Many properties sell and accept Gift Certificates as a normal course of business. How you set up and use the system for Gift Certicates depends on a couple of factors like how many gift certificates do you sell and redeem per year. Do you have an expiry date? Do you have Gift Certificates for different items like Room and Spa?
Before you set up Gift Certificates in the system, think about how detailed the tracking needs to be and how frequently you use Gift Certificates.
To set up a Gift Certificate system in BookingCenter, follow these steps.
STEP 1: Set up Inventory Item and Receipt Type
House Account Folios: Use the House Accounts to track Gift Certificates purchased and redeemed.
Managing Gift Certificates On a Daily Basis
When you get a person who wants to BUY a Gift Certificate, sell them one in the House Accounts Screen (Front Desk | House Accounts). Make sure you place the Gift Certificate number in the Description field so that you have a note attached in BookingCenter that shows which Gift Certificate number you sold, to whom, and on what date.
When a customer wants to pay for their bookings - or other sale items such as a beverage, shirt, mug - with a Gift Certificate, simply choose the Payment type: "Gift Certificate Redeemed" when issuing a receipt and place the number for the redeeming Gift Certificate in the description field, and voila! You have a record of when you redeemed the Gift Certificate.
It's good practice to update your spreadsheet of Gift Certificates when you sell and redeem them. Reports can help you balance your Gift Certificate program. There are two ways to do this in MyPMS:
Make a list of the Gift Certificates you sell - using the numbering system you like. In one column, write the Gift Certificate number; in another the Date Sold; in another the Quantity (in $$); in another the Date Redeemed. Many of our properties use a spreadsheet (MS Excel or Lotus 1-2-3) to list the Gift Certificate they are selling and the date at which they were redeemed.