Gift Cards

Sell gift cards at checkout or online, issue codes for promotions, and let customers redeem them when they book or pay, a simple way to drive new visits and increase revenue.

Where to find it. Web: Sidebar → Gift Cards (under Catalogue). Mobile: More → Gift Cards. Customers: Your public storefront at yourvenue.openchairpro.com/gift-cards.

TL;DR

• Core gift voucher features (issue, sell, redeem, void) are free on all plans. Email delivery, bulk generation, and analytics require PRO; text delivery is available for supported Australian and UK venues.
• Gift card codes use the format GIFT-XXXXXXXX with uppercase letters and numbers only (no O, 0, I, or 1).
• Only one gift card can be applied per checkout order, applying a second card automatically reverses the first and restores its balance.
• Gift cards purchased on the online storefront are valid for a minimum of 3 years (AU/NZ consumer law).

---

Overview

Gift cards let you:

• Sell gift cards to a paying customer from Counter sale → Gift card (or a booking/walk-in checkout line item), so the voucher is issued only after the sale completes
• Issue a gift card without payment from the dashboard, only where no OpenChair sale should be recorded (format: GIFT-XXXXXXXX)
• Let customers purchase gift cards online through your public storefront
• Send a secure hosted voucher to the recipient or purchaser by email (PRO) or text message where supported
• Inspect provider-backed delivery history, correct a destination, switch channel, resend, or recover with a secure link and PDF
• Redeem gift cards at checkout, the balance is deducted from the order total
• Check a gift card's remaining balance from the dashboard or public balance checker
• Bulk generate batches of gift card codes for promotions or retail (PRO)
• Void gift cards that are lost, stolen, or no longer needed
• Track gift card performance with analytics on the Intelligence dashboard (PRO)

---

Viewing a voucher and correcting delivery

Open a voucher to see its status, recorded balance, original value, expiry and history. Voucher preview expands the recipient content. Actions groups copying the code, creating a secure link and opening the voucher/PDF, with available delivery and void actions.

Choose Correct or switch delivery to edit the recipient or purchaser destination. Update and send sends or queues a new delivery; opening or cancelling the editor sends nothing. Changing delivery does not change the voucher's value or validity. An expired voucher remains expired.

If confirmation is pending, use Refresh delivery status and inspect delivery history before trying again. Submitted email and queued text are not proof of arrival. Your unsent input stays in the editor after a failed request.

Managing vouchers and gift options

Use Issued vouchers to search the full ledger by code, purchaser or recipient, then narrow it by Status and Type. Open a row to review the voucher. The displayed balance is the venue's outstanding liability, even when the recipient cannot see its monetary value.

Financial summary covers every issued voucher at the venue, independently of the current filters. It starts collapsed on phones and can be expanded when needed. PRO summary access does not change access to individual vouchers.

Use Gift options to manage the experiences customers can buy. Owners and managers can create or edit amount, service and package options, choose artwork, preview recipient content, change online availability, reorder, duplicate, archive and restore options. Archiving an option does not invalidate vouchers already issued from it. Native output previews are labelled layout approximations; an issued voucher's secure view and PDF are the actual recipient output.

The Actions menu contains Bulk Generate for PRO owners/managers, plus Customer purchase page and Balance checker. Bulk-generated codes become active immediately and are not automatically emailed or texted. If a native batch request is interrupted, use Recover this batch before starting another. Exporting again or cancelling the share sheet does not create another batch.

Selling or issuing a gift voucher

There are two separate paths. Use Counter sale when the customer is paying; use Issue without payment only when no OpenChair sale should be recorded.

Sell a gift voucher in salon

Use this whenever the customer is paying. The voucher is issued only after the sale is paid, so its value is recorded against a real sale.

1. Open Counter sale. On Gift Cards, Sell gift voucher opens it directly in Gift card mode.
2. Select Gift card, then choose a preset amount or enter a Custom amount.
3. Add the gift card to the sale.
4. Select Charge, then take payment with the customer's chosen method.

The voucher is issued automatically once payment completes and appears as a POS sale in the voucher's detail view. Available to Owners, Managers and Stylists at checkout.

Issue without payment

Use this only for complimentary or promotional vouchers where no OpenChair sale should be recorded. Issuance is available to owners and managers.

1. Open Gift Cards, then Issue without payment.
2. Choose Amount and enter the value, or choose Gift option and select an active option. If none exists, Set up a gift option opens the option editor. Saving returns you to the issuance draft; it does not issue a voucher. New options start as staff-only.
3. Choose I'll deliver it myself, Recipient, Purchaser, or Collect in store. For recipient or purchaser delivery, choose email (PRO) or text where supported in Australia and the UK, then enter its destination.
4. Expand Preview voucher or Additional details when needed. Optional details include names, a message, expiry and internal notes.
5. Select Review voucher. Check the gift, value, recipient visibility, destination and expiry. Going back preserves the draft. The review warns No payment will be recorded and shows the voucher value. Only the final confirmation issues the voucher.
6. Select Confirm and issue without payment.

A voucher issued this way is not linked to a sale and cannot be converted afterwards. Its detail view shows Sale: Not recorded in OpenChair. instead of View sale. When the customer is paying, use Counter sale → Gift card instead so the voucher is issued with the sale.

The result distinguishes voucher creation from message delivery. Email submitted and text queued do not mean the message has arrived. If delivery fails, use View voucher to recover the existing voucher. Do not issue another one. If a request times out, use Check issuance to reconcile the same attempt.

Direct-recipient results do not show the redemption code. Manual output offers copy and secure voucher/PDF access, with a separate Mark as delivered action. Collection uses Mark as collected. Copying, opening, sharing or closing the result does not record hand-off. Cancelling a share does not undo issuance.

On mobile, the same sequence uses native navigation and output adapters. An interrupted submitted attempt is retained by account and venue for reconciliation; unsent personal details are not saved for process-death recovery.

---

Selling a gift card at checkout

Gift cards can be added to any checkout order, either from a booking or a walk-in sale.

1. During checkout, select Add service or product.
2. Select Sell a gift card from the item picker.
3. Choose a preset amount ($25, $50, $100, $150, $200) or enter a Custom amount.
4. Optionally enter a Recipient name (placeholder: "e.g. Sarah").
5. Click "Add to Order : $XX.XX".

The gift card appears as a line item in the cart. When the order is completed and paid, the gift card is issued automatically with status Active. The code can then be provided to the customer.

---

Fulfilling purchased gift vouchers

After payment is confirmed, each purchased voucher has its own result and delivery status. For Give it myself, copy the code or use Open / PDF where your access permits it, then select Mark as delivered after handing it over. Copying or opening a voucher does not record hand-over.

Email and text results distinguish queued, submitted, delivered and failed delivery. Use Check status when the outcome is uncertain. Do not charge again or issue a replacement to resolve a missing result. Owners and managers can use View voucher for the existing delivery correction and recovery controls.

Reopen the paid booking to continue fulfilment, or use View sale from voucher detail. Recorded hand-over survives reopening. If saving is interrupted, check status before trying again. Done leaves without changing delivery.

Customer online purchase (storefront)

Customers can buy gift cards directly from your public storefront, no account required.

How it works

1. The customer visits yourvenue.openchairpro.com/gift-cards.
2. They choose an amount from the presets ($25, $50, $100, $150, $200) or enter a custom amount ($1 to $1,000).
3. They choose Recipient, Purchaser, Give it myself, or Collect in store.
4. For direct delivery, they choose Email or Text message where supported and enter the selected destination, recipient name, and optional personal message.
5. They enter their own name and email under "Your details".
6. They click "Continue to Payment : $XX.XX" and complete payment via the Stripe payment form.
7. After payment, digital delivery sends a secure hosted-voucher link. Give it myself provides an Open secure voucher / PDF action; the public link does not expose the redeemable code as its credential.

Gift cards purchased online are valid for a minimum of 3 years from purchase (in compliance with Australian and New Zealand consumer law).

If your Stripe account is not connected, the storefront shows: "Gift card purchases are not yet available online. Contact [venue name] directly to purchase in-store."

---

Checking a gift card balance

Staff can check balances from the dashboard; customers can use the public balance checker page.

For staff (dashboard)

1. Go to Gift Cards in the sidebar (web) or More → Gift Cards (mobile).
2. Click or tap a gift card in the list to open its detail view.
3. The detail shows the original value, remaining balance, status, and full redemption history.

For customers (public balance checker)

Customers can check their balance at yourvenue.openchairpro.com/gift-cards/balance:

1. Enter the Gift card code (placeholder: "e.g. GIFT-AB1C2D3E").
2. Click "Check Balance".
3. If valid, the remaining balance and expiry date are displayed.
4. If the code is not found or has expired, the message reads: "Gift card not found or has expired. Please check the code and try again."

The public balance checker is rate-limited to prevent code enumeration (20 lookups per 5 minutes per venue).

---

Redeeming a gift card at checkout

Any team member can apply a gift card during checkout.

1. During checkout, click "+ Add Gift Card" in the modifiers section.
2. Enter the gift card code (placeholder: "GIFT-XXXXXXXX").
3. Click "Check" to verify the card.
4. A preview shows the Card balance, Applied to order, and Remaining balance.
5. Click "Apply" to redeem.

The redeemed amount appears in the order summary as a green deduction line. Only one gift card can be applied per order. If you apply a different card, the previous one is automatically reversed and its balance restored.

To remove a gift card, click the trash icon next to it in the order summary.

If the gift card covers the full order balance, the payment button changes to "Complete (Gift Card)": no additional payment method is needed.

---

Gift card statuses

Gift cards move through four statuses: Active, Redeemed, Voided, and Expired.

Status	Meaning
Active	Gift card has remaining balance and can be redeemed
Redeemed	Balance has been fully used, no remaining value
Voided	Gift card was manually voided by an Owner or Manager, cannot be redeemed
Expired	Gift card passed its expiry date, cannot be redeemed

Cards automatically transition from Active to Expired when their expiry date passes (checked daily). Cards transition from Active to Redeemed when the balance reaches zero through redemptions.

---

Viewing gift card details

Click or tap any gift card in the list to open the detail view.

The detail shows:

Field	Description
Code	The unique gift card code (monospace, e.g. GIFT-AB1C2D3E)
Value	Original amount and remaining balance
Status	Active, Redeemed, Voided, or Expired
Purchaser	Name and email of the buyer (if recorded)
Recipient	Name and email of the recipient (if recorded)
Message	Personal message from the purchaser (if provided)
Expires	Expiry date (if set)
Delivery	Destination, channel, redacted address, and provider-backed queued, submitted, delivered, confirmation-pending, failed, or unavailable evidence
Issued	Date and staff member who issued the card
Source	How the voucher was created: POS sale, Online purchase, Bulk batch, or Issued manually
Sale	For manually issued vouchers, states that no sale is recorded in OpenChair (no View sale action is shown)

Redemption history

Below the card details, the Redemption History section shows every time the card was used:

• Date: when the redemption occurred
• Amount: how much was deducted
• Reference: the order or booking reference (e.g. "Order #abc123")
• By: the staff member who applied the card

Actions

From the detail view, you can:

• Copy Code: copy the code to clipboard
• Open / PDF: create a fresh secure hosted voucher for opening, printing, or PDF download
• Send by Email / Resend: send or resend the secure branded voucher by email (PRO)
• Correct or switch delivery: update the recipient or purchaser destination, change between supported email and text channels, and send a fresh delivery generation
• Void Gift Card: permanently void the card (see Voiding below)

---

Voiding a gift card

Only Owners and Managers can void gift cards. Voiding is permanent and cannot be undone.

1. Open the gift card detail view.
2. Click "Void Gift Card".
3. A confirmation dialog warns:

• If balance remains: "This gift card has [balance] remaining. Voiding is permanent, the balance will be removed and the card cannot be redeemed. This cannot be undone."
• If balance is zero: "This gift card will be permanently voided and cannot be redeemed. This cannot be undone."

4. Click "Void Gift Card" to confirm.

---

Bulk generating gift cards (PRO)

Generate batches of gift card codes for promotions, retail display, or resale.

1. Go to Gift Cards on web.
2. Click "Bulk Generate" in the toolbar.
3. In the Bulk Generate Gift Cards dialog:

• Enter the Quantity (10 to 500 cards per batch)
• Choose a Denomination from presets or enter a custom amount
• Optionally set an Expiry Date
• Optionally add Notes (max 200 characters, e.g. "Christmas 2026 batch")

4. An amber liability warning shows the total value being created (e.g. "This will create 50 gift cards worth $5,000.00 in outstanding liability.")
5. Click "Generate [quantity] Cards".
6. A CSV file downloads automatically (gift-cards-{date}.csv) containing each code, amount, expiry, and notes.

All bulk-generated cards are created with manual delivery and are active immediately.

---

Gift card analytics (PRO)

The gift cards dashboard shows four analytics cards at the top of the page (blurred on FREE plans):

Metric	What it shows
Issued	Lifetime value of all gift cards issued, with count
Redeemed	Lifetime value redeemed across all cards
Outstanding	Total unredeemed balance across all active cards
Redemption Rate	Lifetime percentage of issued value that has been redeemed

For a period-specific review, open Reports -> Gift Card Performance on web or mobile. The selected venue-local date range controls non-void voucher issuance by purchase/issue date and redemptions by redemption date, with comparison against the immediately preceding equivalent calendar range. The report keeps these separate from:

• Outstanding liability, which is the current active, unexpired balance
• Expiry risk, which looks forward 30 days
• Current voucher portfolio, which covers all non-void vouchers

Source mix separates storefront, POS, and manual or bulk issuance. “Issued value” does not claim cash received because manually issued and bulk-generated vouchers can create value without a corresponding payment.

---

Delivery methods and recovery

Gift vouchers support deliberate hand-off, collection, and secure digital delivery with provider-backed evidence.

Destination	How it works	When to use
I'll deliver it myself	The operator opens the secure voucher, downloads its PDF, prints it, or hands it over.	Counter sales and physical presentation.
Recipient	Sends a secure hosted-voucher link to the recipient by email or supported text message.	Direct gifts.
Purchaser	Sends the secure hosted-voucher link to the purchaser's selected contact.	The purchaser wants to forward or present it later.
Collect in store	Records the voucher as awaiting collection.	Physical pickup.

Email delivery is available with PRO. Text delivery is available for supported Australian and UK venues. Delivery history records the redacted destination and provider state: scheduled, submitted, delivered, confirmation pending, failed, or unavailable.

If delivery fails or the destination is wrong, open the voucher detail and use Correct or switch delivery. Choose Recipient or Purchaser, select an available channel, enter the corrected destination, and click Update and send. Open / PDF creates a fresh secure recovery output without reissuing voucher value.

---

Role access

Owners and Managers can issue without payment and void gift cards; Stylists can only sell and redeem them at checkout.

Action	Owner	Manager	Stylist
View gift cards list	Yes	Yes	No
Sell a gift voucher	Yes	Yes	Yes
Issue without payment	Yes	Yes	No
View gift card details	Yes	Yes	No
Void a gift card	Yes	Yes	No
Bulk generate (PRO)	Yes	Yes	No
Send, resend, or correct delivery	Yes	Yes	No
View analytics (PRO)	Yes	Yes	No
Mark as delivered	Yes	Yes	Yes
Redeem at checkout	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sell at checkout (add to cart)	Yes	Yes	Yes

---

Platform differences

Most gift card features are available on both web and mobile, with bulk generation limited to web only.

Feature	Web	Mobile
Navigation	Sidebar → Gift Cards (under Catalogue)	More → Gift Cards
Issue flow	Side sheet (drawer)	Full-screen page
Detail view	Side sheet	Master-detail pane (iPad) or full-screen (phone)
Bulk generate	Dialog with CSV export	Not available, web only
Print	Browser print dialog	Not available
Share	Not available	Share sheet (native OS)
Search	Search by code, recipient, or purchaser (Cmd+K)	Text input with search icon
Analytics	4 stat cards above list (PRO)	Stats bar above list (PRO)
Delivery selection	Recipient, Purchaser, self-delivery, or collection, with available email/text channels	The same delivery destinations and supported channels
PRO gating display	Blur overlay on analytics, tooltip on Bulk Generate	Conditional field display

---

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Gift card code not accepted at checkout	Verify the code format is correct (GIFT-XXXXXXXX). The card must be Active with a remaining balance greater than zero. Check that the card belongs to your venue and has not expired.
Customer says "Gift card not found" on balance checker	The code may be mistyped, gift card codes use uppercase letters and numbers only (no O, 0, I, or 1 to avoid confusion). Ask the customer to double-check the code. If the card was voided, it will not appear in the public balance checker.
Cannot issue a voucher without payment	Only Owners and Managers can issue without payment. If you are a Stylist, use Counter sale → Gift card to sell one instead.
Email delivery is not available	Email voucher delivery requires PRO. Supported Australian and UK venues can use Text message, or use I'll deliver it myself, Collect in store, or Open / PDF recovery.
Bulk Generate button is greyed out	Bulk generation requires a PRO subscription. The button shows a tooltip: "Generate gift card batches in bulk, available on PRO".
Gift voucher email or text was not received	Open the voucher detail and inspect Delivery history. If it failed, correct the destination, switch to an available channel, resend, or provide a fresh Open / PDF secure output. If confirmation is pending, wait for reconciliation before changing it.
Gift card balance seems wrong after checkout	Only one gift card can be applied per order. If a different card was applied, the previous card's balance was automatically restored. Check the redemption history on the card's detail view for the full audit trail.
Online gift card purchase page shows "Coming soon"	Online storefront purchases require Stripe Connect to be configured. Go to Payouts and connect your bank account to enable online gift card sales.
Gift card shows "Expired"	Gift cards expire on their set expiry date. Expired cards cannot be redeemed. Storefront purchases have a minimum 3-year validity period. Manually issued cards may have shorter expiry dates if set by the issuer.

---

Related Articles

• Buying a Gift Card Online (Customer Guide)
• Checkout
• Discount Codes
• Setting Up Stripe & Card Payments