Employee meal vouchers: what they are and how to choose them

Vouchers for food

meal vouchers – also called restaurant vouchers, meal cheques or restaurant cards – are a allowance intended to cover food expenses linked to the working day. The company allocates a daily amount to each employee, which they use to pay for their meals at catering establishments.

For the employee, they represent greater purchasing power without it being deducted from their net salary; for the company, a simple way to cover an unavoidable daily expense without advancing cash or collecting receipts. It is one of the compensation solutions with the best cost-to-impact ratio, and it works just as well in an SME as in a large company.

How do employee meal vouchers work?

It's simple to use:

1. The company defines the parametersDaily import, number of cards, and terms of use.
2. Each employee receives a card associated with your name and the active one.
3. The employee pays for his meals with the card or from your mobile, up to the assigned daily amount.
4. The company remote top-up and receives a single invoice.

You have the detail in How does the restaurant card work and, if you want to know in which establishments they are valid, in Where to use Ticket Restaurant.

How to choose a meal voucher solution for your company

Not all solutions on the market are the same. These are the criteria that carry the most weight when deciding:

• Network of establishments. It's the deciding factor: profit is of little use if your team has nowhere to use it. Check the actual coverage in the areas where your staff work, and if it includes food delivery.
• Format and user experience. Let it be 100 % digital (Card and mobile payment, app with balance and search function) avoids physical media management and improves adoption.
• Flexibility and customisation. Possibility to adjust amounts, days or usage times, and to add and remove users with agility.
• Management and administration. Remote top-ups, real-time spending control, and single invoice compared to manual processes.
• Contractual terms. Check for minimum amounts, maintenance fees, or minimum contract periods.
• Tax Treatment. The exemption from income tax and deductibility are common to the product, but it is advisable to verify that the solution allows them to be applied correctly in payroll. We detail this in taxation in personal income tax.
• Implementation method. If you want to offer them as social benefit, as part of a plan Flexible remuneration or on mixed model.

Are they suitable for SMEs or only for large companies?

It's often thought that they're the preserve of big corporations, but at no minimum amounts, fees or contract lengths required, meal vouchers fit perfectly into a small or medium-sized enterprise. In fact, for a small team they are often one of the most efficient ways to improve the employee value proposition – and to compete for talent with larger companies – without setting up a canteen or incurring significant costs.

You can see all the Advantages for businesses developed in their article. And if you're considering taking the plunge, you have a Checklist for launching your first flexible benefits plan designed specifically for SMEs.

How to implement meal vouchers in your company

Implementing them is quick and adapts to the characteristics of each company: you define the parameters that best suit your team and Edenred will assist you with the setup. You can calculate the return for your specific case with the ROI calculator for businesses or Get in touch with the Edenred team To begin.

Would you like to see how I would fit into your company? Request a demo