When you give money back outside TeamSideline, by check, cash or another method, record it on the customer's Account Overview with Add Transaction and the Transaction Type Refund - Manual. Recording it doesn't send any money: you pay the customer yourself, and the entry keeps their account balance correct.

Applies to: Org admins with the Add Transaction permission (and Edit Enrollment to cancel) · All plans · Orders paid by cash, check or another offline method, and card payments that can't be refunded to the card

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

When to use a manual refund

• The customer paid by cash, check or another offline method.
• The card payment is past your refund window (normally 180 days after the order), so it can't go back to the card.
• A card refund failed with "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."
• You already returned the money outside TeamSideline and need the account to show it.

If the card payment can still be refunded, refund the card instead; see the related articles below.

Step 1: Cancel the enrollment with a credit

Skip this step if the registration stays active (see Refund without canceling, below).

1. Go to Customers > Account Management > Search, find the customer and click their name.
2. Click Enrollments, then the Edit Enrollment icon (pencil) on the enrollment.
3. Click the Cancel tab.
4. If the order was paid by card, set Refund Type to Credit. Orders paid any other way have no Refund Type, only Credit Amount.
5. In Credit Amount, enter the amount you'll give back. It starts at the enrollment's cost; lower it to keep a fee.
6. To cancel add-ons too, check Cancel next to each one. Their cost is credited as well.
7. 7. Set the other choices under Cancel Enrollment Actions, such as Remove from Roster.
8. Optional: check Email to send the customer an "Enrollment Canceled" email.
9. Click Confirm Cancellation.

What you'll see: "Enrollment cancelled." On Account Overview the balance is now a credit, shown in parentheses, for example ($100.00). That's the amount your organization owes the customer.

Step 2: Record the refund

1. On the customer's Account Overview, under Account Balance, click Add Transaction.
2. In Transaction Type, choose Refund - Manual.
3. In Amount, enter the amount you're giving back.
4. In Comments, note how you paid, for example the check number. Refund - Manual has no Check # field. Comments can be up to 100 characters and are visible to the customer.
5. If an Applies To table appears, you can leave Amount To Apply blank.
6. Optional: check Email Confirmation to email the customer.
7. Click Add.
8. Give the customer the money by check, cash or the method you noted.

What you'll see: "Transaction Added." and the refund on Account Overview. When the refund matches the credit from Step 1, the balance is back to $0 (shown as --).

Refund without canceling

If the registration stays active and you're returning part of what the family paid, for example a discount after registration, record the Refund - Manual as in Step 2, then add a Misc - Credit for the same amount with Add Transaction. Without it, the account shows the refunded amount as owed. If the account already shows a credit, for example because the family overpaid, the Refund - Manual alone brings the balance to $0.

Fix a Refund - Manual recorded by mistake

If you recorded a Refund - Manual but the money should go back to the card, delete the manual refund before you refund the card. Otherwise the account counts the refund twice and shows the customer owing that amount.

1. Account Overview, under Account Balance, find the manual refund.
2. Click its red X (Delete Transaction) and click OK to confirm.
3. Refund the card with Add Transaction > Refund/Void - Credit Card (see the partial refund article below).

What you'll see: a message that the transaction, named by its number, was deleted. Deleted transactions stay on the account, crossed out, and show when you check Show deleted.

If it doesn't work

• Refund - Manual 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.
• There's no Add Transaction button. Your admin role needs the Add Transaction permission.
• There's no red X on the transaction. Only Payment - Check, Payment - Cash, Payment - Other, Refund - Manual, Misc - Debit and Misc - Credit transactions can be deleted, and only by admins with the Delete Transaction permission. Card refunds, voids, orders and cancellations can't be deleted.
• "Amount required." Enter an amount greater than 0.
• "Applied amount is greater than the reconcile balance." or "The applied amount is greater than the transaction amount." An Amount To Apply is too high. Lower it, or leave it blank.
• "Invalid Credit Amount." On the Cancel tab, Credit Amount is empty. Enter an amount (0 or more).
• The account shows the refund as owed. Nothing credited the account for that money. Cancel the enrollment with a credit, or add a Misc - Credit for the same amount. If you also refunded the card for the same money, delete the Refund - Manual.

Good to know

• Refund - Manual never sends money or contacts the card processor. It only records what you paid.
• There's no bulk Refund - Manual. The transaction import in Administration > Import Data posts each row only as a Misc - Credit or Misc - Debit, so it can clear many accounts' credits after you pay families by check, but those rows won't show as refunds. When they must appear as Refund - Manual, record them one at a time with Add Transaction.
• Canceling with Credit doesn't refund the card either; it only puts the amount on the account as a credit.
• With Email Confirmation checked, every adult with an email address on the account gets a "Transaction Confirmation" email that names the transaction type and amount and includes your Comments. The box remembers your last choice.
• Card refunds through TeamSideline are possible only within your payment gateway's refund window, normally 180 days after the order (120 days on some gateways). After that, use a manual refund.

Related articles

• How to cancel an enrollment and refund the card
• How to issue a partial refund without canceling the enrollment
• How to add a Misc-Credit to a customer's account
• How to find customers who owe a balance (reports, dashboard and email)