Gift Cards on Your Website: How to Sell Them Before the Holidays Without Doing It by Hand
A gift card as a digital product: amounts and validity, a unique code sent by email, balances, the two fiscal invoices Albania’s invoicing rules require, and why to set it up in November, before December demand.
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A gift card on your website is a product with no stock and no delivery: the buyer picks an amount, pays by card and immediately receives a unique code by email, which the recipient redeems with you. To sell it without making each card by hand, you need four things: a page with the amounts and terms, online payment, a system that creates the code and sends it automatically, and a way for staff to mark the card as used. In Albania there is also an obligation that is often missed: a gift card needs two fiscalised invoices, one when it is sold and one when it is redeemed.
This guide is for salons, spas, restaurants, gyms, photo studios and shops that want to sell gift cards on their own website, not only at the counter, and to have them ready in November, before December demand.
The invoicing rules were checked on 12 November 2026 against the updated text of the invoicing instruction published by Albania’s General Directorate of Taxation. Quotations from it are our translation. This article is not tax advice; confirm the process with your accountant.
How a digital gift card works
For the customer, buying takes a minute or two. For you, the work is done once, when you set up the flow:
- Choice: the buyer selects a set amount or types one in, adds the recipient’s name and, if they like, a message.
- Payment: they pay by card on the bank’s or provider’s payment page.
- Delivery: as soon as payment is confirmed, the system creates the code and emails the buyer the card as a PDF, ready to print or forward.
- Invoice: the invoice for the sale of the card is issued and fiscalised, and can be emailed to the buyer.
- Redemption: the recipient books and shows the code; staff check it and mark it as used, in full or in part.
The card brings in money in December for services often delivered in January or February, when many salons and restaurants are quieter. It also brings new customers: the person who receives it often has not visited you before.
Amounts, validity and terms
Keep the choice simple. Three round amounts, such as 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 lekë, cover most gifts, while a free-amount field with a minimum serves anyone who wants a different value. You can also sell a specific service, such as “manicure and pedicure” or “dinner for two”, which feels more personal to the buyer.
Write the terms on the page and on the card itself before you sell the first one:
| Term | Example |
|---|---|
| Validity | “Valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.” |
| Partial use | “Any remaining balance is kept until expiry.” or “Used in a single visit.” |
| Where it is used | “At our salon in Tirana, by appointment.” |
| Cancellation | When and how a card bought by mistake is cancelled. Check the wording with your accountant or lawyer. |
| Who issues it | Business name, NIPT (tax number), address and contact details. |
The invoicing instruction defines a voucher as an instrument that must be accepted as full or partial payment for goods or services supplied later. It requires the document to show “the identifying data of the potential supplier […] including the terms and conditions of use” (Article 8, point 4). So the business name and the terms belong on the card itself, not only on the website.
Three ways to sell it
The right option depends on how many cards you expect to sell and whether you already have an online store.
| Option | How it works | When it is enough |
|---|---|---|
| Payment link and a code by hand | The customer pays through a payment link from a bank or a payment institution; staff create the code and email it. | A few cards a season. Every payment is checked and every code sent by hand. |
| Online store with gift cards | The card is added as a product in your existing store. An extension such as WooCommerce Gift Cards creates the code, sends it and keeps the balance. | You already take card payments in a store and want the card to work as payment there too. |
| A single page with payment and an automatic code | One page with the amounts, terms and payment. After payment, the code and email are created and the card is added to a list where staff mark it when used. | Salons, spas and restaurants without an online store that want it automated. |
We compare card payment options in Albania, from a bank’s virtual POS to payment links, in the guide to accepting card payments. Some booking tools sell gift cards inside their platform, but that depends on their online payments. Fresha, for example, does not list Albania among the countries covered by its payment processors. Check before you pay for a subscription.
A salon does not need an online store
A salon or spa needs no catalogue and no cart. One page on your website is enough, with the three amounts, the terms, a real photo of the premises and the payment button. Link it to your services page and to online booking, so the recipient can book straight away and enter the code in the booking note.
If you already have an online store, the card is added as a digital product: no weight, no shipping and no stock.
Fiscalisation: two invoices for one card
Many businesses get this wrong, because a card feels like money rather than a sale. Instruction No. 16/2020 “On the invoice and the turnover monitoring system”, in the text updated with amendments up to March 2026, treats a gift card as a voucher. In its gift card example, the seller must issue and fiscalise “two invoices: the first when the gift card is sold and the second when the gift card is exchanged for goods or services” (Article 8).
- When the card is sold: the invoice is issued and fiscalised when the voucher is issued. The description must read “single-purpose voucher for ‘name and quantity of goods or services’ with serial number xxx”, and the serial number is made of “the issuer’s NIPT, the year of issue and the sequential number of vouchers issued during that year” (Article 8, point 4).
- When the card is redeemed: another invoice is issued and fiscalised, and the payment method must state “Tollon NjQ” (single-purpose voucher) and the serial number. This invoice is not counted for tax; only the first one is (Article 8, point 5).
- When the customer spends more than the card’s value: the difference goes on the same invoice, showing the amount paid with the gift card and the amount paid by other means. Only the extra amount is counted for tax.
- Invoice by email: when the sale is agreed and charged through an online store, the invoice does not have to be printed and can be emailed to the buyer (Article 29).
A single-purpose voucher is one where the place of supply and the VAT due are known when it is issued. A card for a salon’s services at one VAT rate fits that definition. If the card can be spent on goods or services at different VAT rates, or at several businesses, the treatment may differ. Ask your accountant before you write the terms, and how to word the description when the card carries an amount in lekë rather than a specific service.
In practice, the gift card system has to talk to your invoicing: the serial number must appear on the sale invoice and be easy to find when the card is redeemed. If your invoicing software connects to the website, the sale invoice can be issued automatically after payment; otherwise staff issue it from the list of cards sold. We summarise the rules for online card payments under invoicing and fiscalisation.
Codes, balances and misuse
A gift card code is worth as much as cash. These rules protect both the business and the buyer:
- Two numbers, two jobs: the serial number the invoice requires, built from the NIPT, the year and a sequence, is predictable. For redemption, add a random code of at least 10 letters and digits, so nobody can find another card by trying the next number.
- Mark it straight away: staff check the code before the service and mark it as used, or deduct the amount, as soon as the customer pays. A used code is refused, even if someone brings a screenshot of the email.
- Balance: if you allow partial use, the system keeps the remaining balance and shows it to the customer after each use.
- Balance check page: the customer enters the code and sees the remaining value and expiry date, without the buyer’s name or email. Limit repeated attempts from the same device.
- Lost codes: resend only to the email address used for the purchase, not to a new number that messages you on Instagram.
- Only through your channels: state clearly where your cards are sold, so customers do not buy codes from third parties.
When to start: in November, not on 23 December
Many people buy presents in the last days before the holidays. A digital card has an advantage a physical gift does not: it arrives by email in seconds, even on 31 December. But that only works if the page, the payment and the invoicing have been tested beforehand. Google also needs time to find and show a new page.
- Early November: set the amounts, the terms and the card design; activate online payment if you do not have it.
- Mid-November: make a test purchase with a real card. Check the email on a phone, the invoice and how redemption is recorded.
- Late November: publish the page and start promoting it.
- December: remind customers in the second week and in the last days, noting that the card arrives instantly.
After the holidays, the same page works for Valentine’s Day, for 8 March and for birthdays.
Promotion on Instagram and Google
- Instagram: put the gift card page link in your bio and in stories with the link sticker, and keep it in your highlights until after the holidays. Show the card in a photo or short video, with the amounts and the line “arrives instantly by email”.
- Google: in your Google Business Profile, publish an offer post with the gift card page link. Google shows profile posts on Search and Maps.
- Your website: a banner on the home page and a link in the menu or footer during the season.
- At the counter: a small card with a QR code that leads to the page, for customers who pay in person.
- Existing customers: an email or message only to those who have agreed to receive updates.
We explain why Instagram alone is not enough in website or Instagram for your business: the card is sold on the website, and Instagram sends people there.
Illustrative example: a salon in Tirana
This is an illustrative example, not a real client. A salon in Tirana with three staff decides to sell gift cards on its website before the holidays.
In early November it sets three amounts, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 lekë, plus a “manicure and pedicure” card. The card is valid for 12 months and can be used over several visits. The website gets a “Gift cards” section with the amounts, the terms and a payment button connected to the bank’s virtual POS. After payment, the buyer receives an email with the card as a PDF and the code, while the accountant is notified and issues the sale invoice with the serial number.
When the recipient arrives, the receptionist checks the code on the salon’s phone, deducts the amount and issues the redemption invoice marked “Tollon NjQ”. In January, the owner looks at how many cards were sold, how many have been used and how many new customers came through them.
Checklist
- Are the amounts, validity and terms written on the page and on the card itself, with the business name and NIPT?
- Is the code created automatically after payment, and does the email reach a phone inbox rather than spam?
- Have you agreed the sale invoice, the redemption invoice and the serial number with your accountant?
- Can staff mark a card as used from a phone in a few seconds?
- Is the balance kept when a card is partly used?
- Have you made a test purchase with a real card, from payment to redemption?
- Are the Instagram link, the Google post and the website banner ready before December?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an online store to sell gift cards?
No. A page with the amounts, the terms and online payment is enough. An online store makes sense when you also sell products.
Can I sell gift cards only on Instagram?
You can take the order by message and send a payment link, but you will create the code, the email and the invoice by hand for every card. That works for a few cards; in December, usually not.
What happens to unused cards?
The rule goes in the terms before you sell: the validity, and whether it can be extended on request. Ask your accountant how expired cards are recorded in the accounts.
We build gift card pages and online stores with card payment, automatic codes and a list for staff, connected to the way you invoice. See our online store service or tell us about your gift card.