A voucher from last Christmas, in April
In December you sell gift vouchers for a first riding lesson or a pony experience morning. They are printed on nice card and numbered by hand. Some are paid by card over the phone, some in cash at the office, some by bank transfer. The list of voucher numbers is in a notebook.
In April, a voucher is handed over at the office. It has no number. The notebook lists a similar voucher as already used. The recipient is excited and has brought her grandmother to watch. You honour it, of course, and wonder how many others are out there.
Why paper vouchers are hard to control
Vouchers separate the person who pays from the person who rides, often by months. Paper cannot keep track of that gap.
- Payments arrive through several channels and are matched by hand.
- Voucher numbers are handwritten and easy to duplicate or omit.
- Redemption is recorded in a notebook, if at all.
- Expiry dates are written on the voucher but not tracked.
- Nobody can see how many vouchers are outstanding.
Lost income and uncomfortable moments
Gifts are also unusually emotional bookings. The rider is often a child, or an adult ticking off something they have wanted to do for years, and a muddle at the office window spoils a day that someone paid for as a present. Turning anyone away is not an option most schools would consider.
Vouchers that cannot be verified are usually honoured, which is the right thing for the rider but means the school may be giving away lessons that were never paid for, or honouring the same voucher twice.
At a busy time of year, voucher sales take staff time on the phone, and redemptions add more work when recipients ring to book. The school also has no idea of its outstanding voucher value, which your accountant may well ask about at year end.
Voucher sales and redemption in one system
We build gift vouchers into your lesson booking.
- Buyers choose a voucher online: a lesson type, an experience or a value, and add a personal message.
- Payment is taken through Stripe, and a voucher with a unique code is emailed as a printable PDF, or posted if you offer that.
- Vouchers sold at the office are created in the same system, with the same codes.
- Recipients book using the code, and only lessons the voucher covers are offered, with registration completed as part of booking.
- The code is marked used when the lesson is booked, so it cannot be used twice.
- Expiry follows your policy, with reminders sent before a voucher expires.
- A voucher view shows how many are sold, used, outstanding and expired, with their value.
| Paper vouchers | Coded vouchers | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale | Phone, cash or transfer | Online or office, paid at sale |
| Voucher number | Handwritten | Unique code |
| Redemption | Checked against a notebook | Code checked at booking |
| Used twice | Possible | Blocked |
| Outstanding value | Unknown | Shown at any time |
Your policy on expiry, transfers and refunds is your decision, along with any advice you take on it. The system applies it consistently.
A Christmas rush that looks after itself
In December, most vouchers are bought online in the evenings and delivered by email. Staff sell the rest at the office through the same screen. In spring, recipients book with their codes, see only the lessons their voucher covers, and fill in their registration while booking.
When your accountant asks what vouchers are outstanding at year end, you have the figure. When someone turns up with a voucher, you check the code rather than a notebook.
Are vouchers a guessing game?
- Voucher numbers are handwritten.
- You have honoured vouchers you could not verify.
- Redemptions are recorded in a notebook.
- Expiry dates are not tracked.
- You do not know how many vouchers are outstanding.