How to record gift cards and gift certificates

Gift cards and gift certificates represent money that customers have paid to you in advance, in order to receive goods or services later. If your business offers gift cards or gift certificates, here's how to enter those sales and redemptions in Wave.

There are three parts to bookkeeping gift cards:

1. Setting up a new account in your Chart of Accounts
2. Recording the money you receive when you sell a gift card
3. Recording the redemption when the gift card is used

Set up a new gift card or gift certificate account

1. On the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Chart of Accounts.
2. At the top right, click Add a New Account.
3. In the Account Type dropdown, select Customer Prepayments and Customer Credits under the Liabilities and Credit Cards section.
4. Enter a name in the Account Name field that makes sense for your business (for example Gift Card Sales).
5. Click Save.

Record the sale of a gift card or gift certificate

When you receive payment for a gift card, follow the steps below to record it.

1. On the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
2. Click Add income at the top to create a new transaction, and enter the date, amount, and account. Or, find the imported income transaction, click the dropdown arrow to the right, and select Edit more details.
3. In the Category dropdown, select the Gift Card Sales account you created earlier.
4. Click Save.

You've now recorded the sale of a gift card in Wave. When your customers cash in those gift cards, you can move the used amount to revenue by applying it against an invoice, or by categorizing an income transaction to an appropriate account.

Apply the gift card against an existing invoice

1. On the left navigation menu, click Sales > Invoices.
2. Find the invoice you want to apply the gift card to and click it to open.
3. Click Record a payment within the Get Paid section.
4. In the popup, edit the date and amount if necessary, then select a payment method. In the Payment account dropdown, select the Gift Card Sales account.
5. Click Save.

Apply the gift card to a new sale transaction

1. On the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
2. At the top right, click Add income to create a new transaction.
3. Select a date and enter the amount.
4. In the Account dropdown, select the Gift Card Sales account.
5. In the Category dropdown, select an appropriate income account.
6. Click Save.

That's it. Your gift cards have been correctly recorded at every step.