For a small business, gift vouchers are one of the best December sellers: the money arrives straight away, and the voucher brings in a new customer who might never have come on their own. For salons, massage studios, restaurants, shops and repair services it is the easiest holiday product, if you set it up properly.
Below you will find a free generator for gift vouchers and discount coupons, with unique codes and a register, the rules for fiscal receipts when a voucher is sold and redeemed in Serbia, what a voucher should say and how to sell vouchers through your website. We checked the fiscal part with an accountant who works with small businesses.
In short: When you sell a voucher, always issue a fiscal receipt with the payment method the customer used. When the voucher is redeemed, issue a fiscal receipt for the service or goods with the payment method “voucher”, and if the customer pays extra, with two payment methods. The rule applies to VAT-registered businesses and flat-rate sole traders alike. Give every voucher a unique code, an expiry date and clear terms.
Gift voucher generator
Enter your business name, the amount or service, the expiry date and how many vouchers you need. The generator creates vouchers with a unique code and a QR code to your website, prints them three to an A4 sheet or saves them as PDF, and gives you a code list for your records. The same generator also makes percentage discount coupons, covered further down.
For a discount coupon the law requires a validity period with a start and end date, and what the discount applies to. Check the dates and the "applies to" field.
Vouchers print three to an A4 page (190 x 92 mm), with cut lines. In the print dialog choose "Save as PDF" if you want a file, and turn off headers and footers. The code list has the same codes as the vouchers: use it to record the sale, the fiscal receipt number and redemptions.
Nothing you enter, including the logo, is sent to a server.
Thicker paper of 250 to 300 gsm and an ordinary office printer are enough. If you send a voucher by email, save the PDF and send only the page with that customer’s voucher.
Fiscal receipts: when selling and when redeeming
| Situation | What you issue |
|---|---|
| A customer buys a voucher | A fiscal receipt with the payment method used: cash, card, bank transfer |
| The voucher is redeemed in full | A fiscal receipt for the service or goods, with the payment method “voucher” |
| The service costs more than the voucher | A fiscal receipt for the full amount, with two payment methods: “voucher” and, for example, cash |
| The voucher is partly redeemed | A fiscal receipt for the part used, with the payment method “voucher”. The rest stays on the voucher |
Three things that are most often done wrong:
- A voucher is not a fiscal receipt. The card or PDF the customer receives is only the voucher. A fiscal receipt always comes with it at the time of sale.
- The rule is the same for everyone. The Fiscalization Act applies equally to VAT-registered businesses and flat-rate sole traders, whatever the legal form.
- “Voucher” is a separate payment method in the rulebook on fiscal receipts, alongside cash, card and the others. You choose it in your invoicing software at redemption, not at the sale.
A note for VAT-registered businesses. The VAT Act (Article 7a) distinguishes single-purpose vouchers, where it is known in advance what will be bought and at which VAT rate (for example “60-minute massage”), from multi-purpose vouchers, which can be used for anything you sell. That difference decides when and how VAT is calculated and which tax label goes on the receipt at the sale. Your accountant sets this up in the invoicing software. You issue a fiscal receipt at the sale in both cases.
A discount coupon (“10% off your next purchase”) is not a voucher under the VAT Act, and neither are tickets. These rules do not apply to them. We explain how coupons work further down.
What a voucher should say
- Business name and contact, so it is clear who issued the voucher and where it can be used.
- The amount or service, for example “RSD 5,000” or “60-minute massage”.
- The expiry date, as an exact date.
- A unique code, used to check and record the voucher.
- Terms: whether it can be used in part, what happens to the balance, whether it can be combined with sales.
For vouchers you give away free as part of a promotion, for example “spend over RSD 10,000 and get a RSD 1,000 voucher”, the Trade Act (Article 36) explicitly requires the issuer’s details, the value or discount, the validity period with start and end dates, and any special conditions.
Expiry and remaining balance
We found no rule that sets a minimum validity period for gift vouchers, so you set the terms yourself. What matters is that they are written on the voucher before anyone buys it. From practice:
- 12 months is a common and fair period. A voucher bought for the holidays is often used only in spring.
- Partial use with a remaining balance is what customers expect and is the simplest for fiscal receipts: a receipt for the part used, with the balance staying on the code.
- Say what happens after expiry. If you will be flexible in practice, say so up front, because it builds trust.
The code register: why you need the table
Along with the vouchers, the generator gives you a table with the same codes. You record the sale date and fiscal receipt number in it, and later the redemption date, the amount and the balance. That way:
- the same voucher cannot be used twice;
- you know how many vouchers have been sold and how many are still unused;
- anyone working at the till can check a code.
You can open the table in Excel or Google Sheets and share it with your staff.
Discount coupons: what is different
In the generator choose “Discount coupon (%)” and enter the percentage, the validity period and what the discount applies to. A coupon looks like a voucher, but legally and for fiscal receipts it is a different thing: the customer pays nothing for it, so it is not a voucher under the VAT Act either.
| Difference | Gift voucher | Discount coupon |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The customer paid in advance | A right to a lower price; the coupon is not sold |
| When you hand it out | Fiscal receipt at the sale | No fiscal receipt, because nothing is sold |
| When it is used | Fiscal receipt with the payment method “voucher” | Fiscal receipt at the discounted price, with the payment method the customer actually uses |
| Validity | Usually 12 months | Short, with a start and end date |
| What it should say | Amount or service, expiry, code, terms | Issuer, discount percentage, what it applies to, start and end dates, special conditions |
The Trade Act (Article 36) requires a coupon to state the issuer, the discount percentage, which goods or services it applies to, the start and end dates and any special conditions. That is why, for coupons, the generator asks for both dates and the “applies to” field and warns you if something is missing. If you advertise the discount publicly, as a sale for all customers, the rules on promotional sales and the lowest price in the previous 30 days also apply, as we explain in our article on Black Friday 2026 in Serbia.
When a coupon makes sense:
- A January coupon. With December purchases, hand out a coupon valid from 8 to 31 January. After the holidays many salons and shops have a slow month, and the coupon brings customers back exactly then.
- With a gift voucher. Give the customer who buys a voucher for someone else a coupon for their own next visit. Someone else gets the gift, and you keep the customer who paid.
- For regular customers, by message to those who have agreed to receive your messages, each with their own code.
Use the codes from the table the same way as for vouchers: record who received the coupon and when it was used, so the same coupon cannot be used twice.
Do not give coupons for Google reviews. Google prohibits discounts and gifts in exchange for reviews, removes such reviews and can restrict the profile. We cover how to ask for reviews without risk in our guide to Google reviews in Serbia.
Selling vouchers through your website
If you have a web shop or a site with online payments, a voucher can be sold as a separate product. The customer pays and the voucher with its code arrives by email straight away, which is ideal for last-minute gifts. On WordPress this is handled by plugins such as PW WooCommerce Gift Cards (more than 20,000 active installations), YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards and Ultimate Gift Cards for WooCommerce. The code is generated automatically and the balance is tracked in the admin.
Fiscal receipts follow the same rules as any online sale, which we cover in our guide to web shop fiscalization in Serbia. If you want to sell vouchers on your site, we set this up as part of e-commerce development, or on an existing site as part of website maintenance.
A December plan for vouchers
- By 1 December print the vouchers or set them up on your site, and put a sign at the till.
- From 1 December post the offer on Instagram and your Google Business Profile, and send it to existing customers who have agreed to receive your messages.
- From 15 to 31 December is the main season. Offer an electronic voucher for last-minute buyers.
- Until Orthodox Christmas on 7 January there is a second wave of buying. Remind customers about vouchers once more.
- From 8 January the January coupons you handed out in December become valid, bringing customers back in a month that is usually quieter.
Instagram copy:
Not sure what to give? A gift voucher for [service or amount] at [business name]. Valid for 12 months and can be used in part. Message us or drop by, and we can also send it by email.
Sign for the till:
Gift vouchers from RSD [amount] to RSD [amount]. Ask us and we will prepare one right away.
Note: This article is a practical guide, not tax advice. We checked the fiscal part with an accountant; agree the VAT treatment of your vouchers with your own accountant. Checked on 23 October 2026.
FAQ: gift vouchers in Serbia
Is a fiscal receipt issued for a gift voucher?
Yes. When a voucher is sold, a fiscal receipt is issued with the payment method the customer used, for example cash or card. The rule applies to VAT-registered businesses and flat-rate sole traders alike.
How is a voucher redemption fiscalized?
A fiscal receipt is issued for the service or goods, with the payment method “voucher”. If the service costs more, the receipt is for the full amount with two payment methods, for example “voucher” and cash.
What if the voucher is only partly used?
A fiscal receipt is issued for the part used, with the payment method “voucher”, and the balance stays on the voucher until it expires. Record the redemption and balance in your code register.
Does a flat-rate sole trader have to issue a fiscal receipt for a voucher?
Yes. The Fiscalization Act applies equally to everyone, whether or not the business is VAT-registered and whatever its legal form.
How long should a gift voucher be valid?
No rule sets a minimum period, so you decide and write it on the voucher. Twelve months is common, with partial use allowed.
Is a discount coupon the same as a gift voucher?
No. A coupon gives a right to a lower price and is not sold, so no fiscal receipt is issued when you hand it out. When the customer uses it, a fiscal receipt is issued at the discounted price. The coupon must state the issuer, the discount percentage, what it applies to, the start and end dates and any special conditions.
How do I make a gift voucher?
Use the free generator in this article: enter your business name, the amount or service and the expiry date, and you get vouchers with unique codes to print or save as PDF, plus a register table. The same generator also makes percentage discount coupons.
Sources: VAT Act (Articles 7a to 7v), Rulebook on types of fiscal receipts, Trade Act (Article 36).
