Create a Gift Certificate with Square’s Free Templates

Create a Gift Certificate with Square’s Free Templates
Do you need to create gift certificates for your business? Square has free, printable gift certificate templates. They’re perfect if you don’t have gift cards to offer your customers.
by Alise Bailey Jun 15, 2018 — 2 min read
Create a Gift Certificate with Square’s Free Templates

Whether you’re looking to increase your average ticket size, improve customer loyalty, or just get out of a sales slump, gift cards are a great way to achieve your goals.

But what if you don’t have physical gift cards for your customers and you need something in a pinch?

There are a couple of options: You can go digital and offer our eGift Cards or, if you want something physical, you can try our free gift certificate templates. They’re easy to download and print, so you can get selling right away.

printed gift certficates

Why use a printed gift certificate?

Like plastic gift cards, gift certificates turn your customers into brand promoters, since they’re passing along a piece of your business to someone new (or someone that already loves you).

They also make it easy for shoppers to quickly find a gift they know the recipient will love.

(Pro tip: If you download our printable gift certificates, make sure you print them on nice stock to give them an elevated, polished, and professional feel.)

Things to consider when you use gift certificates

Unfortunately, gift certificates aren’t a perfect solution. You can’t track spending on gift certificates (unlike physical gift cards or eGift cards), and a gift certificate can’t be reloaded if your customer would like to reuse it. And if customers don’t use the full gift certificate amount, you may have to issue them cash back, depending on your state. Make sure to familiarize yourself with any gift certificate rules and regulations that may apply in your state.

Also gift certificates can be copied easily by scammers. To lessen the risk of this, you need to implement a detailed process for issuing gift certificates. Here are a few suggestions you may consider:

Gift cards vs. gift certificates

If the drawbacks of gift certificates give you pause, there are other options (as we’ve already mentioned): physical or digital gift cards.

Both options allow you to more easily track usage over time. And if you use Square Gift Cards, which work with Square Point of Sale, sales and usage of gift cards show up in your reporting on Square Dashboard.

Having gift cards work with your POS also makes it very simple to sell, redeem, track, and reload them. In fact, redeeming a gift card is really just like using any other form of payment, which means a seamless experience for your customers.

Here’s a look at what you get from Square Gift Cards versus gift certificates:

gift cards vs. gift certificates

Promoting gift cards and certificates

Whatever the form, you need to market your gift cards to ensure customers buy them. From co-ops with local businesses to a brand-specific gift guide with your hand-picked favorites, there are a number of creative ways to promote your gift cards. Here are some of our favorite strategies to help you get started.

Alise Bailey
Alise Bailey is an editor at Square, where she writes about how to start, run, and grow a business, highlighting our sellers around the world.

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