Sell internal gift cards with a scannable number, optional PIN security and starting value, redeem them as a payment type, check balances and top cards up. Integrated gift cards run through a supported payment terminal instead.

Gift cards turn one customer into two: the buyer today and the recipient later. PHP Point Of Sale supports two kinds — internal gift cards that the app tracks itself, and integrated gift cards processed through a supported payment terminal — and you can run a full card program with either. The Gift Cards module in the left menu is home base for both.

Internal vs integrated

Internal gift cards live entirely inside PHP Point Of Sale: the app stores the card number, balance and history, so they work with any payment setup. Integrated gift cards are issued, sold, refilled and redeemed through a supported payment terminal — at the register the green Sale button offers Sell Integrated Gift Card and Refill Integrated Gift Card, and the terminal handles the card. Availability depends on your processor — see choosing a payment processor. The rest of this article covers internal cards.

Create a gift card in the module

1. Open Gift Cards in the left menu.
2. Click + New Gift Card in the top right.
3. Fill in the Gift Card Information form (red fields are required):
   • Giftcard Number (required) — the number entered or scanned during a sale to apply the card. Any numbering scheme works; keep numbers unique.
   • Description — free-form notes about the card.
   • Value (required) — the card's balance.
   • Customer Name — optionally tie the card to an existing customer profile; start typing and pick from the dropdown. The customer must already exist.
   • Inactive — tick to make the card unusable in sales without deleting it.
4. Click Save.

Below the form, the Giftcard Log records every change: the date and time, the employee who made it, whether value was added or removed, and links to the sales the card was used on. Editing a card's value requires the Edit Giftcard value permission, and every value change lands in the log.

Clone: to make a similar card, click Clone in the card's row — Description, Value and Customer Name carry over; enter a fresh Giftcard Number (with a Manually Enter Card option for cards that don't come from a sale) and save.

Sell gift cards at the register

Selling a card is a normal sale line, gated by the Can Sell Gift Card permission:

1. On the sales register, click the green Sale button and choose Sell GiftCard.
2. Enter or scan the Giftcard Number, set the Value, and save — the card is added to the sale as a line item.
3. Take payment and complete the sale as usual. The card is now live.

Reloads: if you enter a card number that already exists, the register asks "The gift card you are selling already exists. Do you want to add money to this card?" — confirm to top up the existing balance instead of creating a duplicate. That's the whole reload flow.

Redeem a gift card

At checkout, a gift card is just another tender:

1. Choose Gift Card as the payment type.
2. Swipe, scan or type the card number ("Swipe/Type gift card #").
3. The register applies the smaller of the amount due and the card's balance. If the card holds more than the sale total, a message shows the balance left on the card; if the card can't cover everything, combine it with cash or a credit card — see payment types, tips and split payments.

Guard rails: a card with a zero balance is refused with its balance shown; Inactive cards and integrated cards can't be redeemed as internal cards; and if the number doesn't exist the register asks whether you'd like to create it.

One-tap redemption: when the sale has a customer attached, their unspent cards are listed in the payment panel under Available Giftcards (as labeled in the app) — each row shows the card number and its balance, like "#1234 - $25.00". Tap a row and the register selects the Gift Card payment type and fills in that card's number for you; add the payment and the card is applied, no scanning or typing. The list shows up to 20 of the customer's cards, highest balance first (inactive and integrated cards never appear). Two Store Config settings tune it: Hide available gift cards in sales register removes the list entirely, and Show Gift cards even if zero balance keeps spent cards visible.

Balance checks: customers ask "how much is left on this?" all the time. Click the green Sale button → Check Gift Card Balance, scan the card, and the balance appears without starting a sale.

Returns: when processing a return, the refund can be issued onto a gift card — the register creates the card with the refund amount as its value, handy for store-credit-only refund policies; see returns, exchanges and trade-ins.

Gift card security and PINs

Store Config → Enable Gift Card Security hardens the program:

• Every gift card gets a PIN alongside its number, and redeeming requires both.
• New cards can no longer be created from the Gift Cards module page — the form refuses with "Disabled the ability to add a new gift card number and PIN combination through this page." Cards are created by selling them at the register (where number and PIN are captured) or via Excel import.
• The Excel import/export templates gain a PIN column, and the PIN is required on imported rows.

Use it if staff-issued cards are a fraud concern; with it off, cards are number-only.

Edit, deactivate, delete and restore

• Edit: open Gift Cards, find the card, click Edit, change what you need and Save. Value changes are logged.
• Deactivate: tick Inactive on the card instead of deleting — history stays, the card just stops working.
• Delete: tick one or more rows and click Delete above the list, then confirm. This is a soft delete.
• Restore: click the ellipsis (…) → Manage Deleted Gift Cards, tick the rows and click Undelete, then Done.
• Erase permanently: ellipsis (…) → Cleanup Deleted Gift Cards permanently erases all previously deleted cards. It cannot be undone and you can't pick individual cards.

Gift card barcodes

Print card numbers as barcodes so cashiers scan instead of typing:

1. Open Gift Cards and tick the cards to print.
2. Click Barcode Labels for a label printer, or Barcode Sheet for sheets of labels on regular paper.
3. For sheets, a popup asks how many used label positions to skip on a partially-used sheet; enter the number and click Submit. The output opens as a PDF to print or download.

Printer setup lives in barcodes and labels.

Import and export gift cards

Both live behind the ellipsis (…) on the Gift Cards page:

• Excel Export — downloads every active card: number, description, value, inactive flag, attached customer (and PIN, when security is on). Requires the Excel Export permission.
• Excel Import — for migrating an old program or adding cards in bulk:
  1. Choose Excel Import, then download Template for EXISTING Gift Cards (your current cards, add new rows below) or Excel Template for NEW Gift Cards (blank).
  2. Fill in the columns: Giftcard Number, Description, Value, Inactive (y or 1), Customer — and PIN when security is on (required then). For a customer to attach, the profile must already exist and the name must match exactly.
  3. Back on the import page, click Choose file, select your sheet, and click Upload. A popup confirms the result.

Rows whose number matches an existing card update that card (value changes are logged); new numbers create new cards. The general spreadsheet workflow is covered in importing your data.

Order physical cards

From the ellipsis (…) menu choose Buy gift cards — it opens giftcards.phppointofsale.com, where you can order custom-printed physical cards compatible with PHP Point Of Sale, plus display stands. Cards come in quantities of 100 and up and include a free design service; you'll be contacted about artwork after purchase.

Settings, permissions and reports

• Permissions on the Gift Cards module: Search Giftcards lets an employee open the gift cards list and search it; Add, Update gates creating and editing cards — the new-card and edit forms, Clone, and Excel import; Delete gates deleting cards and restoring them from the deleted view. Edit Giftcard value (value changes), Can Sell Gift Card (selling at the register), and Excel Export (the export download) round out the set. Report access is gated by the Giftcards report permission. See permissions and templates.
• Store Config → Calculate Gift Card Profit When decides whether profit is booked when Selling Gift Card or Redeeming Gift Card — pick one and keep your reports consistent.
• Gift-card reports show sold, redeemed and outstanding value, and the gift cards audit report walks card-by-card history.
• Loyalty: keep card sales from earning points, and optionally let points buy cards — both switches are covered in loyalty programs.

Common questions

How do I add money to an existing gift card? Sell it again: Sale → Sell GiftCard, enter the existing number, and confirm the "add money to this card?" prompt with the reload amount. The top-up is a paid sale line and lands in the card's log.

What if a customer's gift card doesn't cover the whole sale? The card's full balance is applied and the rest is due — take a second tender (cash, card) for the remainder in the same sale.

Can I see who used or changed a card? Yes — open the card and read the Giftcard Log: every value change with employee, date/time, and links to the sales involved.

How do I disable a card without losing its history? Edit the card and tick Inactive. It stops working at the register but stays on record; untick to bring it back.

Why can't I create a new gift card from the Gift Cards page? Enable Gift Card Security is on. With PINs enforced, new cards are created by selling them at the register or importing them with a PIN column — not from the module form.

Do gift card sales earn loyalty points? By default yes; most stores turn that off with Disable Gift Cards Sold From Earning Loyalty so value isn't rewarded twice. See loyalty programs.

Can I issue a refund as a gift card? Yes — during a return, put the refund onto a gift card; the register creates it with the refund amount as the balance.

Where do I get physical plastic cards? Ellipsis (…) → Buy gift cards on the Gift Cards page orders custom cards (100+, free design service) that scan straight into the register.