Keeping good records of your 2009 gift card sales is key for two important reasons.

For starters, having accurate sales figures at your finger tips will add confidence to your inventory orders come fall 2010. Knowing how much plastic to have on hand for the holidays can help avoid the costly – and often impossible – rush orders of the busy season.

Even more importantly, tracking sales can give you a better picture of the potential for growing your prepaid program both next year and in those to come.

Beyond the numbers, be sure to also keep track of your customers. Who is buying your gift cards? Who isn’t? Are there opportunities to go after neglected market segments? Can you configure promotions to target these and other groups next year?

When it comes to those who are already buying, challenge yourself to think how you can increase their individual orders.

Business owners are a good example. These folks may have been in your branch to buy one or two cards this year. What if next year you leveraged their positive experience with the product to introduce them to the concept of gift cards as employee bonuses, incentives or company-wide client gifts?

Keeping a close watch on this year’s holiday sales will help you brainstorm creative ways to boost sales during the 2010 season. And who knows, it may even spur some ideas for prepaid promotions during other times of the year.