Support Forum
How gift certificates work - Wed - Nov 22, 2017 - 8:39am
The gift card/certificate is located under Revenue Builders > Gift Certificates.
It’s designed so you can upload an image to use year-round, or change it for holidays any time of year. For example, you could use a holiday gift box starting in November and red, white and blue in July. Gift certificate buyers can also choose from several themed photos for different celebrations (birthday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and more). The selected image is also used on the printable Gift Certificate PDF that’s emailed to the recipient.
The maximum width and height of the image used on the PDF is 600px x 600px.
You can change the name, description or image at any time. When a purchaser buys a gift certificate, they enter the recipient’s name and email address. The purchaser can send the gift certificate to the recipient, or check a box to send it to themselves so they can print it and hand it over in person. Both people’s information is saved in your customer database for future marketing.
Redemption
The recipient can redeem the gift certificate against any event ticket or product. The available balance is applied in full to the order. If there’s a balance left over, ThunderTix tracks the redemptions and remaining balance, which you can view at any time, so a gift certificate can be used on one show or across several.
ThunderTix charges 2% of the total gift certificates purchased, billed monthly. Check your plan details for more information. Gift certificates don’t count against your tickets until they’re redeemed.
Expiration
Gift certificates don’t expire unless you choose to set an expiration policy. To set one:
- Go to Revenue Builders > Gift Certificates and open Expiration and breakage handling.
- Choose Expire and enter the number of years from purchase date. The minimum is 5 years, as required by the federal CARD Act of 2009.
- Click Save gift card settings.
Once a policy is set:
- New gift certificates automatically get an expiration date based on their purchase date.
- The expiration date is included in the gift certificate confirmation email.
- Gift certificates sold before you set a policy keep no expiration date unless you use Apply default expiration policy to existing gift cards.
- To change a single gift certificate, click its Exp date on the Gift Certificates list and choose a later date. Expiration dates can be extended but not shortened.
- If a patron tries to use an expired gift certificate, they’ll see: “This gift card expired on [date]. Please contact the venue if you believe this is incorrect.”
- Expired gift certificates stay on your Gift Certificates list with their balance. They aren’t deleted.
Some states, including California and Connecticut, don’t allow gift cards to expire at all. Check your state’s rules before turning on expiration.
Taxes and Earning Revenue
Gift certificates are generally not taxable and are considered “unearned income” until they’re redeemed and value has been provided (for example, tickets have been purchased). At that point, taxes are due on the items purchased, and the income becomes earned income. Check your state laws when setting gift certificate policies. You can view your Unearned Income in the Insights tab of your Dashboard.
Adding Gift Certificates to your Website
As soon as your gift certificate is created and activated, a Gift Certificates button with a small present icon appears at the top of your event listing, so it shows up on your website automatically. We still recommend adding a separate page or link on your website labeled “Gift Certificates” or similar. Use the Get Code button on your Gift Certificates page in ThunderTix to embed it on its own page.
Gift Certificates in the Box Office
Box office staff can process gift certificates the same way they process orders, from the Gift Certificates listing. They can comp gift certificates for any reason. Coupon codes can’t be used on the initial gift certificate sale. The Gift Certificates listing shows each purchase, its value, redemptions and remaining balance, along with the expiration date if one is set. This data is also available by export.
Please check your local and state laws on how gift certificates should be honored, taxed and classified as income.
View our video tutorials
What happens to the remaining balance on a gift card?
Are we only charged for a purchased gift card once? What about when it's redeemed?
Does ThunderTix automatically create a gift card form for our website?
If we have an event that is $90 per person, can we create a $90 gift card?
How do I void a gift certificate?
How can I refund a purchase as a credit or gift card?
How can I change the balance of a gift card?