ℹ️ Sometimes you may need just to refund the client their payment.
❗This action is not linked to product returns or service credits.
Click to learn about Product Returns and Service Credits
When would you need to refund a client their payment?
There are limited cases for which you will need to use the Refund option on the payment
Client has paid you via the wrong payment method
possibly using the wrong credit card OR
paid via card instead of cash
Client has paid their bill fully, and later
the pet insurance company has reimbursed you for the sale
another client also needs to make payment for legal reasons
Client has overpaid and requests that the excess (client credit) be refunded
For the above cases, select No when prompted about issuing a product return or service credit.
How to refund a payment
To issue a refund for a payment, you can do so from the Payment area in Billing or directly from the Payment report by using the Refund icon.
🚩 Choosing to Refund from the Payment section of a sale will limit your refund to the amount allocated to that sale.
Click on the Refund icon to start the process
In the example above only a portion ($8.53) will be refunded.
🚩 Use the Payment report to refund the full payment.
Click on the Refund icon to start the refund process
In the example above the entire payment amount ($157.85) will be refunded.
When completing the process, you must fill in the following fields:
Amount
Date
Refund type
Description (optional) > can be used to record the reason for the refund
Verify the original payment method used for the transaction to ensure refunds are accurately routed.
You can also provide the client with a Refund receipt by clicking on Save & Preview Receipt.
Once the refund is completed, it will appear on the payment report on the selected refund date.
Troubleshooting Refund Routing Errors
In cases where a refund appears as an account credit instead of returning to the original payment card, follow these steps:
Verify the original payment method used by the client.
Check the internal system to determine where the refund was posted.
If necessary, cancel the incorrectly processed credit and reprocess the refund to the original method.
Communicate with the client to confirm the correction and expected timeline for the refund.
How to Edit or Delete a Refund
❗Not all refunds can be edited or deleted.
Refunds made through a payment integration (e.g. DSP, VetPay) cannot be edited or deleted!
The option to Edit or Delete a Refund are available on qualifying transactions only.
To Edit a refund, click on the Edit icon to update the Refund Type or Refund Amount.
You will be allowed to edit the:
Amount
Refund type
Refund Date
Description
To Delete a refund, click on the Delete icon to remove the Refund. You will be need to confirm this action to complete the deletion.
ℹ️ Specific permissions to Edit Refund and Delete Refund, under Manage Billing are required to perform these actions.
The option to Edit or Delete the Refund from the sale is available on the Refund sub table which you can access by clicking on the arrow to expand this section.
How does a Refund affect the sale?
A refund will update the Amount Paid and Amount Due on the sale/s. This means that the total amount paid, and the amount still owed on the sale will be adjusted accordingly.
Let's look at an example to understand how the refund affects these amounts.
The Amount Paid and Amount due has changed after passing a $20 refund
Other important information
📌 The initial payment method will be automatically selected for refunds (so if you charged via card, the refund will automatically be marked as 'card'). Refunds related to credit card payments (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, Amex) should always be routed back to the original card when processed correctly. Internal system defaults, however, may sometimes lead to account credits instead of card refunds if not handled cautiously.
📌 If the initial payment was made via an integrated terminal the money will be refunded automatically.
📌 If the initial payment was made via a non-integrated terminal (manual card payment), the client may needs to tap/present the card to complete the refund.
📌 The refunds issued on online payments via DSP or Vetpay will happen automatically. If errors are identified in such automatic processes, ensure the refund is routed back to the original payment method by verifying the transaction in the system and reprocessing if necessary.
📌 For all the other payment types, you still need to transfer/refund the money to the client manually.
📌 (For Canada) If the Client used a debit card (Interac) for payment, the refund must be processed in person by tapping the same card on the terminal. These transactions are marked with an Interac tag in the Payments Report.
Interac payments cannot be refunded online — you can either:
Ask the Client to return and tap their card at the terminal, or
Generate a Client Credit to apply during a future visit.
