Selling restaurant gift cards in Vancouver: no-expiry in practice, amounts and the December push

A gift card is the only thing on your menu you are paid for before you cook it. December sells January, a slow February was paid for in November, and many gift cards are bought by somebody who has never eaten with you, for somebody who has. The legal rule, with its sources, is in the guide on BC gift card rules for restaurants; this guide is about designing and selling cards in Vancouver.

Can a restaurant gift card expire in BC?

Generally, no. Under BC's Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and its Prepaid Purchase Cards Regulation, a business must not sell a prepaid purchase card, such as a gift card or gift certificate, with an expiry date. A card sold with one is redeemable as if it had none.

There are narrow exceptions in the regulation, including cards for a specific good or service rather than a dollar amount, cards issued for a charitable purpose, and promotional cards given away for nothing or sold for less than their face value. This is a summary, not legal advice. Read Consumer Protection BC's guidance or ask an advisor before you print terms on a card.

What does that mean for how you sell gift cards?

• Do not put an expiry date on a card a customer pays for. In BC it is unenforceable and it makes you look careless.
• A free promotional card is different. A card you give away, such as a thank-you to a regular, can carry a date under the promotional exception, but keep it clearly separate from cards people buy.
• Plan for long redemption. Some cards come back years later. Keep your redemption process and records simple enough to honour them whenever they arrive.

How should you design a gift card that sells?

Offer three amounts. Most buyers pick the middle one, so the amounts you show set your average sale. A café card wants to feel casual, enough for a run of mornings. A restaurant card is usually dinner for two, so it should cover dinner for two; a card that leaves somebody well short of a meal produces an awkward evening and no second visit.

You can give bonus credit: pay one amount, get a bit more to spend. Bonus credit turns "I'll get one later" into a decision now, and it costs you the food cost of the extra, not the cash. If the bonus is a free promotional extra, decide and state clearly whether it is treated differently from the purchased value, and ask an advisor how to word it.

When do gift cards actually sell in Vancouver?

Almost nobody browses for gift cards. They are bought at a few predictable moments:

• The weeks before Christmas, the biggest window by far
• Valentine's Day and Mother's Day
• Birthdays and thank-yous, all year round
• A visitor's last day, when somebody wants to thank a host

The restaurants that sell gift cards are the ones that mention them at those moments: in December social posts, on receipts, on a small card by the till, and when a guest asks whether you do them.

What should happen when a card is redeemed?

Staff should apply it in seconds, say the remaining balance out loud and treat the recipient as a new guest worth winning. A card that can be used over several visits until it runs out is a better experience than a paper certificate and usually leads to a larger total spend. A short line in the terms saying that tax and tip are added at the meal avoids most surprises.

What should you do about lost or stolen gift cards?

Decide your policy before the first customer asks, and write it in the gift card terms.

• Digital cards are easier to protect. If a card is tied to a buyer's email or account, you can check its history and reissue the balance to the right person.
• Plastic or paper cards behave like cash. Many restaurants cannot replace a lost physical card without proof of purchase. Say so clearly.
• Record card numbers and balances, so you can look up a card if a customer has a receipt.
• Be consistent. Whatever the policy, apply it the same way every time.

How should you account for gift card sales?

Money taken for a gift card is generally a liability until the card is redeemed, and in BC cards do not expire, so unredeemed balances can stay on the books for a long time. How to record them, and when tax applies, is a question for your accountant; the guide on GST/HST and gift card sales is a starting point. Keep a clean record of each card's balance from the start.

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