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How to issue a partial refund without canceling the enrollment

  • Updated

To give back part of a card payment while the registration stays active, open the customer's Account Overview, click Add Transaction, choose Refund/Void - Credit Card, pick the order under Refund Order and enter the amount. Then add a Misc - Credit for the same amount so the account doesn't show it as owed, unless the money is for an add-on you canceled.

Applies to: Org admins with the Add Transaction permission · All plans · Card payments made through Payrix, within your refund window (normally 180 days)

Where: Customers > Account Management > Search > (customer) > Account Overview > Add Transaction

Use a partial refund for a discount or price change after registration, a removed add-on, part of a program that didn't happen, or an overpayment. Canceling the registration too? Use the enrollment's Cancel tab instead: keep Refund Type at Refund Credit Card and lower the Refund Amount, for example to keep a cancellation fee. That cancels and refunds in one step, keeps the account balanced, and sends the customer one "Enrollment Canceled" email that includes the refund amount, even if you leave Email unchecked. See the cancel article below.

Step 1: Refund part of the card payment

  1. Go to Customers > Account Management > Search, search for the customer and click their name to open Account Overview.
  2. Under Account Balance, click Add Transaction.
  3. In Transaction Type, choose Refund/Void - Credit Card.
  4. In Refund Order, choose the order. Each order shows its order number and, in parentheses, the amount you can still refund.
  5. In Amount, enter the amount to refund. It can't be more than the amount shown for the order.
  6. Optional: type Comments (up to 100 characters). They're visible to the customer.
  7. Optional: check Email Confirmation ("Send Confirmation Email to Customer").
  8. Click Add.

What you'll see: "Transaction Added." and the customer's Account Overview with a new Refund - Credit Card line. The account balance goes up by the amount you refunded; Step 2 fixes that.

Step 2: Balance the account with a Misc - Credit

A card refund doesn't lower the price of the registration, so after a partial refund the customer looks as if they owe the refunded amount. For example, if a family paid $100 and you refunded $20, Account Overview now shows a $20.00 balance. To clear it:

  1. On Account Overview, click Add Transaction again.
  2. In Transaction Type, choose Misc - Credit.
  3. Enter the same Amount you refunded and, if you like, a comment such as "Partial refund".
  4. Click Add.

The balance is back to $0 (shown as --). Skip this step when the account already had a credit for the refunded amount, for example after you canceled an add-on (below), after you canceled the enrollment with Refund Type Credit, or when the family overpaid. The refund alone then brings the balance to $0, and a Misc - Credit would leave the customer with a credit.

Refund an add-on

  1. On Account Overview, click the View Order icon (magnifying glass) on the order that includes the add-on.
  2. Click the red X (Cancel) next to the add-on and click OK on "Do you want to cancel this Order Item?". You'll see "Enrollment Add-on canceled." and the add-on's price is credited to the account.
  3. Refund the card for that amount as in Step 1. Don't add a Misc - Credit.

Refunds on the day of the payment

Payrix card orders appear in Refund Order as soon as they're paid, so there's no need to wait a day to see them. Until Payrix has finished processing a payment, though, it can only be voided in full. Refunding the full amount paid on that order cancels the whole payment, posts as Void - Credit Card, and leaves the registration owing its full price. To refund only part of the payment, try again the next day, once the payment has processed.

If it doesn't work

  • Refund/Void - Credit Card isn't in the Transaction Type list. Your admin user can be limited to certain transaction types; ask an admin who manages users to check the filters on your user, or to issue the refund. The option also doesn't appear if your organization has no card payment gateway.
  • Refund Order shows "Refunds can only be processed 24 hours after the order has been placed and within 180 days of the order." The customer has no card order you can still refund: it's past your refund window (the message shows your number of days) or it was already refunded in full. Despite the wording, Payrix orders don't have to wait 24 hours here. Pay the customer another way and record a manual refund.
  • "Refunds can only be processed 24 hours after the order has been placed, within the refund window of the order, and for orders related to organizations you have been granted access to." The card orders were paid to an associated organization your admin user isn't set up for. Ask an admin who has access to it.
  • "Refund Order required." or "Amount required." Choose an order, and enter an amount greater than 0.
  • "Refund amount cannot be for more than the original credit card payment or the combined total of multiple refunds cannot be for more than the original credit card payment." The amount is more than what's left of that payment. Lower it.
  • "Error processing refund. This transaction is not yet fully processed and can only be voided at this time. Voids are for full refund amount only. Please enter full amount, or wait for transaction to process to partially refund." The payment hasn't finished processing. See Refunds on the day of the payment, above.
  • "Error processing refund. This refund cannot be completed due to the customer's bank declining to process the refund. Please complete the steps to perform a manual refund." The customer's bank refused the refund, for example because the card account was closed. Pay the customer another way and record a manual refund.
  • "Error processing refund. An error occurred while trying to refund this transaction. Please contact support@teamsideline.com for additional assistance." Payrix can't refund this payment, for example because it's still pending or was returned. Contact TeamSideline Support.

Good to know

  • Card refunds go back only to the card used for the order, and only within your payment gateway's refund window: normally 180 days (about 6 months) after the order, or 120 days on some gateways. For an older order, pay the customer by check and record it with Add Transaction > Refund - Manual.
  • Add Transaction doesn't show processing fees. To give back a processing fee the customer paid, include it in the Amount. Payrix keeps its own fee when you refund; only a void carries no fee.
  • Each payment plan installment is a separate order in Refund Order. Choose the installment you're refunding.
  • With Email Confirmation checked, every adult with an email address on the account gets a "Refund Confirmation" email with the amount and order number, which says the refund will go back to their card within 2-5 business days. A void sends a "Transaction Confirmation" email instead. The box remembers your last choice, and the emails are listed in Communications > Communication Logs > System Log.
  • A card refund or void can't be deleted from the account, so check the amount before you click Add.
  • If you later cancel the enrollment on its Cancel tab, set Refund Amount to no more than what's left of the payment. Available for Refund there doesn't subtract refunds made with Add Transaction; the Refund Order list here shows what's left.

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