Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa gift cards: liability, expiry and redemption tracking
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
A gift card sale is not revenue until it is redeemed — it is money you owe in treatment. Sell it as a balance on a client record, track every redemption against that balance, and set expiry terms that follow the rules in your state. Handled this way, gift cards bring in new clients without leaving an untracked obligation on the books.
It is a liability, not a sale
The cash arrives in December and the treatment is delivered in March. Counting it as December revenue overstates the year and understates the obligation, which matters as soon as an accountant or a buyer looks closely.
Recording gift cards as balances keeps the outstanding total visible at any moment.
Redemption that staff can see
A gift card should behave like store credit on the recipient's record: partial redemption leaves a remaining balance, and every use is timestamped. No codes in a drawer, no handwritten log.
That also lets you handle the common case cleanly — a $200 card against a $260 treatment, with the difference taken on a card.
Expiry and the rules
Gift card expiry and dormancy rules vary by state and some prohibit expiry entirely. Check your own state's rules before you print anything, and put the terms on the card and the receipt.
This is one area where copying another practice's wording is genuinely risky. Confirm locally.
Selling them without a counter
Gift cards sell best from your storefront in the two weeks before a holiday, delivered by email with the recipient's name on it. Promote them to your existing client list first — they convert far better than paid traffic.
Track redemption rate per campaign. A card that never gets redeemed is not a win, it is a complaint waiting to happen.
Frequently asked
- Can gift cards be sold online?
- Yes, through the storefront and delivered by email, with the balance held on the recipient's client record.
- Can a gift card be part-redeemed?
- Yes. The remaining balance stays on the record and the difference is taken on a card.
- Do gift cards expire?
- That depends on your state's rules, which vary and sometimes prohibit expiry. Check locally and state the terms on the card.
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