Universal Voucher Resources 

SOS is excited to introduce the Universal Voucher, which gives customers the opportunity to redeem voucher credit using the inkind app at any business across our 2500+ strong network.

The Universal Voucher is now live!

The redemption process is simple, and for your convenience we've included an easy to follow diagram below.

 

How to process Universal Voucher redemptions

 

This four step process has been designed to make credit redemption as hassle-free as possible.

 

Keeping track of SOS voucher redemptions

How you input voucher redemptions is entirely up to you. We recommend adding SOS as a tender type for your record keeping purposes, though you are free to use any system that works well for you (i.e. gift card, voucher, etc).

As a reminder, Universal Voucher redemptions do not appear in the vendor portal.

 

FAQs

General

How does SOS work?

By signing up, you agree that we are acting as you agent for selling vouchers online. You are asking us to assist you in the online provision of vouchers for future products or services that you will offer the purchasers of those vouchers. We agree to act as your agent, and supply vouchers to your customers, and process payments for you, then remit those funds to you on a regular basis. 

The vouchers can be used for any food, drinks etc at your premises. 

Who is this for?

SOS was set up to help businesses who want to have the capacity to sell their own vouchers online. 

I’m not listed on your site; how can I get listed?

Please register here. Include the name of your business, address, phone number and website if you have one, and we will try to get you set up asap. Before we can pay you out, we’ll also need your preferred bank account number.

How do I get people to buy vouchers?

Universal Vouchers can be purchased here, so be sure to share it around.

You can also push the SOS website on your social media and other marketing channels. We will be doing publicity about it too (see the Media area), but really this is about you engaging your local community. 

Promote this as much as you can. Update your Facebook page, Instagram etc with a link to www.sosbusiness.nz. Email or call your customers and ask them to consider buying a voucher. Find the local Facebook groups in your area, or the Neighbourly groups, and post about it, asking people to support you. Consider contacting your local media (radio, newspaper) and asking them to run a story. 

 

Universal Vouchers

What is the Universal Voucher and how does it work?

Rather than buying separate vouchers for individual locations, SOS users can now use the inKind app to redeem their Universal Voucher at any of the businesses across the network. 

Customers are able to redeem Universal Voucher credit over multiple visits as long as they have a balance remaining on their account.

Can I handle partial payments with the Universal Voucher?

If a customer does not have enough voucher credit to handle the full bill or would like to only pay a portion of the bill with the inKind app, the process is quite straightforward.

Simply ask the customer to enter the desired redemption amount and close out the remaining balance of the bill with another tender type (cash, credit or debit).

How can I verify that a genuine Universal Voucher redemption has occurred on the app?

When the customer selects your business and the appropriate dollar value for the transaction, they will show you a confirmation screen once it has been completed.

inKind registers the transaction on our back end, then remits the funds to you weekly.

There's no code to track with Universal Vouchers?

Correct--with Universal Vouchers, you no longer need to reference a pesky voucher code when a customer comes in to redeem. All you need to do is ensure the customer has typed in the correct bill total, then shows you the green checkmark on the payment confirmation screen. 

We will process the payment from there and will send you redemption confirmation emails for your records.

As a reminder, Universal Voucher redemptions will not appear in the Vendor Portal. 

 

Regular SOS Vouchers

How does an individual voucher get issued? How will I track them?

Our system will issue a voucher with a unique order code on it automatically. We will set up a vendor account with your own login so that you can track your vouchers and mark them off as they are used. 

In the Vendor Portal you can download the voucher file, and you can also mark off which vouchers have been redeemed.

Can customers do partial redemption of individual vouchers?

This is entirely at your discretion. We are just creating an easy way for you, the vendor, to sell vouchers to customers online and for customers to easily purchase vouchers from you via SOS (as agents). How you redeem and reconcile vouchers is up to you. 

How can I see what I have sold?

Log into the Vendor Portal we have created. Instructions are here:

https://sosbusiness.nz/pages/vendor-portal

What do the vouchers look like?

We only offer digital vouchers. We do not mail out physical or tangible vouchers to customers.

The vouchers are emailed to the customer, so they may have them on their phone, or they may have printed a page out. On it will be something that looks like this:

The Voucher ID is unique, and can take the form of a long number (as above) or a string like "Voucher id: C51A-09D9-325C-3F33-C266". Both are valid and unique.

Also, for the very early orders (from about March 24th to 28th) they may be missing a number and just have a receipt number.

The portal will show you all the vouchers that have been bought for your venue so you can track them.

How do I reconcile vouchers with my POS system?

You will be able to view your voucher sales in our Vendor portal (if you have been approved to sell you will be invited to our Vendor portal). You can then download this as CSV and upload it into your POS system OR print it and manually strike vouchers off as customers redeem them. You can also track redemptions on the Vendor Portal.

For Vendor Portal Help, click here.

Unfortunately, at this time we do not offer any integration services or advice or apps for your POS. 

I don’t sell vouchers (or I do but only in person) can I join?

Yes - this site is for you! If you can’t issue vouchers, we set them up for you and process the payments on your behalf - no fee, apart from the credit card and bank charges.

If you already sell vouchers on your website, we can just link to them for you from your site entry.

Money

Are there fees?

No fees charged by us at all - we are just trying to help you out. The only fee is the credit card fee that Visa, Mastercard etc charge on the purchase.

Credit card fees below:

Shopify Payments	2.0% + 30c
POLi	0%

What about GST & Tax?

These vouchers are the same as if someone was buying from you; you need to account for the GST component of them as you normally do. Similarly they are income so count towards your revenue - you should probably consult with your accountant if you have one, as some businesses would account for these as a liability, rather than revenue, as you haven't delivered the service yet. #NotAnExpert

How quickly will I get paid out?

We will do a payout into your nominated bank account weekly, or more regularly if we can. There is a delay from when a customer buys a voucher until the payment is released (it takes 2 to 3 days with the Shopify Payment system, and longer for Paypal payments) which we are trying to reduce. 

What does it mean when it says the voucher is a Donation?

It means the voucher is a donation :) We put in a way that customers could choose to simply 'donate' rather than buy a voucher. We've been blown away at the response and many of you have donations. Take a look in the vendor portal for more details.

 

Other

Who is inKind?

inKind provides financing and marketing support to hospitality businesses around the world. We have partnered with them on the SOS initiative for their best-in-class mobile app that provides users and vendors with a seamless redemption process.

To read more about how inKind has revolutionised hospitality finance, please visit their webpage.

I already sell vouchers on my website, can I just have that listed?

Yes - if you sell vouchers on your website, we can just link to them; but if you don’t then we can set them up for you and process the payments on your behalf - no fee, apart from the credit card charge and bank charges.

I’m a barber / bubble tea shop / cake shop / etc - can I join too?

Sure - the more the merrier. If having this voucher system can help you, then please join up - and spread the word to your customers!