Skip to content
English
Open Ticket Customer Portal
Schedule a Demo
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Understanding the Gift Card Liability Report

See how much your store owes on gift cards, how that changed over a period, and which cards are holding the money.

What gift card liability means

When a customer buys a gift card, the store hasn't made a sale yet. It has taken money it still owes the cardholder. That money is a liability: it belongs on your balance sheet until the card is spent. When the customer spends the card, it becomes a sale.

The Gift Card Liability report shows:

  • How much you owed on gift cards at the start and end of any period
  • Everything that changed it: cards sold, reloaded, redeemed or returned
  • The cards that make up what you owe
  • Cards that need attention

Opening the report

  1. Go to Reports.
  2. Under Profit, select Gift Card Liability.

Administrators and Managers can open this report.

Choosing a period

Use the period menu under the page title. The report opens on This month to date. You can also choose:

  • Last month
  • This quarter to date or Last quarter
  • This year to date or Last year
  • Custom dates: pick a start and end date, then click Run report

The end date can't be after today.

Viewing more than one store

If your store is part of a store group, you can use the store picker at the top of the page to choose:

  • This store
  • The whole group
  • One other store in the group

When you view the whole group, the Summary shows a column for each store plus a Total, and the other tabs add a Store column.

The summary tiles

  • Owed at end of period: what customers could still spend on their gift cards on the last day of the period. The amount owed at the start is shown underneath.
  • Sold & reloaded: money taken for new gift cards and reloads during the period, plus any refunds put onto gift cards.
  • Redeemed: gift card money customers spent during the period, plus any gift cards taken back on a return.
  • Cards with a balance: how many cards had money on them at the end of the period, and how much of that is on cards unused for over a year.

The tabs

Summary

The Summary works like a statement. It starts with Owed at start of period, lists everything that changed it, and ends with Owed at end of period. The lines always add up exactly.

Only lines with activity in the period are shown. Hover over a line to see what it counts.

  • Gift cards sold: new cards paid for at the register.
  • Reloads: money added to cards customers already had.
  • Refunds put on gift cards: returns refunded onto a gift card instead of cash or card.
  • Activated by hand: cards activated on the Gift Cards page instead of being sold at the register (for example gifts, donations, or cards sold outside Syncrostore).
  • Cards with no sale on record: active cards whose history doesn't show them being sold, such as older cards. They're counted at the balance they had, from their activation date.
  • Redeemed at the register: gift cards spent by customers. Voided sales are taken back out.
  • Returned: gift card sales and reloads taken back on a return.
  • Adjustments: balance corrections on cards already in use.
  • Other card activity: anything the report doesn't recognize. This should be $0. If it isn't, contact support with the dates you ran.

Owed at end of period is the gift card liability figure for your balance sheet.

The note under the Summary also shows:

  • Today: what the card balances on file add up to right now. If any money is on hold for a sale in progress, that amount is shown too.
  • Not owed, for reference: gift cards loaded in advance that haven't been sold yet. They aren't owed until they're sold at the register.

Cards with a balance

Every active card that had money on it at the end of the period, with:

  • The card number and customer
  • Since: when the card was sold or first appears on record
  • Last activity: when it was last used or loaded
  • The expiration date and balance

Each card also shows a status:

  • Active: in normal use.
  • No sale on record: the card's history doesn't show it being sold.
  • Dormant over a year: not used or loaded in over a year.
  • Expired, still owed: past its expiration date but still holding money. Reloading the card brings it back into use with its balance.
  • Below zero: the card's balance has gone negative. See Exceptions.

Activity

Every gift card change in the period: the date, card, type of change, the sale it was part of, and who made it. The Change in owed column shows the effect on what you owe: a plus means more is owed, a minus means less.

Click a transaction number to open that sale. The total at the bottom is the net change for the period.

Aging

What you owed at the end of the period, grouped by how long since each card was last used or loaded: 0 to 90 days, 91 to 180 days, 181 days to 1 year, 1 to 2 years, and over 2 years.

Whether old balances can be counted as income ("breakage") or must be reported to the state as unclaimed property depends on your state's rules. Check with your accountant before writing any of it off.

By month

The 12 months up to the end of your period, showing for each month:

  • What was added (sold, reloaded and refunded onto cards)
  • What was taken off (redeemed and returned)
  • What was owed at the end of the month

Exceptions

Cards that need a look. If any exist, a message appears at the top of the report, and the Exceptions tab shows how many. Exceptions are always checked against the cards as they are right now, whatever period you picked.

Every gift card keeps a history of each change to its balance. The report works from that history. Exceptions are cards where something doesn't line up:

  • Card and ledger disagree: the balance on the card doesn't match its history. The report uses the history.
  • Balance below zero: the card's history shows a negative balance. This is often from an older split-payment issue that has since been fixed.
  • Inactive card with a balance: the card is inactive, so its money can't be spent and isn't counted as owed.
  • Money on hold: part of the balance is held for a sale in progress, or one that never finished. It can't be spent while it's held.
  • Ledger entries don't add up: some history entries don't match the change in balance. The report uses the balance.
  • Deleted card that held money: a deleted card still showed a balance. That money isn't counted anywhere now.

If you're not sure how to fix an exception, contact Syncrostore support with the card number.

Exporting

Click Export and choose CSV, Excel or PDF. The export includes the tab you're viewing, for the period and stores you picked.

Using this report with your bookkeeping

  • Your balance sheet: Owed at end of period is your gift card liability for that date.
  • Your income: gift cards become income when they're redeemed, which is why they don't count as sales when they're sold.
  • End of Day: for any single day, Gift cards sold + Reloads − Returned here equals the Gift Cards Sold total on the End of Day report.

Common questions

Why doesn't selling a gift card count as a sale?
The money is owed to the cardholder until they spend it. The sale is counted when the card is redeemed.

I loaded gift cards in advance. Why aren't they counted?
A card isn't owed until it's sold at the register. Cards loaded in advance are listed for reference in the Summary note.

Why are expired cards still counted?
The money on them hasn't been spent or refunded, and reloading the card brings it back into use with its balance.

Can I remove old balances from what I owe?
That depends on your state's breakage and unclaimed property rules. Check with your accountant before writing off any balance.

Related articles: End of Day report · Profit & Loss report · Gift Cards