The two kinds of refund

• Payment reversal — the charge was wrong and the money genuinely goes back. The debt should return, so a refund on its own is right.
• Goodwill or cancellation — you are giving money back and they no longer owe it. A refund on its own is wrong: it leaves them owing.

Doing it safely

1. Decide which of the two you are doing.
2. For goodwill or a cancellation, switch automatic payments off on the member first.
3. Record the refund.
4. Add a Credit for the same amount, describing why, so the balance returns to zero.
5. Switch automatic payments back on if the member is continuing.

Where to refund from

For a payment taken through the gateway, use the Stripe Transactions tab — the row has a Refund action, a Refund Amount capped at what was paid, and a description. For money returned some other way — a bank transfer, a cheque — record it on the Transactions tab instead.

What cannot be refunded

• Payments not taken through the gateway — refund those the way they were paid, then record it.
• Bank debits that have not settled yet.
• Returned or disputed bank debits — the money never arrived.

Partial refunds

You can refund less than the original payment. The row keeps a running Refund Amount so you can see what has already gone back and refund the rest later.