Gift cards are not sales the moment they are bought.
That £50 gift card may feel like a lovely little win.
Money in the bank.
Customer happy.
You are already mentally spending it on stock.
But from a bookkeeping point of view, the sale usually happens when the customer actually uses the gift card, not when they purchase it.
Until then, your business still owes them goods or services.
This matters whether you sell gift cards through Shopify, offer Etsy shop credit or provide vouchers to loyal Amazon customers outside the platform.
Keep track of:
🎁 Gift cards sold
💷 The value still unused
🛍️ Gift cards redeemed
⌛ Expired balances
↩️ Refunds given as store credit
It is also worth checking that your bookkeeping does not count the same money twice.
Once when the gift card is purchased.
Then again when the customer redeems it.
Double sales may look exciting for five minutes, but sadly HMRC is unlikely to be impressed by the creative accounting.
Clear gift card records help you understand what you have genuinely earned and what your business still owes to customers.
At The Bookkeeper Superhero, I help ecommerce business owners keep their sales, vouchers, payouts and liabilities properly recorded.
If gift cards and store credit are making your accounts harder to follow, send me a message and let’s get the numbers back under control.
Gift cards are not sales the moment they are bought.
That £50 gift card may feel like a lovely little win.
Money in the bank.
Customer happy.
You are already mentally spending it on stock.
But from a bookkeeping point of view, the sale usually happens when the customer actually uses the gift card, not when they purchase it.
Until then, your business still owes them goods or services.
This matters whether you sell gift cards through Shopify, offer Etsy shop credit or provide vouchers to loyal Amazon customers outside the platform.
Keep track of:
🎁 Gift cards sold
💷 The value still unused
🛍️ Gift cards redeemed
⌛ Expired balances
↩️ Refunds given as store credit
It is also worth checking that your bookkeeping does not count the same money twice.
Once when the gift card is purchased.
Then again when the customer redeems it.
Double sales may look exciting for five minutes, but sadly HMRC is unlikely to be impressed by the creative accounting.
Clear gift card records help you understand what you have genuinely earned and what your business still owes to customers.
At The Bookkeeper Superhero, I help ecommerce business owners keep their sales, vouchers, payouts and liabilities properly recorded.
If gift cards and store credit are making your accounts harder to follow, send me a message and let’s get the numbers back under control.
