The case for paper
Paper vouchers are simple. You can print a batch this afternoon, sell them at the counter and hand them over in an envelope. There is no software to learn and no fee on each sale. Many customers still like to give something they can hold, especially older buyers and people buying in person on the day.
If you sell a handful of vouchers a year, mostly at the till, paper may be all you need. Our free gift voucher template makes a printable voucher with your name, value, message and expiry date in a few minutes.
Where paper gets harder
The weak points of paper show up as volume grows. Every voucher needs a unique number and an entry in a register, or you cannot tell a real voucher from a copy. Staff have to find the entry at the till, check it has not been used, and write down what was spent if the customer uses only part of it.
Partial use is the common problem. The Consumer Protection (Gift Vouchers) Act 2019 says a customer cannot be required to spend the whole value in one go, so a paper voucher can be part-used several times over five years. Keeping that history by hand is slow and easy to get wrong.
Paper also only sells when someone is there to sell it. A customer looking for a gift late in the evening, or from abroad, has to phone or wait until you open.
The case for digital
A digital voucher shop sells at any hour. The buyer pays online, adds a message and chooses to send the voucher now, schedule it for a chosen date and time, or send it to themselves to print and give by hand. Each voucher has a unique code, and staff check it against a live balance, so a copied code cannot be spent beyond the value left on it.
Partial use is recorded automatically. If a customer spends €60 of a €100 voucher, €40 stays on the same code. You can see how much voucher value is still outstanding without adding up a notebook. The guide to unredeemed vouchers explains why that figure matters.
Where digital is weaker
Digital vouchers cost money on every sale. With Bronora, the fee is 3% of each completed sale with no monthly fee, and Stripe payment processing is paid separately on top. Paper has printing and staff costs instead, but no percentage.
A digital voucher also depends on email. If the buyer types the recipient's address wrongly, the voucher needs to be resent. Some buyers want an envelope to hand over. A printable PDF covers most of those cases, but it is worth offering a printed card at the counter too.
Finally, staff need to learn a new step at the till. Checking a code on a phone is quick, but try it with the team before a busy weekend.
Lost vouchers and second copies
A lost paper voucher is a problem for everyone. The customer has nothing to show, and you have to decide whether to trust their word and your register. If you reissue it, you need to cancel the old number so it cannot be used as well.
A digital voucher lives in an email and behind a secure link, so a lost printout is not the end of it. The buyer can check the delivery and resend the voucher, and the code still carries the right balance. That does not remove every problem: a voucher forwarded to the wrong person can still be spent by them. Tell buyers to check the recipient's email address before paying.
The rules are the same for both
The 2019 Act covers vouchers in paper and electronic form. Either way, a voucher with an expiry date must generally stay valid for at least five years, the expiry must be given in writing and the balance can be used across several visits. See the voucher expiry guide for the detail. The VAT treatment depends on what the voucher can buy, not whether it is printed; see the VAT guide.
Running both
Many businesses keep paper vouchers already in circulation and sell new ones online. That works, but you then have two sets of records. If you move to digital, you can bring existing paper vouchers into the same system so staff check every voucher in one place. The guide to importing existing vouchers explains how to prepare codes, balances and expiry dates.
A simple way to decide
- A few vouchers a year, sold at the counter: paper, with a proper register.
- Regular gift sales, online enquiries or busy seasons: digital, with a printed option for buyers who want one.
- Employers buying for staff: digital, so each person gets their own voucher. See corporate orders.
For ideas by business type, see the pages for restaurants, hotels, spas and salons.