ArtistryHost redeems Square gift cards. The same gift cards your register already issues, one balance, one ledger, honored at online booking checkout and anywhere else you take Square.
Selling gift cards
You sell gift cards through Square, exactly the way you do today: at the counter in Square POS, or online through Square Online or Square's hosted gift-card page. Nothing to configure in ArtistryHost.
For a gift-card-only purchase link (holiday promotion, a "give the gift of a class" button on your site), turn on online gift card sales in Square Dashboard → Gift Cards and share the link Square gives you.
Redeeming at booking checkout
When a guest books a paid-in-full experience online and has a gift card:
- At the payment step, they tap Paying with a gift card? and enter the card number.
- ArtistryHost checks the live balance with Square and shows exactly how much the card will cover.
- The gift card pays first. Whatever is left goes on the guest's card.
- The confirmation shows both tenders.
Example: $90 booking. Guest has a $50 gift card.
- Gift card pays: $50.00
- Card pays: $40.00
No staff intervention, no manual math. If the gift card covers the whole amount, the guest's card is saved for your cancellation policy but is charged $0 today.
Good to know
- Gift card redemption is offered on Full Prepayment bookings, the one flow where money moves at booking. No Card Required and Card on File bookings don't collect payment online, so there is nothing for a gift card to pay.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay aren't combined with a gift card in the same checkout. A guest who applies a gift card pays the remainder with a card number.
- Multi-week course series don't take gift cards online yet.
- If the guest's card is declined after the gift card was charged, ArtistryHost refunds the gift card automatically so their balance is intact for a retry.
- Requires Square Gift Cards on your Square account. If you connected Square before gift card support shipped, reconnect it under Settings → Payments & fees so ArtistryHost has permission to read gift card balances.
Redeeming in person
At the host stand or the counter, a gift card is just another Square tender. Ring the sale in Square POS, choose gift card as the payment method, and swipe or enter the number. Because ArtistryHost uses Square's gift card system natively, the balance a guest spent online is already reflected at the register, and vice versa.
Checking a balance
- Staff: look up any card from Square POS or Square Dashboard → Gift Cards.
- Guests: Square provides a balance-check page for your business; find the link under Square Dashboard → Gift Cards → Settings and add it to your site or confirmation emails if you'd like.
What's different about this
Most booking platforms run gift cards inside their own system, separate from your POS. A card bought on the booking site can't buy a candle at the counter, and a card sold at the register has to be typed in by hand for an online booking, if it works at all. ArtistryHost avoids both gaps because the gift card is the Square gift card.
Refunds
A refund goes back to the original tender, so a gift card's balance is restored automatically. See Refunds for the full flow.
Expiration and the law
US state law generally requires gift cards to stay valid for at least five years, and Square enforces this by default. Don't try to expire gift cards early. For your state's specific rules, ask your accountant.