A Gift Certificate is also known as a gift voucher or gift token. Gift certificates were introduced first in 1994, in an American state, Florida. Since then, they are given as a gift to the recipient so that he/ she may use it to buy goods or take advantage of the services for which the gift is issued. In other words, it is a card or voucher that has money stored in it and can be used as an alternative to money to buy goods or to get services. It is one of the best ways to give someone a gift, especially in case you do not know what exactly the recipient likes. In this way, they can choose the best one for themselves. It not only makes the recipient happy but also saves your time and energy in thinking and finding out a perfect gift.
Key Elements of Gift Certificate:
Given below are the 5 key elements of a gift certificate to get it perfectly done:
- Indicate what the certificate is good for. For example, dinner at a nice restaurant followed by a show. The important thing is to be specific.
- Add important parameters. For example: With babysitting, show that the service will take place at your home or at the home where the kids live. Also, mention what nights you will perform; the service; any night of the week, or just the weekends.
- Add how much notice the recipient needs to give you. For example: Please provide two-week notice before the desired date.
- Include an expiration date so that the gift recipient is motivated to act.
- Indicate how the recipient should redeem the gift. Should they call you, email you, text you, or something else?
Gift certificates can be commercially made by bankers and businessmen. They usually add their logos, business information, and photos to the certificate to attract customers. These certificates can be purchased online, from a particular store, mall, bank branch, etc. They can also be purchased online. In such a case, when the purchase is done, a code is sent to the email address of the recipient, which he/ she can use at the checkout place to redeem the gift.
Free Gift Certificate Templates:
When it comes to shopping, people love to go the extra mile if they can get special discounts or deals on what they love to buy. Hence, it is very common for established brands and stores to offer gift certificates or discount vouchers to help boost their sales. Usually, it is observed that a routine seasonal sale can be doubled with an attractive and intelligently designed gift certificate.
How to Assemble a Good Gift Certificate:
There are three ways to assemble a good gift certificate all by yourself:
- There are several websites where you can find blank gift certificates. All you need to do is to get a printout and fill it in yourself, in your own handwriting.
- You can also get many gift certificates that are in Word document form. You can either use them as it is by filling them in on the computer or may alter them according to your own requirement. For example, you can change the amount of money mentioned in it or the name of the good that you want the recipient to buy.
- There are a few websites that offer you to make an altogether different and new gift certificate of your choice. In such cases, you can add or delete an image, you can add additional information as you like, and you can choose the theme, colors, fonts, etc. In short, you are given the most flexibility to assemble your gift certificate.
Gift Certificate Design Guidelines:
A Gift Certificate is a paper type of document that allows the recipient to purchase goods from a specific store. A Gift Certificate can be presented to a person instead of cash, and the beneficiary can purchase goods according to his prerequisites and apprehension. These types of certificates are very useful when you think that cash as a gift is obstinate. These certificates or vouchers are useful in many circumstances like Birthdays, anniversaries, and promotions of a person.
Name of Purchaser:
The name of the purchaser is very important because it recognizes who allows you to purchase. The amount is very important because you can estimate how much you can shop from a certain store. The remaining balance should be mentioned on it while purchasing. Another important factor is that the date should be mentioned so that you can recognize the expiry date because some Gift Certificates can be expired or outdated.
Expiry Date:
A Gift Certificate or voucher cannot be expired within five years from its date of issuance. But sometimes the expiry date is mentioned on it hence, it will expire after that prescribed date. You can say it is a voucher and the receiver can buy goods and services from that straightforwardly.
Amount:
Blockbuster Entertainment presented for the first time this method. Later on, Gift cards are replaced with Gift Certificates. Some Gift Cards are such types in which you reload payment and can use many times for purchases. In such types of Gift Cards, there are barcodes or hypnotic strips and the user can even block the card if the card is stolen and in case of loss. It sometimes contained a code that was very useful. You can even get information about where you shop and the remaining balance as well.
On the other hand, some gift certificates or vouchers are not reloadable. When you use it and the payment is expired then you can’t purchase and even reload it more. Many countries like USA and UK are using this technique in a very useful way. The common minimum value is $10 and the maximum value is $500 in a Gift certificate.
Online Registration:
Usually, gift certificates can be used online and by a person as well. As per your knowledge, a gift certificate is ebullient to cash henceforth. If you lost the Gift Certificate, you lost the money. Deception can occur if the Gift Certificate is not online registered. Otherwise, you can revoke or freeze the transaction. You can even transfer your amount if the Gift Certificate is online registered.
A gift certificate can be sent online to the receiver. If the receiver is incapable of finding a gift certificate in their inbox so, you can request again to purchase and he/she can resend you. Sometimes, messages are flagged so that such types of certificates can be presented to the original recipient again. A Gift Certificate can be used to purchase commodities but, it cannot be purchased to get another Gift Certificate. You can buy just commodities from this certificate rather than cash or another type of certificate. Shopping cards, credit cards, or discount cards are instances of Gift Certificates.
