Short answer
To sell gift vouchers successfully, you should offer physical and digital options, tracking every sale through your quick POS checkout so you don't lose trace of unredeemed balances. You must clearly print the expiry date on the voucher, keep track of any remaining credit, and record payments under a dedicated account.
Setting clear terms and expiry dates
Vouchers are excellent for your cash flow, but they're a future commitment of your stylists' time. In the UK, there's no legal minimum expiry period for gift vouchers, but most salons set a limit of six or twelve months to manage their liabilities.
You must make the expiry date clear at the point of purchase. Print the date prominently on the voucher itself, and print any restrictions alongside it, such as whether the voucher is valid only for specific staff levels or restricted during peak periods like December. If you don't put the terms in writing, you'll end up in awkward conversations at the reception desk when someone tries to redeem a three-year-old slip of paper.
Tracking vouchers at the till
Gift vouchers are a form of currency, and you must treat them with the same security as cash. Writing voucher amounts in a paper logbook or on loose cardboard slips is risky because it doesn't protect you from double-redemptions or simple theft.
Every voucher needs a unique serial number or barcode. When a client buys one, log that specific code in your till system under their name. Luminate manages gift vouchers directly through the quick POS checkout for £69 per month, so you'll always have an accurate digital paper trail and won't face extra hidden fees. If a client loses their physical card, you can look up the code under their customer profiles to check their balance.
Accounting and tax rules
If your salon is VAT-registered, you must handle gift voucher sales correctly in your books. In the UK, salon vouchers are classified as multi-purpose vouchers when a client can use them for different services or retail products that carry different tax rates.
For multi-purpose vouchers, you don't account for VAT when you sell the voucher. You only account for it when the client redeems the voucher for a specific treatment or product. That's because the money you collect from a voucher sale is held as a liability on your balance sheet until the voucher is redeemed. If a voucher expires unused, the tax rules on retained payments are complex, and you'll need to ask your accountant how to record these expired balances.
What this means for your salon
Vouchers bring cash into your business early, but they must be managed with clear expiry terms and unique tracking codes. Recording every sale through your quick POS checkout ensures you can track every liability and protect your salon from fraud.