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Refund a Payment

Updated

What this does: Refund all or part of a payment using the right method for how it was paid, and see what the refund does to the invoice and your accounting.

Applies to: GrowthZone AMS. Card and ACH refunds go back through GrowthZone Pay or NAR Ecommerce; cash, check and outside-processor refunds are recorded only.

Before you start:

  • How a refund works depends on the original payment method. Payments taken through GrowthZone Pay or NAR Ecommerce are refunded by the processor when you create the refund. Cash, check and outside-processor payments are only recorded in GrowthZone; you return the money yourself.
  • IMPORTANT: With NAR Ecommerce, the full refund amount is automatically debited from your local account.
  • Auto Refund Stop Date: if this is turned on with a date set and you’re past it, the refund is blocked. Remove the date first, refund, then turn it back on.
  • Partial refunds depend on the Allow Partial Payments setting on the General Billing Settings page (go to Finance, Administrative section, click Billing Settings). See Allow or prevent partial payments.
  • Correcting an event registration type? The refund is the last step: unapply the payment, cancel and re-register with the correct type, reapply the payment, then issue the partial refund.

Time needed: About 5 minutes per refund. ACH refunds take 4–5 business days to reach the member after the payment has settled.

Which refund applies

Original payment What GrowthZone does Go to
Credit card through GrowthZone Pay or NAR Ecommerce Records the refund and sends it to the processor, which returns the money to the card. Create a refund
ACH through GrowthZone Pay Same as card, with ACH timing rules. Create a refund, then ACH refunds
Cash, check, or a card run through an outside processor Records the refund only. You cut the check or refund through the outside processor. Cash, check and outside-processor refunds
Card payment where the processor already refunded the member (for example, a lost dispute) Records the refund without sending a second one. Create a refund with Refund Already Issued By Processor selected

Create a refund

You can start from All Payments or from the contact’s record. The refund window is the same either way.

From All Payments:

  1. Go to Finance, Billing section, click All Payments.
  2. Click the Refund Payments icon in the Actions column for the payment.
    NOTE: If the icon isn’t there, a refund has already been created for that payment.
    All Payments page with the Refund Payments icon in the Actions column boxed on a payment row

Or from the contact’s record:

  1. Open the contact and click the Billing tab.
  2. Click the icon in the Actions column for the payment.
    Contact record, Billing tab, with the Actions column icon boxed on the payment row
  3. Click Create Refund.
    Actions menu open on the payment row with Create Refund boxed

Then complete the refund window:

  1. Fill in the fields:

    • Refund Date: defaults to today. Change it if needed.
    • Notes: required.
    • Refund Items: shows the full amount of each fee item. For a partial refund, change the amount.
    • Refund Already Issued By Processor: select this only if the processor has already returned the money (for example, after a lost card dispute). GrowthZone records the refund so income isn’t overstated, without refunding the member a second time.
    • Open Balance Handling: Write off the open balance (default) or Leave Invoice Open. See what happens to the invoice.

    Refund window with the Refund Date, Notes, Refund Items, Refund Already Issued By Processor and Open Balance Handling fields boxed

  2. Click Done.
  3. If the member needs a record of the refund, go to their Billing tab and click the download or email icon on the refund row.
    Member’s Billing tab with the download and email icons for a refund row boxed

Partial refunds

  • Follow Create a refund and enter the amount to refund in Refund Items.
    Create Refund window with the Refund Date, Notes, Refund Items amount field and Refund Already Issued By Processor check-box boxed
  • If part of the payment was refunded before, the window shows it under Already Refunded.
    Create Refund screen showing the Already Refunded amount for a previously part-refunded payment, boxed
  • GrowthZone Pay charge still pending: the refund won’t show as a separate credit on the member’s statement. The original charge posts for the lower amount instead (for example, a $830.00 charge with a $35.00 partial refund posts as $795.00). If the member has questions, they should contact their bank.

Cash, check and outside-processor refunds

  1. On the contact’s Billing tab, click the icon in the Actions column for the payment.
    Member record, Billing tab, with the Actions column icon boxed on the payment row
  2. Click Create Refund.
  3. Enter Notes (required). The full payment amount is listed; to refund part of it, type the amount in Refund Amount.
  4. Click Done.
  5. Return the money using your own process: cut a check, or refund it in your outside processor.

NOTE: Recording the refund keeps your GrowthZone accounts accurate. It doesn’t send any money.

ACH refunds (GrowthZone Pay)

ACH refunds use the same Create a refund steps, but behave differently from card refunds:

  • 90-day window: the refund must be started within 90 days of the original payment.
  • Settle first: a pending ACH debit can’t be canceled or refunded. Wait for it to settle (4–5 business days), then refund.
  • Processing time: the refund takes another 4–5 business days. A refund started right after the payment can take up to about 10 business days in total.
  • Statement label: the refund appears on the member’s statement as a credit labeled “PPD” or “CCD”.

What a refund does to the invoice and your accounting

  • A refund reverses the original accounting entries and offsets them going forward.
  • Write off the open balance on the invoice (default): refunds the selected items and closes the invoice.
  • Leave Invoice Open: refunds the payment and reopens the invoice balance so it can be paid again.
    Refund window showing the Write off the open balance on the invoice and Leave Invoice Open options, with both choices boxed

Refunding an overpayment:

  • Not applied to anything: the accounting is reversed. The contact’s credit balance and the payment’s overpayment balance do not reopen.
  • Applied to an invoice: the invoice balance reopens. The contact’s credit balance and the payment’s overpayment balance do not reopen.

To see every refund processed, go to Reports and click Refund Report.

Common refund questions

These answers apply to refunds through GrowthZone Pay or NAR Ecommerce.

Do we get the transaction fees back?

  • GrowthZone Pay: No. The member gets the full amount back, and the fees from the original sale aren’t returned to your organization.
  • NAR Ecommerce: No. The full charge is refunded, not the charge minus fees, so your association pays the original transaction fee.

Factor this into refund decisions and let your finance team know.

What if the exchange rate changed since a non-USD payment?

The refund matches the original transaction amount, not the current exchange rate.

Can we cancel a GrowthZone Pay refund created by mistake?

No. Once a GrowthZone Pay refund starts, it can’t be canceled. To recover the money, create a new charge for the member for the refunded amount.

Common pitfalls

  • Wrong refund method: match the refund to the original payment method. Recording a cash refund for a GrowthZone Pay card payment (or the reverse) causes reconciliation problems.
  • No refund icon: a refund already exists for that payment.
  • Double refund after a dispute: if the processor already returned the money, select Refund Already Issued By Processor instead of sending a new refund.
  • Invoice closed when you wanted it open: the default writes off the balance. Choose Leave Invoice Open if the member will pay again.
  • Cash or check refund “done” but the member wasn’t paid: GrowthZone only records it. Issue the check or outside-processor refund separately.
  • Refund blocked: check the Auto Refund Stop Date, and for ACH, whether the payment has settled and is within 90 days.
  • Event registration refunded too early: unapply, correct the registration and reapply the payment before refunding.
  • Expecting the fees back: your organization absorbs the original transaction fees on every refund.

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