Gift Certificate Factory provides custom gift certificates that you can print and sell to your customers. Check out our spa gift certificate templates.

Gift certificates are a great way for your spa business to get more sales and spread positive word of mouth. You can get started by making a few gift certificates and promoting them in your store.

• The easy way to make custom spa gift certificates is to make certificates from online templates. Gift Certificate Factory provides a selection of gift certificate templates for spa and if that’s not enough, you can also find other templates on the web by typing “spa gift certificate template” in Google.
• The hard way is to make the gift certificates yourself using design software like Photoshop for example.

In any case, your gift certificate should convey the qualities that people are looking for when giving a spa voucher to a loved one: comfort, relaxation, pampering should exude from the design.

Customize the gift certificate

Once you’ve found a suitable gift certificate template, you can customize it by writing the recipient’s name, the name of your company and the certificate value. Most certificates also have a certificate number associated, which is important for several reasons, among them keeping track of gift certificates and fighting against fraud. That way you know that when a certificate is redeemed it’s a legit one and you can evaluate how many certificates are redeemed so far in your gift certificate campaign.

Print the gift certificate

At this point, you could also download the gift certificate on your computer if you want to archive it or print later. However, you can also just print it now. There’s a built-in print functionality on the website, so that you can just click on the template, configure your print preferences (such as paper type) and off you go! Just make sure you have enough paper and ink. You may want to use a sharp paper cutter or alternatively, scissors to cut the paper.

A few other tips for your spa business

• You should place all gift certificate designs on a highly visible, easily accessible, well-organized page on your website, as well as on your confirmations and receipts, which will appeal to impulse purchasers. Big stores all have their gift cards at that location, that’s because it works.
• Gift certificates are usually given for special occasions: birthday, christmas, graduation etc. Make sure that you have a wide array of gift certificates so that you can accommodate all gifting desires.
• Since a spa gift certificate is often seen as premium gift, you can capitalize on that by offering metal tins, boxes and die-cut envelopes for a distinctive touch. That’s also an easy way to bring in more sales for your shop.

Gift Certificate Factory provides gift certificate templates that you can print and sell to your customers. Check out our gift certificate template gallery.

How can you make your own gift certificate? The easiest way is to use a gift certificate template. A number of templates are available online. The advantages of using online gift certificate templates are simplicity, greater choice and better quality for designs: websites providing gift certificate templates go to great lengths to simplify the process of creating custom gift certificates.

In this example, we’re going to use templates provided on this website, but you are free to go check another template website of course.

1. go to Gift Certificate Factory website.
2. go to the template gallery (click on the ‘templates’ button), showing you a wide selection of gift certificate templates.
3. Select a template that you like – you can restrict the template view by category, for example if you search for birthday gift certificate templates, select “birthday” category. Then you can choose the template of your choice in the birthday gift certificate category.
4. Now you can personalize the template – depending on the template, you can edit different information. You can always edit the company name, the recipient’s name and the gift certificate value. On some templates you can also add a personal message, the giver’s name, and your business details (address, website…). If you want more direction on the wording, you can check out the gift certificate wording post.
5. When you’re done with your editing, you have to buy the template. You will then be redirected to the payment website to pay and provide your payment details.
6. When payment is done, you’ll be redirected automatically to the template you were editing.
7. At this point, you can still edit the template.
8. You can then print or download the template directly from this page.
9. If you want to print the gift voucher later, or you want to save it for reference, download the template. It will be stored on your computer as a PDF file.
10. You’ll have unlimited access to this template for 24 hours – so if you need multiple versions of this template, make sure to download the template multiple times – that is, as many times as you need versions.

Gift Certificate Factory provides gift certificate templates that you can print and sell to your customers. Check out our gift certificate template gallery.

If you’re making your own gift certificate and you want to give it or sell it to your customer, you need to carefully choose your wording. First, you need to know there are usually conditions attached to a certificate. None of it is mandatory, however it can be helpful to protect yourself against potential abuse from customers, and to limit applicability of your gift certificate.

Standard information to include in a gift certificate

• name of your company
• recipient’s name
• purchaser’s name
• certificate value (in dollars)
• personal message
• certificate serial number: this will help you to keep track of gift certificates, and making sure customers are not reprinting gift certificates for their profit.
• business contact: your business address, website, email

Let’s go over a few conditions you might want to mention at the bottom (in small print) of the certificate.

Legal mentions to include in a gift certificate

• restriction for a certain type of service/product: if you want to offer a gift certificate for a specific service, mention “valid only for service X” or “to be used towards the purchase of X”.
• no cash value. This will protect you against customers willing to redeem the certificate for cash (people will try to do that!). Mention “no cash value” or “not redeemable for cash” on the certificate.
• non-transferability: if you want the gift certificate to be redeemed only by the person whose name is mentioned on the certificate, mention “non-transferrable” on the certificate.
• certificate expiration: this might not be legal in your state/country. Check your legal regulations or an attorney for this. If it is legal, you might want to include a certificate expiration date, to avoid having gift certificates out in the open for years. One year from now is a good default. Mention “expiration date: 2012-03-17?.

How to choose wording for a personal message

A personal message will vary substantially from one relationship to another. If the gift certificate is from a father to a son, the message tone and content will be very different compared to a corporate gift certificate. Here you can follow your inspiration, but we can give a few guidelines:

• be precise: you can specify for what reason you’re giving this gift certificate. If you’re selling a gift certificate it might not be applicable but if you’re giving it, there is probably a reason. Tell your customer why you’re giving it.
• use the right tone: it is important to know who you’re giving this certificate to. If you’re giving it to a customer, you’re not going to use the same language and vocabulary as if you give it to a loved one. Be professional or informal according to the occasion.

If you want to make your own gift certificate, you have the choice between 2 options:

• using a template
• making a gift certificate from scratch

1. Save money

   You may have to pay for the templates, but spending a few dollars for a professional gift certificate template is still way cheaper than hiring a designer. You will save big bucks by using a template. Yes, you might do it yourself, but except if you have great design skills, this might not be the best use of your time. That brings us to the second point.

2. Save time

   Using a gift certificate template will get you a printed gift certificate in a matter of minutes. Compare that with using Photoshop or another design software if you want to make a gift certificate from scratch. Except if you have great design skills, you will spend multiple hours getting a good theme matching your business, aligning things together, and making sure everything looks all right. Even if you have good design skills, the quality of the certificate will probably still be inferior to a professional gift certificate design.

3. Customize it easily

   You can customize additional information by simply pointing, clicking and typing. It should not take you more than a minute to fill entirely a gift certificate form. Plus, if you want to print several gift certificates, you can easily change specific information for each certificate (for example, recipient’s name and purchaser’s name).

4. No software to install

   One big advantage of using a website hosting gift certificate templates is that you don’t have anything to install or configure. Just go to the website, select a template, customize it and print it. No software to download, no complicated menus to navigate, no problems to choose fonts… All these problems have already been thought of and taken care of. Relax and focus on getting the gift certificate of your choice printed.

5. Ready to Print

   The only things you need is paper and ink for your printer. Well, actually, it’s not even necessary. You could even save the gift certificate as a PDF file on your computer or a USB key, and bring it to the local printer shop. They will take care of the printing and you’ll have a professional gift certificate on quality paper that your customers could not help but notice in your shop.

6. Branding: match the gift certificate with your business

   It’s important for your branding that the gift certificate matches what your business does, or alternatively, that it matches the occasion: so for your spa gift certificate, you might want a spa themed gift certificate. If you’re selling gift certificate for valentine’s day, then you might want a valentine’s day gift certificate. When selecting a gift certificate template online, make sure that the theme of the gift certificate is a good match. Fortunately, template sites have a wide selection of templates, so you should find what you’re looking for!

Since starting in the world of gift certificates, it puzzled me how there seemed to be so many words to describe essentially the same thing.

Gift certificate VS gift card

“gift certificate” is identical to “gift voucher” and while it refers to a different concept than “gift card”, people seem to use all these expressions to describe the same thing:

• a gift certificate (aka gift voucher) is “a voucher entitling the bearer to a free product or service, intended to be purchased as a gift” http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gift_certificate – http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gift_certificate
• a gift card is “a restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary gift.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_card – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_card

gift certificate form VS gift certificate template

To describe what is generally accepted as “gift certificate template”, people use the following terms:

• gift certificate form
• gift certificate format
• gift certificate template

Even though it seems these terms are used interchangeably on the internet, they are slightly different. It comes down to the basic difference between a template and a form:

• a template is the skeleton of a document. In the case of a gift certificate, the template refers to the document containing a background picture, some headers, and maybe some field names (like ‘recipient’s name’, ‘message’).
• a form is a document that is filled by the user. So the user takes the template and fill it as a form, adding information as he goes. So he might write the name of his company(“Glastonbury Massages”), the name of the recipient (“Joe”), the certificate value (“$50?) and other information.

Gift Certificate Factory provides gift certificate templates that you can print and sell to your customers. Check out our gift certificate template gallery.

What is an instant gift certificate?

An instant gift certificate is an already designed gift certificate that you can find online, edit it yourself with the information of your choice, and having it printed in a matter of minutes. There are a number of websites providing online instant gift certificates. We’ll take for example this website, Gift Certificate Factory. The process goes in three steps:

1. Select a template
2. Personalize it
3. Print it

Step 1: Select a gift certificate template

Websites providing instant gift certificates have a gallery of templates to choose from. These templates are grouped by occasion or category. So for example you have holiday gift certificate templates, christmas gift certificate templates, massage gift certificate template or golf gift certificate templates. You have a wide selection of templates to choose from, so you can take the time to browse several templates for the occasion you want.

Step 2: personalize it

Now that you have selected a gift certificate template, comes the time to personalize it. You can specify the name of your company, the recipient’s name, the purchaser’s name and gift certificate number, to help you track your gift certificates. On some templates you can also specify additional information, such as terms and conditions, your company’s address and website etc. The interface provided is very simple, you just have to point and click, and type the text you want to be on the gift certificate. Now that your gift certificate is personalized, it’s time to print it.

Step 3: Print it

At this point, you could also download the gift certificate on your computer if you want to archive it or print later. However, you can also just print it now. There’s a built-in print functionality on the website, so that you can just click on it, configure your print preferences (such as paper type) and off you go! Just make sure you have enough paper and ink. You may want to use a sharp paper cutter or alternatively, scissors to cut the paper.

When making a custom gift certificate (also called gift voucher), you can either make it online or make it using the software of your choice (for example Microsoft Word).

If you’re using a generic software for this task, you only have a limited number of templates, which might or might not be suited to your business. It also requires you to own a copy of the software, and it is more complicated than editing online gift vouchers. For any of these reasons, it might be worth it to make a custom gift certificate online.

There are several advantages of using online custom gift certificates: simplicity, greater choice and better quality for designs. Websites providing gift certificate templates specialize in helping you making printable gift certificates, so take a chance to use them!

In this example, we’re going to use Gift Certificate Factory, which provides quality gift certificate designs for small businesses.

1. go to giftcertificatefactory.com
2. click on the ‘templates’ button: this will take you to the template gallery, showing you a wide selection of gift certificate templates.
3. Select a template that you like – you can restrict the template view by category, for example if you search for birthday gift certificate templates, select “birthday”
4. Now you can edit the template with the information you want – depending on the template, you can edit different information. You can always edit the name of your company, the recipient’s name and the gift voucher value. On some templates you can also add a personal message, the giver’s name, and your business details (address, website…)
5. If you’re not happy with the way the template looks, you can always go back to the template gallery and select another template.
6. When you’re done with your editing, you have to buy the template. You will then be redirected to the payment website to pay and provide your details.
7. When payment is done, you’ll be redirected automatically to the template you were editing.
8. At this point, you can still edit the template.
9. You can then print or download the template directly from this page.
10. If you want to print the gift voucher later, or you want to save it for reference, download the template. It will be stored on your computer as a PDF file.
11. You’ll have unlimited access to this template for 24 hours – so if you need multiple versions of this template, make sure to download the template multiple times – that is, as many times as you need versions.

We detailed the process as much as we could – so you see, it’s not hard to make a custom gift certificate online!

You’ve decided to make your own printable gift certificate for your small business. Congratulations! You are joining a growing trend: last year, more than 23 billions of dollars worth of gift cards have been sold in the United States.

Before we get started on how to make your own printable gift certificate, keep in mind that quality will play a very big role in convincing customers to buy it for their friends or relatives. They should be proud of their gift! That means that the better your gift certificate quality, the more you will sell. Concretely, that means you should have design skills if you want to do it yourself. Alternatively, you may want to check Gift Certificate Factory for professional gift certificate templates, or if you are willing to spend more money, you could hire a designer to do it. In that case, budget for a few hundred dollars to have the gift certificate customized to your business.

Choose gift certificate wording

You should at least write the following information on the gift certificate:

• name of your company
• recipient’s name: the person receiving the gift certificate
• gift certificate value (in dollars or different currency) or service provided
• a unique serial number identifying the gift certificate

You can have the following optional information:

• logo of your business: that adds a nice professional touch
• details of your business (address, website): purely optional
• purchaser’s name (likely, the person who will buy the gift certificate)
• signature (making sure the gift certificate has not been duplicated)
• any other information you find relevant to a gift certificate

Gift certificate format

You can have your own format of course, but the most common format is 8? X 4? (inches). You can use standard 8? X 11? (inches) paper or custom paper. Make sure you use good quality paper, as it will make a big difference in how your customers will perceive the value of the gift certificate. Remember, this is a gift, so it has to look neat. You need to make the customer buying the gift certificate proud of buying it. Similarly, use a good printer or if you don’t have one, use the services of a professional printer. It will cost you a few dollars but it will certainly be worth it.

How to design your gift certificate

You can browse for pictures matching your business (if you make a spa gift certificate, look for “spa pictures” online) or you can use ready-made templates for your software of choice (Microsoft Word has some templates for gift certificates for example).

Additional considerations when making your own gift certificate

You will need to keep track of gift certificates to make sure people can’t fraud, which would be very costly to your business. To get the most out of your gift certificates, you might consider to read our article on how to sell more gift certificates.

Gift Certificate Factory provides gift certificate templates that you can print and sell to your customers. Check out our gift certificate template gallery.