Refund a payment

Overview#

Refunds are made from the job's invoice. Card and bank payments taken through Stripe go back to the original card or account through Stripe. Cash, check and other payments are refunded by hand, and TradesWork records what you returned. Refunds reduce the amount paid and can reopen the invoice balance.

Before you start#

• Refunds need payments.refund: Owner, Admin, Accounting. Technicians, Dispatchers and Customer service can't refund.

• Only completed payments can be refunded.

Steps#

1. Open the job and scroll to the Invoice card.

2. Open Refund. Each refundable payment has its own form showing "up to $X refundable".

3. Enter the Amount (partial refunds are fine).

4. Pick the Reason: Customer asked, Duplicate payment, Problem with the work, Overcharged, Fraudulent or Other, and add a Note.

5. Click Refund and confirm.

6. What happens next:

   • Card or bank payment: "Refunded to the original card through the card processor." It shows as pending ("Refund requested…") until Stripe confirms it.

   • Cash, check or other: "Refund recorded." Nothing is sent; you return the money yourself.

7. The refund appears in the invoice's Refunds list. If the balance goes back above zero, the invoice returns to Sent.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Integrations › Payment Processing: refunds through Stripe need the Stripe account that took the payment to stay connected.

Tips#

• Refunds you make directly in your Stripe dashboard also show up in TradesWork automatically.

• Pick an accurate reason. It's kept on the record and helps with disputes.

Troubleshooting#

• "Only a completed payment can be refunded." → the payment is pending or failed.

• "You can refund at most $X of this payment." / "This payment was already refunded in full." → lower the amount.

• "The card processor didn't accept the refund: …" → read Stripe's reason, then try again or refund another way.

• "We couldn't reach the card processor. Nothing was refunded." → try again in a few minutes.

FAQ#

How long until the customer sees the money? Stripe sends it right away; banks usually take 5–10 business days to show it.

Can I disconnect Stripe while a refund is pending? No. Disconnecting is blocked until pending refunds finish.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: refund card payments to the original method and log manual refunds.

• Different: refunds are started from the job's invoice, with a required reason.

• Where it lived: ServiceTitan Payments refunds; the Refund section on the TradesWork invoice card.