Gift Cards

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Introduction

Gift cards let you sell digital gift cards to clients and their friends and family. The recipient’s unique gift card code is emailed by default — at the till you can switch the email off to hand the code over yourself — and your team applies it at checkout to pay for appointments, fully or partially. Gift cards can be sold two ways:

• From the business dashboard — your team sells a gift card from the Gift cards screen, enters the recipient’s name (and their email, unless you’re handing the code over yourself), and settles through any in-shop payment method (cash, manual card, other). No Stripe required.
• From the online booking portal — clients buy gift cards themselves and pay through Stripe.

Both paths use the same gift card and the same redemption flow. Note: Online gift card purchases require Stripe payments to be configured for your location. Selling a gift card from the dashboard does not. See Payments for Stripe setup instructions.

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Gift card types

Bella Booking supports three types of gift cards: Whichever the type, the card is issued as a balance the recipient redeems at checkout like any other gift card — a Service or Bundle card simply has its value pre-set to that service or bundle’s price. Which types are available depends on your Gift Card Settings. Service and bundle gift cards each have their own setting to switch them on.

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Key features

• Sell from the business dashboard: Your team sells a gift card from the Gift cards screen and settles through cash, manual card, or other — no Stripe Checkout needed
• Online purchase: Clients buy gift cards through your online booking portal (Stripe required)
• Three gift card types: Dollar-value amounts, a specific service, or a whole bundle (service and bundle cards can be sold from the dashboard or purchased online)
• Gift card designs: Six built-in designs (Classic, Birthday, Thank You, Congratulations, Holiday, Floral) plus custom uploads — you can hide the built-ins in gift card settings so clients only see your customs
• Email delivery: Recipients are emailed their gift card code by default — at the till you can switch the email off to hand the code over yourself; online purchases are always emailed
• 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,$50, $100) for easy selection
• Custom amounts: Optionally allow clients to enter any amount within a range you define
• Online redemption at booking: Clients can apply gift cards when booking online to cover the deposit or full payment
• My Gift cards portal: Clients can view their gift cards and balances from the online booking portal

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How gift cards work

1. A gift card is sold — either by your team from the business dashboard or by a client purchasing online via Stripe
2. The recipient is emailed their unique gift card code (e.g., BELLA-A2K9-M7L3) — emailed by default at the till, where you can switch the email off and hand the code over yourself; online purchases are always emailed
3. When the recipient comes in, your team enters 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

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My gift cards (client portal)

Clients can view all their gift cards — purchased for them or by them — from the My Gift cards page in the online booking portal. This page is accessible from the user menu after logging in. For each gift card, clients can see:

• Gift card code and design
• Original amount and remaining balance
• Status (Active, Redeemed, Expired)
• Expiry date (if applicable)
• Sender and personal message

This gives clients self-service visibility into their gift card balances without needing to contact your business.

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Selling a gift card from the business dashboard

Your team can sell a gift card directly from the Gift cards screen. The card is activated immediately and the recipient is emailed the code by default — switch the email off to hand the code over yourself, and it’s displayed after the sale for you to share.

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Sell steps

1. Go to Sales → Gift cards in the sidebar
2. Click Sell gift card (top-right)
3. In the dialog:
   • Amount, Service, or Bundle — choose a preset denomination, enter a custom amount, pick an eligible service, or pick an eligible bundle. The Service and Bundle tabs appear only when those gift-card types are switched on in settings; a Service or Bundle card is priced automatically at that service’s or bundle’s price
   • Recipient name: Who the gift card is for (free text — they don’t need to be a Bella client)
   • Email gift card to recipient: On by default. Turn this off for surprise or physical gifts — the code is shown after sale so you can share it yourself
   • Recipient email: Required when emailing; optional when handing the code over in person
   • Personal message (optional)
   • Payment method: Cash, Card (Manual), or Other — how the sale was settled
4. Click Sell gift card
5. The new gift card opens — the code is displayed prominently for reference

Track gift card sales, payment methods collected (cash / card / other / online), redemptions, and outstanding balances in the Gift card summary report (Reports → Gift card summary).

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Purchasing a gift card online

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

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Purchase steps

1. Go to the gift cards section of your online booking portal
2. Choose a design — pick from built-in designs and/or any custom designs your business has uploaded (built-ins are omitted when the business has hidden them in gift card settings)
3. Select the gift card type:
   • Amount: Select a preset denomination or enter a custom amount (if enabled)
   • Service: Select a service to gift
   • Bundle: Pick an eligible bundle to gift — the card’s value is set to the bundle’s fixed total, or its “from” price for a component-priced bundle
   The Service and Bundle options appear only when those gift-card types are switched on in Gift Card Settings and at least one service or bundle is eligible.
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.

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Redeeming a gift card at checkout

Your team applies a gift card code when checking out an appointment.

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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

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Partial redemption

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

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Fully redeemed

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

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When a gift card was applied at online booking

If a client applied a gift card while booking online, that amount is drawn from the card at booking and put toward the appointment. When you check the appointment out, Bella shows that amount as already applied and asks you to collect only the remainder — the client is never charged the drawn amount again at the till. Worked example 4 — a gift card applied online. A client books a $120** appointment and applies a **$50 gift card during online booking.

1. At booking, $50 is drawn from the gift card and put toward the appointment.
2. At the till, checkout shows “$50 already applied (gift card, online)"** and a remaining balance of **$70 to collect.
3. You settle the **$70** by the client's chosen method (cash, card, or another gift card). The client is **not** charged the original$50 a second time.

If the appointment is later cancelled or refunded, the $50 drawn at booking is restored to the gift card, so the balance is never lost. Because a gift card is a dollar instrument, it can also pay for add-on charges — unlike memberships, packages, and per-line discounts, which cover the base service price only. A gift card simply reduces whatever remains on the appointment total.

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Managing gift cards

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

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Searching and filtering

1. Go to Sales → Gift cards in the sidebar
2. Use the search bar to find by code, recipient name, or recipient email
3. Filter by one or more statuses: Active, Redeemed, Expired, or Voided
4. Filter by type: All, Amount, Service, or Bundle

Summary statistics are displayed at the top of the page:

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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

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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.

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Gift card statuses

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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 collected by payment method (cash, card, other, online), amounts redeemed, and outstanding balances. Use the payment-method columns to reconcile the till. 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.

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FAQs

Q: What is the difference between an Amount, a Service, and a Bundle 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. A Bundle gift card gifts a whole bundle — its value is set to the bundle’s fixed total, or its “from” price for a bundle priced from its component services, and the bundle name appears in the delivery email. Whatever the type, a gift card is a dollar instrument: the type records what was gifted, not a restriction on how the balance is spent — the recipient can use it toward any appointment, including add-on charges. All three are issued as a balance and redeemed at checkout the same way. Service and Bundle gift cards are each switched on separately in Gift Card Settings and can be sold from the business dashboard or purchased online. 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: Team members with the appropriate permission can void gift cards. By default, Owners and Admins have this permission. Q: Can clients see their gift card balances online? A: Yes. Clients can view all their gift cards and remaining balances from the My Gift cards page in the online booking portal (accessible from the user menu after logging in). Q: Can clients use gift cards when booking online? A: Yes. When booking online, clients can apply a gift card at the payment step to cover the deposit or the full booking amount. If the gift card balance doesn’t cover the total, the remainder is charged via card. Q: A client applied a gift card online — am I charging them for it again at the till? A: No. The amount the client applied online is drawn from the card at booking and put toward the appointment. At checkout, that amount shows as “already applied (gift card, online)” and Bella asks you to collect only the remainder — for example, a $50 gift card applied to a$120 appointment leaves $70 to collect, not$120. If the appointment is cancelled or refunded, the drawn amount is restored to the card. See When a gift card was applied at online booking. Q: Can a gift card pay for add-on charges? A: Yes. A gift card is a dollar instrument, so it can go toward any part of the appointment total — including add-ons. This is different from memberships, packages, and per-line discounts, which only cover the base service price. 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.

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To enable and configure gift cards, see Gift Card Settings. To configure the automated delivery email sent to recipients, see Automated messages. For a client-bound alternative to bearer gift-card codes — one top-up balance per client, applied automatically without a code — see Client credit.