In this article, you will find everything you need to know about gift card restrictions per shift: what it is, how to activate it, and how it works for you and your guests.
Summary
What is Gift Card Restrictions per Shift and why use it?
How to activate Gift Card Restrictions per Shift
Troubleshooting & FAQs
💡What you need to know
You can now decide, shift by shift, whether gift cards are accepted during online booking — and set a maximum number of gift cards redeemable per service. Guests are automatically informed in the booking widget if gift cards aren't available for their chosen shift.
1. What is Gift Card Restrictions per Shift and why use it?
Take back control over gift card redemptions without blocking access entirely.
Many restaurants — especially high-end establishments with limited covers — find that unrestricted gift card usage during peak shifts affects revenue per service. This feature gives you the tools to decide: accept all gift cards, cap the number allowed, or disable them entirely for a given shift.
Available controls per shift:
Disable gift card acceptance — gift cards are not accepted online for this shift
Set a gift card limit — cap the number of gift cards that can be used per shift (e.g. max 3 per service)
Your existing gift card setup, payouts, and overall program remain unchanged.
2. How to activate Gift Card Restrictions per Shift
Settings are managed directly from ZenchefOS — no account manager needed.
Go to ZenchefOS > Service Settings > select a shift > Payment Options > Gift Cards. From there, toggle gift card acceptance on/off and define a limit.
3. Troubleshooting & FAQs
Common issues
The limit is reached but a guest says they couldn't book with their gift card — This is expected. Once the limit is reached, the booking widget disables the gift card input and shows a clear message. The guest can still book without a gift card.
I set a limit of 5 but 6 gift card bookings came through — The limit is enforced server-side. If this happens, contact Customer Care.
FAQ
Does this affect restaurant-side redemptions (e.g. at the till)? — No. This feature only controls gift card usage in the online booking widget.
What happens to existing bookings if I change the limit? — Existing confirmed bookings are not affected. The new limit applies only to future bookings.
Is there an extra cost? — No. Included in all plans at no additional cost.
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