Gift Certificates

Gift certificates let you sell travel credit that customers redeem on future bookings. You can sell them through your public portal or create them manually, track their lifecycle from purchase to redemption, and generate branded PDFs with unique redemption codes. Each certificate carries a fixed amount, an expiration date, and a 12-character code the recipient enters at checkout.

How it works

A customer (the purchaser) buys a gift certificate for a specific amount and provides recipient details and an optional personal message. After payment, the certificate becomes active and a PDF is generated with the unique redemption code. The recipient then enters that code during booking to apply the certificate value as payment. You can track certificate status, void certificates when needed, and manage the entire lifecycle from your admin interface.

Key concepts

Certificate statuses

Gift certificates move through these statuses:

• Pending -- The certificate has been created but payment has not been completed yet.
• Active -- Payment is confirmed and the certificate is ready to be redeemed.
• Redeemed -- The certificate has been used on a booking. It cannot be used again.
• Voided -- The certificate has been cancelled and cannot be used. You can reverse this by reactivating.
• Expired -- The certificate has passed its expiration date and can no longer be redeemed.

Unique redemption codes

Each certificate receives a unique 12-character code displayed as XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Customers enter this code during booking to redeem the certificate. Codes are randomly generated to prevent guessing.

Purchase flow

When purchasing a certificate, customers:

1. Choose an amount within your configured minimum and maximum
2. Enter purchaser information (name and email)
3. Enter recipient information (name and email)
4. Optionally add a personal message
5. Complete payment
6. Receive a PDF certificate with the redemption code

Expiration

Certificates expire after a configurable number of days from activation. You set the expiration period in your workspace settings, and each certificate tracks its own expiration date. Expired certificates cannot be redeemed.

Redemption process

During booking, customers:

1. Enter the 12-character redemption code
2. The system validates the code exists and is active
3. The system checks the certificate has not expired
4. The system verifies the certificate value does not exceed the order total
5. The certificate value is applied as payment toward the order
6. The certificate status changes to Redeemed

A certificate cannot be redeemed if its value exceeds the order total. The certificate must be used in full on a single booking.

Activity tracking

The system tracks all certificate events:

• Created -- Certificate record was created
• Purchased -- Payment was completed
• Redeemed -- Certificate was used on a booking
• Voided -- Certificate was cancelled
• Reactivated -- A voided certificate was restored
• Sent -- Certificate email was delivered
• Purchased from Portal -- Purchase came through the public portal
• Activated from Portal -- Certificate became active via a portal purchase

This activity log gives you a full audit trail for each certificate.

Public purchase portal

You can enable or disable the public portal where customers purchase gift certificates directly. This setting is configured in your workspace settings. When enabled, customers can buy certificates without contacting you.

Portal visibility per certificate

Each certificate has a Can use in customer portal toggle that controls whether it appears on the customer portal. This is enabled by default. Turn it off for certificates that should only be managed internally -- for example, staff credits or compensation certificates.

Segment restrictions

Gift certificates respect your workspace's segment configuration. When segments are enabled, the public purchase portal shows certificates only to customers in the matching segment. This lets you offer different certificate amounts or availability to different customer groups -- for example, higher-value certificates for corporate customers or certificates restricted to a specific region.

Automatic cleanup

Pending certificates that remain unpaid for more than 24 hours are automatically removed. This cleans up abandoned purchases where a customer started buying a certificate through the portal but never completed payment. Each removal is logged in the certificate's activity history.

Common tasks

Enabling gift certificate sales

Turn on the public purchase portal in your workspace settings and configure the minimum and maximum certificate amounts. Set the number of days until expiration.

Creating a manual certificate

Create a certificate manually when a customer purchases by phone or email:

1. Navigate to Data > Gift Certificates
2. Click Add
3. Enter the Amount
4. Fill in Purchaser Name and Purchaser Email
5. Fill in Recipient Name and Recipient Email
6. Optionally add a Message
7. Optionally set an Expires On date (leave blank for no expiration)
8. If segments are enabled, select which Segments the certificate belongs to
9. Toggle Can use in customer portal (on by default)
10. Click Save

Processing redemptions

When a customer enters a redemption code during booking, the system automatically validates and applies the certificate. You can see which certificate was used on each order.

Voiding and reactivating certificates

To void a certificate, open the action menu on an Active certificate and select Void Certificate. Confirm the action in the dialog. Voiding immediately prevents the certificate from being redeemed.

If you voided a certificate by mistake, open the action menu on the Voided certificate and select Reactivate. This restores the certificate to Active status and makes it available for redemption again. Both actions are recorded in the certificate's activity log.

Browsing certificates

The gift certificates list shows each certificate's code with a color-coded status badge, recipient email, amount, and expiration date. Use the paginated list to browse certificates. Each row's badge indicates whether the certificate is Active, Redeemed, Voided, Expired, or Pending.

Generating and downloading PDFs

PDFs are generated automatically when a certificate becomes active. The PDF contains the redemption code, certificate amount, recipient and purchaser details, the personal message (if provided), and the expiration date.

Each certificate's action menu includes:

• Download PDF -- Save the certificate PDF to your computer (available once the PDF has been generated).
• Regenerate PDF -- Queue a fresh PDF if one needs to be recreated (for example, after updating your workspace branding).
• View Certificate -- Open the certificate's public-facing page in a new tab.
• View Activities -- Open a panel showing the full activity history for the certificate.

When a gift certificate is purchased through the portal, the Gift Certificate Purchase managed email automatically delivers the PDF to the purchaser as an attachment.

Tracking certificate sales

View all certificates to see your gift certificate revenue, identify popular amounts, and understand redemption rates. This helps you evaluate the success of your gift certificate program.

Managing expiration

Certificates expire automatically based on the expiration period you set in workspace settings. You can see upcoming expirations and notify customers before their certificates expire.

How it connects

• Orders -- Redeemed certificates are linked to the orders where they were used as payment.
• Segments -- Segment settings restrict which certificates are available to specific customer groups.
• Actions -- Gift certificate creation can trigger automated email notifications.
• Managed Emails -- The Gift Certificate Purchase template controls the confirmation email and PDF attachment sent to purchasers.
• Workspace Settings -- Configure the gift certificate payment method, expiration period, purchase amount range, and whether the public purchase portal is enabled.