There are times where you will need to refund or credit your Clients for goods or services provided. The first step in doing this is to decide how you are refunding your Client; sending them an actual check, issuing a refund via credit card or crediting their account to be used for other/future goods or services
This guide will review how to refund a Clients Retainer, refund an Item to the Client or enter a partial refund on an Item to the Client.
Refund a Clients Retainer
Refund a Clients Retainer
Follow these steps when you have entered the Retainer payment under Cash Receipts and deposited the Retainer payment in your bank or credit card account.
1. On the left side menu, under Accounts Receivable, click on Returns & Credits.
2. In the Client Returns & Credits window, select the Project the refund is for.
3. Then select the type of refund:
Write Check to Client
On Clients Credit Card/ACH
On Account (Open A/R)
Increase Client's Retainer
In our example here, you would select write check to Client or on Clients credit card/ACH.
4. Refund For: select Retainer.
5. Select the date for the refund and fiscal month to record the refund in. Next enter a transaction description. For example: refund retainer.
6. Under Retainer, enter in Refund Amount the amount you are refunding. Do not enter a negative for example, -500. Only positive values in this box.
7. When all the information has been entered, click on Save.
8. In the new window that comes up, confirm you want to process the credit/return to the fiscal month listed by clicking on OK. If you want to cancel and change something click on Cancel. When you click on ok and if you've selected Write Check to Client in your return the next box will ask if you want to go to Accounts Payable and Payments to record the check.
If you have selected On Clients Credit Card/ACH the next box will have you select which credit card you are using for the refund.
9. Your refund can be found under Cash Receipts and under the Existing tab.
Refund the Client for an Item
Refund the Client for an Item
Follow these steps when you have the Proposal or Invoice payment under Cash Receipts and deposited the payment in your bank or credit card account.
1. On the left side menu, under Accounts Receivable, click on Returns & Credits.
2. In the Client Returns & Credits window, select the Project the refund is for.
3. Select Item Deposit or Invoice.
4. Then select the type of refund to the Client:
Write Check to Client
On Clients Credit Card/ACH
On Account (Open A/R)
Increase Client's Retainer
5. You can enter the Proposal No. the refund is for, this is optional. When this is entered, only Items from that Proposal No. will show.
6. You can enter the Invoice No. the refund is for, this is optional. When this is entered, only Items from that Invoice No. will show.
7. Select the date for the refund and fiscal month to record the refund in .
8. Select the Manager/Salesperson or designer, this is optional, and next enter a transaction description. For example: refund deposit.
9. Choose the Item or Items you are refunding by clicking in the box to left of the Item or Items. If you are refunding a total deposit, then select all the Items from the Proposal they are on. Then check the total refund field for accuracy.
10. When the information has been entered, click on Save. In the new window that comes up, confirm you want to process the credit/return by clicking on OK. If you want to cancel and change something click on Cancel.
When you click on ok and if you've selected Write Check to Client in your return the next box will ask if you want to go to Accounts Payable and Payments to record the check.
If you have selected On Clients Credit Card/ACH the next box will have you select which credit card you are using for the refund.
If you have selected On Account (Open A/R) and when you click on ok the next box will ask if you want to go to the credit Invoice to view. To apply this credit on account to another Invoice, go to Cash Receipts under Accounts Receivable and add a new Cash Receipt. Then select the Project you want to add this credit to and keep the amount to 0.00. Find the credit Invoice and select it by clicking in the box the left of the credit Invoice. Then find the Invoice you wish to apply the Credit to and select it by clicking in the box the left of the Invoice. Check that the total fields at the bottom of the new cash receipt show a 0.00 difference. If not, go back and check for mistakes. Click on Save and post the $0.00 Cash receipt. The net effect on your cash balance will be zero, but this will close the Credit Invoice and properly reduce the balance due on the new Invoice. You can now optionally reprint the new Invoice with the Show Payments option to indicate the true balance due to your Client.
11. Your refund can be found as a Credit Memo under Client Invoices and the Existing Tab.
Partial Refund to the Client
Partial Refund to the Client
Follow these steps when you have entered the Proposal or Invoice payment under Cash Receipts and deposited the payment in your bank or credit card account.
1. On the left side menu, under Accounts Receivable, click on Returns & Credits.
2. In the Client Returns & Credits window, select the Project the refund is for.
3. Select Item Deposit or Invoice.
4. Then select the type of refund to the client:
Write Check to Client
On Clients Credit Card/ACH
On Account (Open A/R)
Increase Client's Retainer
5. You can enter the Proposal No. the refund is for, this is optional. When this is entered, only Items from that Proposal No. will show.
6. You can enter the Invoice No. the refund is for, this is optional. When this is entered, only Items from that Invoice No. will show.
7. Select the date for the refund and fiscal month to record the refund in.
8. Select the Manager/Salesperson or designer, this is optional, and next enter a transaction description. For example: refund deposit.
9. Choose the Item or Items you are refunding by clicking in the box to left of the Item or Items.
10. Edit the items amount to be refunded by clicking on the Amount to Refund (you may need to scroll to the right to see this) and checking in the box next to Override: **Enter POSITIVE Values**. In the new window, edit the fields as needed to record the partial refund. When finished click on Ok.
Note: Only enter positive values and the greyed out fields to the right allow you to see cost and pricing information already entered on Client Proposals and Invoices along with Vendor Invoices.
