for orders in your restaurant. Unlike discount codes, gift cards are a liability in accounting until they are redeemed.

Four stages in the lifecycle:

1. Issue — Someone buys the gift card (in the POS, online, or via admin).
2. Redeem — The recipient uses the card to pay for an order (entirely or partially).
3. Expire — If the card is not used within the validity period → automatically expired.
4. Void — Admin manually closes the card (e.g. lost / stolen).

Legal basis – VAT Act Chapter 5 § 40 (multi-purpose voucher):

Vendion's gift cards are classified as multi-purpose vouchers — can be used for anything in the restaurant (food, drinks, alcohol). According to the VAT Act Chapter 5 § 40:

• No VAT on issuance — you are not selling a good / service, just a claim.
• VAT realized on redemption — that is when you deliver goods / services to the guest.
• Expiry → VAT released as "other operating income" (account 3960).

For full accounting detail, see the Accounting → Gift Cards module.

Default validity: 3 years

The default validity is 36 months (3 years) from the issue date. This is Vendion's default but not a legal requirement. You can:

• Set longer validity (e.g. 5 years)
• Set shorter validity (e.g. 1 year — for campaign)
• Set unlimited (no expiry date)

Important: The Swedish Consumer Agency recommends at least 1 year for gift cards sold to consumers. The Tax Agency allows any time, but for restaurants 3 years is a good balance between customer friendliness and accounting efficiency.

Code format — XXXX-XXXX

Each gift card has a unique code in the format XXXX-XXXX (8 alphanumeric characters, hyphen in the middle).

• Excluded characters: 0, O, 1, I (to avoid confusion)
• Example: AB23-CD45, 2D7K-9XQM
• Generated randomly at issuance
• Collisions are astronomically unlikely

Where can guests buy gift cards?

1. In the POS — Staff sell as an individual transaction via the gift-card dialog.
2. From admin — You issue manually (e.g. compensation to dissatisfied guest).
3. Online — Future: gift card shop on the guest site (planned).

Where can guests redeem gift cards?

1. In the POS — Staff ask "Do you have a gift card?" at checkout → the gift-card payment dialog opens.
2. For online orders — Field "Gift Cards & Loyalty" at checkout.

Partial redemption:

The gift card balance does not have to be used all at once. If the guest has a 500 kr card and the order is 300 kr → 200 kr remains on the card for future use. See separate article.

To know about chain restaurants:

If your restaurant is part of a chain with shared gift cards enabled, gift cards bought at restaurant A can be redeemed at restaurant B. See separate article "Gift Cards for Chains".

Security:

• The code is the only identifier — protect it like cash.
• Staff must not send the code via insecure channels.
• Vendion supports automatic SMS sending on sale.
• Lost cards can be recovered if sender or recipient phone is on record — admin can look up the code.

Communication to guest:

After purchase, an SMS is sent to the recipient (if recipient phone was provided):

Your gift card from [Restaurant]: ABCD-EFGH
(500 kr, expires 2029-04-19).
Message: [personal message]

Accounting in Vendion:

• Issuance: D 1580 (cash) / C 2421 (gift liability) — no VAT
• Redemption: D 2421 / C 3001 (revenue) + C 2610/2620 (VAT) — VAT realized
• Expiry: D 2421 / C 3960 (other revenue) — VAT-free

Fully automated in Vendion's accounting export (SIE).

See also:

• "Issue Gift Card in POS"
• "Redeem Gift Card in POS"
• "Validity, Expiry, and Refund"
• "Gift Card Accounting – Issuance" (Accounting module)