Gift vouchers and credit

This page is for everyone who sells gift vouchers or gives customers credit, whatever shop you use. If your own shop manages referral or customer credit itself and is connected through the API, the setup is in Taking over credit from your own shop.

Rechnungskit keeps two ledgers: one for gift vouchers and one for credit that is not a voucher. You find both under Vouchers. With a normal shop connection, they fill up on their own.

Two ledgers

• Voucher register: multi-purpose vouchers, meaning gift vouchers that can be redeemed for any item. It records the sale, every redemption and refunds onto the voucher. The open liability is shown at the top of the page.
• Credit ledger: credit that is not a voucher, such as referral rewards or credit from a return or a goodwill gesture. It shows the balances per customer and per type.

Voucher or discount?

For VAT, what counts is what the customer can redeem the voucher for (§ 3 Abs. 13 to 15 UStG):

1. Discount code (percentage or fixed amount): an instrument that only entitles the holder to a price reduction is not a voucher for VAT purposes (§ 3 Abs. 13 Satz 2 UStG). The code reduces the invoice amount like any other discount.
2. Single-purpose voucher: the place of supply and the tax rate are already fixed at the sale (§ 3 Abs. 14 UStG). VAT arises at the sale, and the voucher is a normal invoice line.
3. Multi-purpose voucher: VAT only arises on redemption (§ 3 Abs. 15 UStG). The sale produces a purchase receipt without VAT, and the amount goes into the voucher register.
4. Credit from a return, goodwill or a referral: it goes into the credit ledger.

Whether a voucher item is single-purpose or multi-purpose is something you set under Settings → Products. The differences in detail are in Products and VAT categories.

What happens automatically per shop

How Rechnungskit recognizes a voucher

Rechnungskit recognizes the sale by items that are classified as a voucher under Settings → Products.

For Shopify store credit, a task asks once about the origin: return, goodwill or purchased voucher. If you choose "remember", the classification applies to all following orders.

Own shop and other plugins

If your own shop manages referral or customer credit, you connect the history as described in Taking over credit from your own shop.

Rechnungskit does not yet recognize other voucher or credit plugins for WooCommerce or Shopware. If you use such a plugin, write to us at support@rechnungskit.de.

On the invoice

A redeemed multi-purpose voucher is a payment, not a discount: only the supply it is redeemed for is subject to VAT (§ 3 Abs. 15 Satz 2 UStG). The invoice therefore shows the VAT on the full amount and names both shares, such as "Credit card (€54.18) and voucher (€25.00)".

• The invoice then counts as paid.
• If the voucher covers everything, the invoice is created without a payment received.
• Normal discount vouchers (percentage or fixed amount) stay discounts and reduce the invoice amount (§ 3 Abs. 13 Satz 2 UStG).

An example: an order costs €79.18 gross at 19 %. If the customer redeems a €25.00 voucher, the invoice is for €79.18 with €12.64 VAT, paid by credit card (€54.18) and voucher (€25.00). A €25.00 discount code, by contrast, brings the invoice down to €54.18 with €8.65 VAT.

Source: § 3 Abs. 13 to 15 UStG

In DATEV

• Sale of a multi-purpose voucher: Rechnungskit books it as a liability, not as revenue (line voucher_liability under Settings → DATEV settings).
• Redemption of a voucher: Rechnungskit books the invoice for the goods as revenue, like any invoice. It does not yet create the booking that settles the redemption. The voucher share therefore stays open on the customer account (Debitor) until your tax advisor books the redemption (voucher liability to customer account). The redemptions per order are listed under Vouchers. An automatic booking is in the works.
• Credit ledger: Rechnungskit books every movement through the account roles, see Taking over credit from your own shop.