Gift Cards – Refund and Returns

Two scenarios sometimes occur: (1) the guest wants to swap their unused gift card for money, or (2) an order paid with a gift card is returned. Vendion handles both, but with different flows and accounting rules.

Scenario 1: Refund of unused gift card

The guest got a gift card but wants the money back instead.

Legal:

• Gift cards are not protected by consumer return laws — you are not legally required to take it back.
• But goodwill: Most restaurants accept refunds on unused cards for the customer relationship.

Flow:

1. Admin → Marketing → Loyalty → Gift Cards → find the card.
2. Click "..." → "Refund".
3. Choose refund method:
   • Cash (from cash drawer)
   • Bank transfer to account number
   • Back to card (if original purchase was on card)
4. Enter reason (for audit).
5. Confirm.

The system:

• Sets the card status to voided with reason "Refund".
• Logs the adjustment in the card history.
• Accounts automatically:

  D 2421 Gift card liability  <balance>
  C 1580 Cash (or 1930 Bank)  <balance>
  

• No VAT (at issuance it was not VAT-taxable, so the refund is also VAT-free).

Special case: If the card was originally bought with a bank card → refund via the same bank card (possible via the terminal's "Refund" function). Then the card is closed at the same moment.

Partially used card:

If the guest has used 200 kr of a 500 kr card and wants a refund on the remaining 300 kr:

• You can choose to refund only the remaining balance (300 kr).
• Or refuse (up to you — no legal requirement to pay back used balance).

Scenario 2: Return of order paid with gift card

The guest returns an order that was wholly or partially paid with a gift card. What does the system do with the money?

Example: Order #200 paid 500 kr — 300 kr gift card + 200 kr card. The guest returns the entire order.

Flow:

1. In POS: Staff opens Order → Return.

2. Vendion asks: "Where should the money go?"

3. Options:

   • Restore gift card + refund card (default): The gift card gets back 300 kr balance, the card gets 200 kr refunded.
   • Everything to card: Even the gift card's 300 kr is refunded to the bank card. (Less common)
   • Everything to new gift card: Create new card for 500 kr. (Goodwill)

4. Default flow: restore the gift card's balance + refund other payment methods proportionally.

Accounting on return (default):

Reverse redemption:
  D 3001 Food revenue (reversed)   -270 kr
  D 2610 VAT 12% (reversed)        -30 kr
  C 2421 Gift card liability     +300 kr

Reverse card:
  D 1930 Bank (reversed)           -200 kr
  C 3001 Food revenue (reversed)   -180 kr
  C 2610 VAT 12% (reversed)        -20 kr

Important: The gift card is restored to the balance before redemption. The guest can use it again.

History effect:

• The refund is logged in the card history (+ 300 kr).
• Status is restored to active if it was redeemed.

Edge cases:

1. Refund with cash from a card-bought gift card

If the card was bought on a bank card but the guest wants cash — OK under Swedish law, but make a note in the ledger for audit trail.

2. Refund after expiry

Legally: An expired card is income (3960) — technically the restaurant owns that money. If you still want to help the guest (goodwill):

• Issue a new card with the same amount.
• Or refund in cash → account as Other operating income reversal.

3. Return of an order paid with gift card + card expired in between

Scenario: The guest paid 300 kr from their card on an order 2026-01-15. The card expires 2026-06-15. The guest returns the order 2026-07-20.

• The gift card is now expired.
• Staff can:
  • Restore+extend: Reactivate the card + extend expiry. Most guest-friendly.
  • Cash / card: Give the money back directly in another way.

4. Partial return

If only part of the order is returned (e.g. one dish) — the system calculates proportionally:

• If 50 % of the order is returned → 50 % of each payment method is returned.
• The gift card gets back a proportional share.

Permissions:

• Refund of unused card: the manage-gift-cards permission
• Return in POS: POS permission to do refunds

Audit documentation:

All returns and refunds are logged with:

• Timestamp
• Staff / admin who performed
• Reason
• Amount movements
• Link to original order (if return)

The Tax Agency can request these logs during audits.

Tips:

• Have a clear refund policy on the website and in the restaurant.
• Refund on an unused card within 14 days: common goodwill policy.
• Refund on a used card: generally no, but exceptions per judgment.
• Save all receipts / ledger records — important for accounting and audit.

See also:

• "Gift Cards – Void and Expiry"
• "Gift Card Refund (Accounting)" (Accounting module)
• "Gift Cards – History and Reports"