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eGift cards for cafés with Square: sell gifts online

Sell digital gift cards from your Square page all year and redeem them at the till, with no monthly fee. From about $15£11€13A$21C$21 a month in card fees.

At a glance

  • What it costs$15£11€13A$21C$21 a month

  • Worth, in extra profit or time saved in the worked example$346£260€309A$499C$489 a month

  • Pays for itselfIn a few days

  • Sign up and configure; no technical skills neededEasy to set up

Figures come from the worked example below, using its stated assumptions. Tool prices checked . How we check prices

The problem

Regulars ask for gift vouchers at Christmas and birthdays, and a café without them sends that money elsewhere or sells hand-written vouchers that are easy to copy and hard to track. If a café could sell 20 gift cards a month at $27£20€24A$38C$38 that's $532£400€476A$768C$752 a month of sales it isn't taking.

What the AI does

Square Gift Cards work with Square point of sale. Square's UK page says it costs $0£0€0A$0C$0 to set up digital cards, there's no monthly fee, customers buy eGift cards online and redeem them at your Square till, they can check their balance, and Square Gift Cards don't expire. Card processing when a card is bought online is 1.4% + 25p for UK cards; redeeming costs nothing. Put the eGift link on your website, Google profile and Instagram, and mention it on the menu board in December.

A worked example

A café in Harrogate already uses Square at the till. It adds eGift cards from $13£10€12A$19C$19 to $67£50€60A$96C$94 and puts the link in its Instagram bio and on a board by the counter.

Before

0 gift cards sold online; a few hand-written vouchers that are hard to track

After

About 20 eGift cards a month at $27£20€24A$38C$38: $532£400€476A$768C$752 of sales, redeemed at the till

What it's worth

About $346£260€309A$499C$489 a month in profit, if 20 gift cards a month at $27£20€24A$38C$38 bring in $532£400€476A$768C$752 of sales that wouldn't otherwise happen, at an assumed 65% margin. The 20 cards is an assumption. Card fees on online sales are 1.4% x $532£400€476A$768C$752 = $7.45£5.60€6.66A$10.75C$10.53 plus 25p x 20 = $7£5€6A$10C$9 about $15£11€13A$21C$21 a month; there's no monthly fee.

How to set it up

  1. Set up eGift cards in your Square account with a few set amounts.
  2. Buy one yourself online and redeem it at the till to test the whole flow.
  3. Put the eGift link on your website, Google Business Profile and Instagram bio.
  4. Show staff how to check a balance and redeem a card at the till.
  5. Ask your accountant how to record gift card sales and VAT before the first busy month.

What goes wrong

  • Gift card money is owed to customers until they spend it. Don't treat it as profit on the day it's sold.
  • VAT on vouchers depends on what they can be spent on; with hot and cold food at different rates, ask your accountant.
  • Square Gift Cards don't expire, so they stay on your books until used.
  • They need Square point of sale to redeem; if you change tills, plan how to honor cards already sold.

More ideas for Cafés

Digital loyalty card for cafés with Square Loyalty

Square Loyalty replaces paper stamp cards: customers earn points at the till and get a text when they earn a reward. From about $33£25€30A$48C$47 a month.

  • Costs $33–60£25–45€30–54A$48–86C$47–85/mo
  • Worth $281£211€251A$405C$397/mo
  • Pays for itself in about a week
  • Easy to set up

Bake waste check from till data with ChatGPT for cafés

Upload 8 weeks of till sales to ChatGPT and set how many of each bake to make on each weekday. From about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month.

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Part-time staff rota for cafés in RotaCloud

RotaCloud handles student and part-time availability, shift swaps and the weekly rota. About $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month for 6 to 10 staff.

  • Costs $27–32£20–24€24–29A$38–46C$38–45/mo
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Weekly social posts for cafés, drafted and checked by you

ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini turn your specials and events into a week of post drafts that you check. Free to about $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month.

  • Costs Free–$27Free–£20Free–€24Free–A$38Free–C$38/mo
  • Worth $68£51€61A$98C$96/mo
  • Pays for itself in about a week
  • Easy to set up

Supplier invoices for cafés captured by Dext into Xero

Dext reads supplier invoices and receipts and sends them to Xero. From about $32£24€29A$46C$45 a month, plus Xero Grow at $52£39€46A$75C$73 if you don't have it.

  • Costs $32–40£24–30€29–36A$46–58C$45–56/mo
  • Worth $77£58€69A$111C$109/mo
  • Pays for itself in about two weeks
  • Some setup needed

Last updated October 17, 2026.