A
voucher is a bond which is worth a certain
monetary valueMoney is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment...
and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include (but are not limited to)
housingA house is generally a shelter, building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to high-rise apartment buildings...
,
travelTravel is the change in location of people on a trip through the means of transport from one location to another. Travel is most commonly for recreation , for business or for commuting; but may be for numerous other reasons, such as migration, fleeing war, etc...
, and
foodFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
vouchers. The term voucher is also a synonym for
receiptA receipt is a written acknowledgement that a specified article or sum of money has been received as an exchange for goods or services . The receipt acts as the title to the property obtained in the exchange .-Printed:...
and is often used to refer to receipts used as
evidenceThe law of evidence governs the use of testimony and exhibits or other documentary material which is admissible in a judicial or administrative proceeding .-Relevance and social policy:Legal scholars of the...
of, for example, the declaration that a service has been performed or that an expenditure has been made.
The term is also commonly used for education vouchers, which are somewhat different.
Vouchers are used in the
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
sector primarily as proof of a named customer's right to take a service at a specific time and place.
A
voucher is a bond which is worth a certain
monetary valueMoney is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment...
and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include (but are not limited to)
housingA house is generally a shelter, building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to high-rise apartment buildings...
,
travelTravel is the change in location of people on a trip through the means of transport from one location to another. Travel is most commonly for recreation , for business or for commuting; but may be for numerous other reasons, such as migration, fleeing war, etc...
, and
foodFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
vouchers. The term voucher is also a synonym for
receiptA receipt is a written acknowledgement that a specified article or sum of money has been received as an exchange for goods or services . The receipt acts as the title to the property obtained in the exchange .-Printed:...
and is often used to refer to receipts used as
evidenceThe law of evidence governs the use of testimony and exhibits or other documentary material which is admissible in a judicial or administrative proceeding .-Relevance and social policy:Legal scholars of the...
of, for example, the declaration that a service has been performed or that an expenditure has been made.
The term is also commonly used for education vouchers, which are somewhat different.
In tourism
Vouchers are used in the
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
sector primarily as proof of a named customer's right to take a service at a specific time and place. Service providers collect them to return to the tour operator or travel agent that has sent that customer, to prove they have given the service. So, the life of a voucher is as below:
- Customer receives vouchers from tour operator or travel agent for the services bought
- Customer goes to vacation site and forwards the voucher to related provider and asks for the service to be given
- Provider collects the vouchers
- Provider sends collected vouchers to the agent or operator that sends customers from time to time, and asks for payment for those services
- Uncollected vouchers do not deserve payment
This approach is most suitable for [Free Individual Tourist] activities where pre-allocation for services are neither necessary, nor feasible or applicable. It was customary before the information era when communication was limited and expensive, but now has been given quite a different role by B2C applications. When a reservation is made through the internet, customers are often provided a voucher through email or a web site that can be printed. Providers customarily require this voucher be presented prior to providing the service.
In Accounts Payable
A voucher is an accounting document representing an internal indent to make a payment to an external entity, such as a vendor or service provider. A voucher is produced usually after receiving a vendor invoice, after the invoice is successfully matched to a Purchase Order. A voucher will contain detailed information regarding the payee, the monetary amount of the payment, a description of the transaction, and more. In Accounts Payable systems, a process called a "payment run" is executed to generate payments corresponding to the unpaid vouchers. These payments can then be released or held at the discretion of an Accounts Payable supervisor or the company Controller.
In Mobile Phones
A voucher is a recharge number sold to a customer to recharge their SIM card with money and to extend the card's availability period.
On The Internet
A voucher can also be used online in the form of an e-voucher. These types of vouchers can be entered when shopping online and the relevant vouchers value added to your order. It can take the form of any code. Many companies have opted to use voucher codes for the last few years but with a massive incline in use towards the end of 2008/early 2009. There are many internet websites devoted to promoting these deals and vouchers online, as well as Facebook groups offering items such as student discounts and 2-4-1 restaurant voucher deals.
There is a small number of sites that use a disreputable method of click to reveal method for dropping cookies on the consumer's computer, which his has led to the introduction of guidelines for voucher use in Internet Marketing.
See also
- Luncheon Voucher
The Luncheon Voucher is a paper ticket used by some employees in the United Kingdom to pay for meals in private restaurants. It allows companies to subsidise mid-day meals for their employees without having to run their own canteens.The scheme was created in 1954, when food rationing had just...
- Coupon
In marketing a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions...
- Token
In the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...
— a similar concept, but in the form of a coin
- School voucher
- Labour voucher
Labour vouchers are a device proposed to govern demand for goods in socialism, much as money does under capitalism....
- Food Stamp Program
The United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal-assistance program that provides assistance to low- and no-income people and families living in the U.S. Though the program is administered by the U.S. Department of...
- ROC consumer voucher
Issuing the Republic of China Consumer Voucher was part of an economic stimulus package held by the Republic of China government. The distribution of the vouchers to every ROC citizen born before March 31, 2009 and some foreign residents began on January 18 2009...