Definition
Service voucher
What is a service voucher?
A service voucher is a prepaid token for a specific service or offer — like a “60-minute massage” or “first cut, $30” — that a customer redeems once at the business that issued it.
Where a gift card holds a flexible monetary balance, a voucher is tied to a defined thing at a set price. That makes vouchers ideal for packaged offers, introductory deals, and seasonal promotions: the customer pays up front for a clearly described service and redeems it in a single visit.
Service vouchers are how many salons, studios, and tour operators acquire first-time customers. They have historically done this through deals marketplaces — but those platforms can take a large share of every voucher's value and keep the customer relationship for themselves.
On Zillo, you sell vouchers from your own branded store and redeem them by scanning a QR code at the point of service. You set the price, the terms, and any expiry, and the money lands in your own bank account minus a flat 3%. Because the sale happens on your store, you keep the customer's details and can market to them again.
A voucher that can be used more than once — a ten-class pass, say — is a multi-use voucher, which deducts one use per scan. A voucher tied to a dated event is closer to a ticket. For a one-time, fixed-price service, the single-use service voucher is the right fit.
Related terms