---
id: "gift-cards"
lang: "en"
title: "Gift cards"
summary: "Sell a gift card at the till and hand over a printed slip with its code. The customer spends it later, all at once or bit by bit, until it runs out or expires."
area: "Selling at the till"
kind: "task"
url: "https://zeropos.shop/help/gift-cards"
alternate: "https://zeropos.shop/help/gift-cards?lang=es"
markdown: "https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/gift-cards.md"
screens: ["/pos/sale","/backoffice/gift-cards","/backoffice/settings/gift-cards"]
where_to_find: ["New Sale","BACKOFFICE › Gift cards","MANAGE › Settings › Gift cards"]
related: ["make-a-sale","treatment-vouchers","refund-a-sale","reports-overview"]
updated: "2026-09-30"
---

# Gift cards

Sell a gift card at the till and hand over a printed slip with its code. The customer spends it later, all at once or bit by bit, until it runs out or expires.

A gift card holds money: the customer pays for it, and whoever holds the slip spends it later. The till prints each card's code once, on its slip.

For a card someone pays for. A treatment given as a present is a gift voucher, which is never sold: [Treatment gift vouchers](https://zeropos.shop/help/treatment-vouchers).

Where to find it: New Sale; BACKOFFICE › Gift cards; MANAGE › Settings › Gift cards.

## Before you start

- The owner has switched on **Sell gift cards at the till** in [MANAGE › Settings › Gift cards](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/settings/gift-cards), and set **Cards expire after** and the **Amounts offered at the till**.

## Steps

### Sell a card

1. On **New Sale**, tap **Gift card**.
2. Under **How much?**, tap an amount or type another, and add who it is **For (optional)**.
3. Tap **Add to the sale**, take payment as usual and tap **Create Sale**.
4. In the **Gift cards** window, tap **Print** for each card's slip before you tap **Close**.
   - The code is shown this once and never again.

### Spend a card

5. Ring up the sale, then select **Gift card** under **Payment methods**.
6. Type the code from the slip and tap **Check**.
7. Check the amount under **How much?**: it starts at the balance or what is left to pay, whichever is smaller.
8. Tap **Use this card**, and take anything still to pay with another method.

### Check, re-date or stop a card

9. Open [BACKOFFICE › Gift cards](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/gift-cards).
10. Under **Check a card**, type the code and tap **Check**. Checking never spends it.
11. In the list, **Left** shows what each card still holds.
12. Owners and managers can tap **Change the expiry**, or **Stop this card** when a slip is lost.
   - Stopping a card cannot be undone.

## What happens next

- Selling a card is revenue on the day it is sold, and it counts toward the seller's commission like any other sale.
- Spending a card is not a second sale: the card pays for the goods, and **Gift card** shows as a payment method in the day's close.
- What the shops still owe on sold cards is in the **Gift cards outstanding** report ([What each report answers](https://zeropos.shop/help/reports-overview)).

## Common questions

### Can a gift card go on a layaway?

No. A card is sold as its own sale, paid in full, and a layaway can't be paid with a gift card either: [Layaway: hold items while a customer pays over time](https://zeropos.shop/help/layaway).

### Can we give a card away without selling it?

Yes: owners and managers use **Issue a card** on the Gift cards screen. A card a customer pays for is always sold on the till, so the money lands on the books.

### What happens to a gift card when there is a refund?

Refunding or cancelling the sale of a card stops the card, and is refused once any of it has been spent. A sale paid even partly with a gift card is final: it can't be refunded, exchanged or cancelled, and nothing goes back onto the card or in cash ([Refund a sale](https://zeropos.shop/help/refund-a-sale)).

## If you see this

- “**No card with that code.**” — What to do: Check the code on the slip letter by letter and type it again.
- “**That card has expired.**” — What to do: An owner or manager can give it a new date with **Change the expiry**.
- “**That card has been stopped.**” — What to do: A stopped card can't be spent again. Ask a manager why it was stopped.
- “**That card belongs to a different shop and cannot be spent here.**” — What to do: A card can only be spent in the shops of the region that sold it. Take payment another way.
- “**A gift card cannot be bought with another gift card.**” — What to do: Take payment for the new card with another method.
- “**This card has already been partly spent, so the sale cannot be refunded. Stop the card and settle the difference by hand.**” — What to do: A manager stops the card and settles what was not spent directly with the customer.

## Good to know

- A card is good for the whole of the last day printed on it.
- Print the slip before closing the window: the code can't be shown again.

## Related guides

- [Make a sale](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/make-a-sale.md)
- [Treatment gift vouchers](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/treatment-vouchers.md)
- [Refund a sale](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/refund-a-sale.md)
- [What each report answers](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/reports-overview.md)