In December a supplier sends a bottle of wine. In March a customer invites your sales manager to a football match. In June a software vendor offers a free dinner "to discuss next year". None of this is unusual, and in a small company nobody has ever written down what is allowed. Each person decides alone, and everyone decides a little differently.
The risk is not that someone is dishonest. It is that a perfectly innocent gift looks different later, for example when the supplier who paid for the dinner wins the next order. A short written rule protects the people who accept the gift as much as the company.
Why a rule helps even in a small company
- Decisions stay clean. If you can say "we accept only small gifts and we write them down", nobody can suggest that an order was bought.
- People are not left to guess. An employee who is unsure either refuses something harmless and offends a partner, or accepts something that later causes an awkward conversation.
- The owner is protected too. Owners receive the most invitations, and they are the people whose decisions are most often questioned.
- It supports contracts. Larger customers increasingly ask suppliers about their rules on gifts. A one-page answer is better than improvising.
A rule on one page
1. Set a simple value limit
Choose one number that everyone can judge without a calculator, for example the price of a modest lunch or a small box of sweets. Call it the "small gift" limit. Below it, a gift can be accepted and does not need to be reported. Above it, the gift is reported (see step 3) or politely declined.
The exact amount matters less than the fact that it exists and that people know it. Review it once a year.
2. Write down what is always declined
Some things should not depend on their value:
- Cash, vouchers and anything that works like money.
- Anything during a tender or price negotiation. While you are choosing a supplier or being chosen by a customer, accept nothing beyond a coffee at the meeting.
- Gifts to a private person that are linked to a business decision, such as a discount on a family holiday.
- Hospitality that is mainly leisure, such as a weekend trip, even if "a short meeting" is part of it.
- Anything you would not like to see described in a message to your other customers.
This short list is easier to remember than a long policy, and it covers most of the real problems.
3. Declare what is above the limit
Keep a shared note or sheet with five columns:
- date
- who offered it, and from which company
- what it was and its approximate value
- whether it was accepted, declined or shared with the team
- who decided
Add a line within a few days. The aim is not to control people but to make the situation visible. A gift that is written down openly is rarely a problem.
4. Name who decides
Pick one person, usually the owner or the manager, to answer questions such as "may I go to this dinner?". Agree that the answer comes quickly, within a working day. For gifts offered to that person, name a second person, even if it is only a business partner or an external accountant. Nobody should judge their own case.
5. Share a gift with the team
A large box of chocolates or a gift basket is often best placed in the kitchen. It is a friendly way to deal with a gift that is too big for one person but too small to return.
Declining politely
Refusing a gift can feel awkward, particularly in a small town where you know the supplier personally. A short message usually works:
"Thank you, that is very kind. Our company has a simple rule that we cannot accept gifts above a small value, so I have to decline. I hope you understand, and I value the cooperation."
Most business partners respect this, and many are relieved, because they have similar rules of their own.
When your company gives gifts
The same rule should work in the other direction. Before sending a gift to a customer or supplier, check three things: the value is within the limit, it is not sent during a tender or negotiation on their side, and you have noted it in the register. If you know the other company has its own rules, ask them first. A gift that causes trouble for the recipient is not a favour.
If you also have a process for choosing a software supplier, add the "nothing during a tender" rule to it. For new suppliers, the supplier onboarding checklist is a natural place to hand over your one-page rule. When a case is unclear, record the outcome in a one-page decision record, so the next similar case is easy.
What to avoid
- A long policy nobody reads. One page and one number is enough.
- A rule that applies only to employees. The owner follows it too, or it will not be respected.
- Treating every gift as a suspicion. The point is openness, not distrust.
- Deciding case by case without writing it down. After a year nobody remembers what was allowed and why.
- Ignoring the legal side. Rules for public officials and for some regulated sectors are stricter. If you work with public bodies, ask your lawyer or accountant once and add the result to your page.
Where AI can help, and where it should not
An AI assistant can help you draft the one-page rule from your own notes, translate it for partners, or summarise a year of register entries to show which suppliers give the most. It should not decide whether a particular gift may be accepted. That decision belongs to the named person, who knows the relationship and the context.
What to do this week
- Choose the "small gift" limit and write it in one sentence.
- Write the short list of things that are always declined.
- Create the register with five columns and add any gift from the last three months that you remember.
- Name the person who decides, and the person who decides about their gifts.
- Send the page to your team and put a reminder in the calendar to review it in a year.
A rule like this takes an hour to write. It saves many awkward moments, and it lets you accept real kindness with a clear conscience.