A salon before the holidays, a café with regulars, a studio that sells class passes: a paper gift certificate is easy to sell and easy to lose track of. The hard part comes months later, when someone hands one back. This guide walks through what a gift certificate usually has on it and how to keep track of the ones you've sold, then how to make them with Gift Cat, our gift certificate maker for iPhone.
What goes on a gift certificate
Most gift certificates carry the same few things:
- What it's for. An amount, or a service such as "One 60-minute massage" or "A pottery class for two".
- To and From, plus a short message if you like. Selling one over the counter? Leave the names blank to write in by hand.
- Your business name, your logo and one line to find you: an address, a phone number or a website.
- Your own small print, in one or two lines. What it says is up to you and the rules where you are.
- An expiry date, only if you want one. Rules on expiry dates for gift certificates differ from place to place, so check yours before you add one.
- A number. More on that next.
Give every certificate its own number
The number is how you tell two certificates apart and spot one that's been used.
- Use each number only once, even if you throw a certificate away.
- Keep the numbers the same width with a short mark in front, like GC-0001 and GC-0002, so a number is easy to read out at the counter.
- Sold paper ones before? Start the new ones after the last number you handed out.
- Keep a list of each number, the day it went out, who it's for and the day it was used.
Make the certificate in Gift Cat
- Add your business once. Tap ⋯ at the top right of the home screen, then Your business. Type your business name and one line with your address, phone or website, and tap Choose logo to pick your logo from Photos. Under Wording, add your own small print if you want some. Gift Cat doesn't add any; it prints exactly what you write. Tap Done to save.
- Tap New certificate. Under What it's for, pick Amount and type a sum, or Service and type what it's good for: a treatment, a class, a meal.
- Say who it's for. Type To, From and a message if you like. Leave To or From blank and the certificate has a line to write on.
- Set the dates. The issue date starts as today. Expires starts at No expiry date; you can also pick 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years or a date of your own.
- Pick a design. Choose Classic, Ribbon or Modern, and one of eight colours. The next certificate you make starts in the same design and colour.
The preview at the top shows the certificate as it will print. A note under Only for you is never printed. Every change is saved at once.
Each certificate gets the next number, GC-0001, then GC-0002 and so on, and a number is never given out twice, even after a delete. To carry on from paper certificates, open Your business and go to Numbers: sold paper ones up to 120? Set the next number to 121. You can also change the letters before the number there.
Print it or send it
Tap Print & share:
- Print sends it to your printer. Cut along the marks.
- Share PDF sends the PDF to Mail, Files or another app.
- Share picture sends a picture of the certificate, for Messages or email.
Under Paper, pick Letter or A4.
A new certificate is a draft until you print or share it. After that it counts as issued. Handed one over another way, like writing it out by hand? Tap Mark as issued.
Check a certificate at the counter
When someone brings a certificate back, tap Check a number on the home screen and type the number printed on it, with or without the letters in front: 42, GC-0042 and #42 all work. Gift Cat tells you whether it's Good to use, Already redeemed, Expired or Void, or that it was never marked issued. An expired one is still your call; you can accept it if you want to.
Tap Mark redeemed to record it as used today. To pick an earlier day or add a note, like what it was used for, tap Open certificate and mark it redeemed there. Tapped by mistake? Tap Undo redeemed.
Back on the home screen, Your certificates shows Out, Redeemed or All, and you can search by number or name. If a certificate shouldn't be used, mark it Void: it stays in your list, and Check a number says it can't be used.
Letting people know
To put up a sign, see how to make a flyer on iPhone. For a café or salon price list, see how to make a menu on iPhone.
What it costs
Certificates, numbers, your logo, three designs, Print, Share and Check a number cost nothing, as many as you like. There's no watermark: nothing is printed on your certificate except your certificate. There's no trial, no sign-up, no account, no ads and no subscription. Gift Cat Pro, a one-time purchase, adds numbered sheets (up to 60 certificates in a row, three to a page) and three more designs: Noir, Botanical and Confetti. More on the Gift Cat page.
Your certificates and log are kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share, save or print them. Gift Cat prints the certificates you sell and keeps your list of them. It doesn't take payments or hold money, and it isn't legal or tax advice. What you offer, and any expiry date, is up to you and the rules where you are.
Quick answers
How can I make a gift certificate for free?
In Gift Cat, tap New certificate, type an amount or a service, pick a design, then print it or share it as a PDF or a picture. Making, numbering, printing, sharing and checking certificates is free, with no watermark.
How do I make gift certificates for my business?
Put your business name, logo and a contact line on every one, give each its own number, and keep a list of which are out and which are used. Gift Cat does the numbering and the list for you.
How do I make gift vouchers instead?
The same way. In Gift Cat, open Your business and, under Wording, choose Gift Voucher instead of Gift Certificate. In the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India it starts as Gift Voucher.
Try Gift Cat
Try Gift Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/gift-cat