Managing external vouchers and partner QR codes

Linda Balasso
Linda Balasso
  • Updated

What does it mean?

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the various voucher types supported by Palisis. We will explore how the system manages these vouchers throughout their lifecycle—from initial issuance to post-redemption—and clarify which voucher formats are best suited for each partner category.

Before you start

Vouchers are typically non-taxable (VAT is applied to the new booking generated by the system upon redemption, rather than to the voucher itself)

Voucher Types

Palisis offers several voucher types:

  • API: vouchers that are used for bookings made by OTAs through TourCMS.

  • External (Numeric, D1, D2, D3, D4, Wildcard): vouchers created outside the Palisis ecosystem for partners working with other systems and presented in Palisis for redemption/validation. https://support.palisis.com/hc/en-us/articles/23010049227793-How-to-setup-your-External-Vouchers

  • Internal: vouchers/bookings created within the Palisis ecosystem by a partner who also uses Palisis; redemption/validation happens via Palisis-to-Palisis flows (no external voucher format required).

General Knowledge

Voucher use cases

You may wonder how each voucher type should be used.

  1. API vouchers are the standard choice for OTAs integrated via our TourCMS channel manager to ensure seamless booking synchronization.

  2. For partners outside the Palisis network, external vouchers are the required solution.

  3. Palisis partners within the ecosystem can issue vouchers that are automatically recognised by the system (e.g., any reseller in your destination selling your products through Box Office or a Palisis device).

How Palisis manages vouchers

External vouchers are created by the supplier (operator) and assigned to a specific partner.

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When the voucher is scanned, the system generates a booking paid via a voucher or an external voucher and assigns the voucher ID to that specific record.

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External vouchers are recorded in the system once redemption occurs with ‘finished’ status.

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Vouchers (non-external) are created in the system with an 'unredeemed' status at the point of sale. Once redeemed, the status updates to 'redeemed' and a 'finished' booking is generated, using the voucher as the payment method.
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⚠️Always test a sample of partner QR codes before a major campaign to ensure the scanner recognizes the specific symbology (e.g., Code 128 vs. QR).

Good to know

Vouchers have a specific redemption window that dictates how long they remain valid after the scheduled departure. By default, this window starts 18 hours before and ends 6 hours after the departure time; if a customer arrives after this period, the system will mark the voucher as invalid. To modify this timeframe, please contact Support or your CSM.

FAQs

ℹ️A common scenario for external vouchers involves Palisis generating a batch of QR codes (e.g., 1000 codes in a CSV file) for a partner to sell through their own proprietary ticketing system.

  1. How does a Palisis device recognise and validate these pre-generated codes as new bookings upon scanning? When a partner's pre-generated QR code is scanned on a Palisis device, the system creates a new booking in real-time.

  2. How does this work on the device? The device scans the code and communicates with the server to verify if it is a valid external voucher and identifies the assigned partner. If valid, the device displays a green success screen; otherwise, it shows a red screen with an alert message.

    Furthermore, if the external voucher code has identifiers assigned, the corresponding product is automatically added to the basket. In this case, the user simply needs to tap the printer icon to issue the ticket. Without identifiers, the seller must manually select the correct product from the menu before proceeding to the basket. This manual step increases the risk of human error, as the seller could accidentally select the wrong product or price category. Utilising identifiers is highly recommended to ensure accuracy and speed up the boarding process. https://support.palisis.com/hc/en-us/articles/34052225712273-How-to-redeem-vouchers

  3. Is it possible to only scan the voucher without printing a ticket? This is not possible. By default, the device is configured to automatically print a physical ticket once an external voucher is successfully validated and processed.