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Introduction

Gift Cards let you sell digital gift cards to clients and their friends and family. Recipients receive an email with their unique gift card code, which staff can then apply at checkout to pay for appointments — fully or partially. Gift cards are purchased through your online booking portal and managed from the Gift Cards section of the dashboard. Note: Gift cards require Stripe payments to be configured for your location. See Payments for setup instructions.

Gift Card Types

Bella Booking supports two types of gift cards:
TypeDescription
AmountA dollar-value gift card. The purchaser selects a preset denomination or enters a custom amount. The recipient can use it toward any appointment.
ServiceA gift card for a specific service (e.g., a haircut or facial). The card’s value is set to that service’s price at the time of purchase, and the service name is shown in the delivery email.
Which types are available for purchase depends on your Gift Card Settings.

Key Features

  • Online purchase: Clients buy gift cards through your online booking portal
  • Two gift card types: Dollar-value amounts or specific service
  • Gift card designs: Six built-in designs (Classic, Birthday, Thank You, Congratulations, Holiday, Floral) plus custom uploads
  • Email delivery: Recipients automatically receive their gift card code by email
  • Partial redemption: Gift cards can be used across multiple appointments until the balance runs out
  • Balance tracking: Full redemption history shows how and when a gift card was used
  • Voiding: Cancel an active gift card if needed
  • Preset denominations: Set common amounts (e.g., 25,25, 50, $100) for easy selection
  • Custom amounts: Optionally allow clients to enter any amount within a range you define

How Gift Cards Work

  1. Someone purchases a gift card through your online booking portal, selects a design, enters the recipient’s details, and pays via Stripe
  2. The recipient receives an email with their unique gift card code (e.g., BELLA-A2K9-M7L3)
  3. When the recipient visits, staff enter the gift card code at checkout
  4. The gift card balance is applied to the appointment total
  5. If the balance doesn’t cover the full amount, the remainder is charged via another payment method
  6. The gift card can be used across multiple appointments until the balance is exhausted

Purchasing a Gift Card

Gift cards are purchased through your public online booking portal by clients or anyone wanting to give a gift.

Purchase steps

  1. Go to the gift cards section of your online booking portal
  2. Choose a design — pick from built-in designs or any custom designs your business has uploaded
  3. Select the gift card type:
    • Amount: Select a preset denomination or enter a custom amount (if enabled)
    • Service: Select a service to gift
  4. Fill in the details:
    • Recipient name: Who the gift card is for
    • Recipient email: Where the gift card code will be sent
    • Your name: Displayed to the recipient as the sender
    • Personal message (optional): A message included in the delivery email
  5. Complete payment via Stripe
  6. Once payment is confirmed, the recipient receives their gift card by email
Note: Gift card purchases are non-refundable.

Redeeming a Gift Card at Checkout

Staff apply a gift card code when checking out an appointment.

How to redeem

  1. Open an appointment and click Check Out
  2. In the payment section, enter the client’s gift card code
  3. The system verifies the code and shows the available balance
  4. Enter the amount to redeem (up to the remaining balance or the appointment total, whichever is lower)
  5. The gift card amount is deducted from the total
  6. If a remaining balance is owed, select another payment method (cash, card, etc.) to cover it
  7. Complete the checkout

Partial redemption

Gift cards support partial redemption. If a client has a 100giftcardandtheirappointmentcosts100 gift card and their appointment costs 60, the gift card balance reduces to $40 and can be used again at their next visit.

Fully redeemed

When the balance reaches $0, the gift card status automatically changes to Redeemed and can no longer be used.

Managing Gift Cards

The Gift Cards section in the dashboard lets you search, view, and manage all gift cards for your location.

Searching and filtering

  1. Go to Gift Cards in the sidebar
  2. Use the search bar to find by code, recipient name, or recipient email
  3. Filter by status: All, Active, Redeemed, Expired, or Voided
  4. Filter by type: All, Amount, or Service
Summary statistics are displayed at the top of the page:
StatisticDescription
Total SoldNumber of gift cards successfully issued
Total RevenueCombined purchase value of all issued gift cards
RedeemedTotal amount that has been redeemed across all gift cards
Outstanding BalanceTotal remaining balance across all active gift cards

Viewing a gift card

Click any gift card in the list to open its detail view, which shows:
  • Gift card code and type
  • Original amount and remaining balance
  • Recipient and sender details
  • Personal message (if provided)
  • Purchase date and expiry date
  • Status
  • Full redemption history — date, amount redeemed, and appointment reference for each use

Voiding a gift card

If you need to cancel a gift card — for example, if it was purchased in error — you can void it.
  1. Open the gift card detail page
  2. Click Void
  3. Confirm the action
Note: Only Active gift cards can be voided. Voiding is permanent — the remaining balance is forfeited and the gift card can no longer be redeemed.

Gift Card Statuses

StatusMeaning
ActiveValid and ready to redeem — has a remaining balance
RedeemedFully used — balance has reached $0
ExpiredExpiry date has passed — can no longer be redeemed
VoidedCancelled by staff — remaining balance forfeited

Gift Card Summary Report

The Gift Card Summary report gives you a day-by-day breakdown of gift card activity over any date range, including cards sold, amounts redeemed, and outstanding balances. It also supports comparison mode to measure performance against a previous period or the same period last year. To access it, go to Reports > Gift Card Summary.

FAQs

Q: What is the difference between an Amount and a Service gift card? A: An Amount gift card is a dollar-value card the recipient can use toward any appointment. A Service gift card gifts a specific service — its value is set to that service’s price at the time of purchase and the service name appears in the delivery email. Q: Can a gift card be used across multiple appointments? A: Yes. Gift cards support partial redemption and can be used until the balance is exhausted. Q: What if the gift card balance is more than the appointment total? A: Only the amount needed is deducted. The remaining balance stays on the gift card for future use. Q: What if the gift card balance is less than the appointment total? A: The gift card amount is applied and the remaining total is charged via another payment method (cash, card, etc.). Q: What happens when a gift card expires? A: Expired gift cards cannot be redeemed. The expiry date is shown to the recipient in their delivery email. Q: Who can void a gift card? A: Staff with the appropriate permission can void gift cards. By default, Owners and Admins have this permission. Q: How do I enable gift cards? A: Go to Settings > Gift Cards to enable the feature and configure your options. See Gift Card Settings.
To enable and configure gift cards, see Gift Card Settings. To configure the automated delivery email sent to recipients, see Automated Messages.