When you refund part of a payment, SalesThumb has to decide what happens to the invoice. The refund panel asks you with a box called If this is a partial refund. This article explains the two choices and the two kinds of refund button. For when to refund and how the customer gets the money, see Refund and customer credit handling.
Open the refund panel
Open the invoice and find the Payments card. On the payment's row, click:
- Refund for a payment taken through the card processor, or
- Record refund for a payment with no card-processor record, such as cash or a check.
Click Cancel on the same button to close the panel. You need the Issue refunds permission. By default Owner and Admin have it, so other roles won't see the button.
The Refund panel
- Amount ($) starts at what is still refundable on that payment. You can lower it. You can't go above it.
- Reason: Customer request, Duplicate or Fraudulent.
- If this is a partial refund: the choice explained below.
- Internal notes: placeholder "Why is this being refunded?"
- The red button reads Refund with the amount, for example Refund $50.00.
If the card processor takes the request but hasn't finished it, SalesThumb shows a notice and nothing changes on the payment until it does.
The Record refund panel
This one is for money you already handed back outside the app. It says "Record money you already handed back outside the app (cash out of the drawer, a check, etc.). Nothing is charged or sent." It has Amount ($), Refunded by (Cash, Check or Other), the same partial-refund choice and Internal notes. The button reads Record with the amount, for example Record $50.00 refund.
The two choices
Price adjustment / goodwill (customer doesn't owe this back) is the default. The refund lowers the invoice's price. SalesThumb adds a negative Discount line, and sales tax recalculates on the taxable share. Balance Due and the status stay as they were, so a Paid invoice stays Paid.
Reopen balance (customer owes this back) adds the refunded amount back to Balance Due. A Paid invoice goes back to Partial, so the rest can be collected again. Sales tax is not changed.
If the price can't absorb the refund, SalesThumb falls back to Reopen balance, and you will see a balance on the invoice.
A full refund
When refunds on an invoice add up to its whole total, the invoice becomes Void and its tax is set to zero. This happens whichever choice you picked. Any gift card that was redeemed on the invoice is credited back.
Check the result
Reload the invoice and look at the totals under Line Items: Total, Balance Due and the status badge.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Which choice should I use for a goodwill credit?
A: Price adjustment / goodwill. It is the default. The invoice's price drops, the status stays as it was, and the customer isn't left owing the amount back.
Q: Does a partial refund change sales tax?
A: With Price adjustment / goodwill, tax recalculates on the taxable share of the refund. With Reopen balance, tax is not changed.
Q: Why do I see Record refund instead of Refund?
A: The payment has no card-processor record, which is the case for cash and checks. Record refund logs money you already handed back. Nothing is charged or sent.
Q: Why is there no refund button at all?
A: You need the Issue refunds permission, and the payment must be completed with something still refundable. By default Owner and Admin have the permission.