Troubleshooting gift card redemption

When a gift card won't go through at the till, the screen shows a short message. This page maps each one to what it means and what to do. For the normal flows, see Sell a gift card at the till and Redeem a gift card at the till.

Card statuses (what each one means)

Every card is in one of these states. Most till errors map straight to a status:

• Active — issued and ready to spend.
• Reserved — applied to a sale that's mid-payment. It frees back up to Active automatically if that payment is cancelled or times out.
• Used — already redeemed. A single-use card can't be spent again.
• Voided — cancelled by the merchant in the portal; can't be spent.
• Expired — past its expiry date (24 months from issue by default).

The code won't scan

If Scan QR code doesn't pick up the card:

1. Steady the phone and make sure the whole QR is in frame and well lit; phone screens at full brightness scan best.
2. If it still won't read — the QR is creased, the email won't load, or the customer only has the printed code — tap Enter code manually and type the GC-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX code. The field upper-cases letters and removes spaces, so you don't need to worry about case.

A scan that won't read is almost always a camera/lighting issue, not a problem with the card — manual entry is the reliable fallback.

"We couldn't find that gift card."

The code doesn't match any card. Either it was mistyped, or the card belongs to a different business.

• Re-enter it carefully. Codes use letters and numbers but never the ambiguous ones (no O, 0, 1, I or L), so a character that looks like one of those is something else — check the slip again.
• Wrong merchant. A card sold by another business will never be found here — for security the till shows the same "couldn't find" message rather than revealing it belongs elsewhere. Tillable gift cards only work at the business that sold them. Tell the customer it can't be used at your venue.

"That gift card has expired."

The card is past its expiry date (Expired status). It can't be redeemed. Tell the customer it's expired and, if you want to make a goodwill gesture, that's a manager decision — there's no way to "un-expire" a card. You can issue a fresh card if you choose to.

"Gift card has already been used and has no remaining balance."

The card is Used — it was redeemed on an earlier sale. Cards are single-use, so once spent there's nothing left on them, even if the earlier bill was smaller than the card's value (the leftover isn't kept). The card can't be used again.

"That gift card has been voided."

The card was cancelled in the portal (Voided status) — usually for a refund or replacement. It can't be redeemed. If the customer believes this is a mistake, a manager can check the card's history on the portal Gift cards page to see when and why it was voided.

"That gift card isn't usable right now."

The card is Reserved — it's attached to another sale that's part-way through payment. This clears on its own:

1. Make sure the card isn't already applied on another till or an unfinished sale.
2. Wait a short moment and try again — a reservation releases automatically when the other payment is cancelled or times out, and the card returns to Active.

"Check the code and try again."

The code was empty or malformed (wrong length or stray characters). Re-enter the full GC-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX code, or scan the QR instead.

"Couldn't reach the server. Try again." / "Couldn't apply the card — try again."

A connection or temporary server problem, not a problem with the card itself. Check the till's internet connection and try again. If it keeps failing, take payment another way and contact support.

"Partial redemption" on a return visit

A common question: a customer spent part of a card last week and wants to use "the rest" today. This isn't how the current gift cards work. A card is single-use — when it's redeemed, it's spent in full and marked Used, with no running balance carried to a later visit. So:

• If the customer's card shows Used, there's nothing left to spend, even if their bill last time was smaller than the card's value.
• If it still shows Active, it was never redeemed and its full value is available now.

You can confirm a card's status and value on the portal Gift cards page, or the customer can on the Check status & balance link in their email. See Check a gift card's balance.

Still stuck?

If a card should work but won't, open it on the portal Promotions → Gift cards page and read its History timeline — it logs every event (issued, reserved, redeemed, voided, emailed). That usually shows what happened. If it still doesn't add up, contact support with the card code.