This article explains the process of refunding a donor's online transaction. It also covers a scenario where a donation was made and then refunded a couple of days later.
Overview
Donors can request refunds for their online donations at all times. They can ask for refunds using their donor accounts. Even if they do not request a refund through the means listed here, you can initiate one for them by skipping to Step 3 below.
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Step 1: Donor requests a refund
To request a refund, a donor will log in to their account
(at yourorgname.kindful.com/user/sign_in_or_sign_up or using the Log In button at kindful.com)
They will go to the Contacts & Activities section, and then visit the Activities page (found in the section's drop-down menu). From here, they can select a Payment activity and find the Request Refund link.
Step 2: Admin receives an email
When donors request refunds, an admin/user will receive an email notifying them about the request.
The email will show the full transaction details of the refund request.
Only one email address will receive the refund request email. The organization contact email address will receive the email. This can be changed from the General Settings page in the Settings section. On the General Settings page, scroll down to the Contact Info section and find the Organization Contact Information field.
Step 3: Find and refund the transaction
To refund the transaction, use the transaction details in the email you received to find the gift in Kindful. After, go to the Activities page and filter for the transaction based on contact name, transaction date, or campaign.
Once you find the transaction, select the arrow on the right side to see more details. From here, you can press Void or Refund to issue a refund for this transaction.
When you click Void or Refund, you will be taken to a Refund Transaction page. Here, you can see the details of the original gift, as well as a selector to set the "Refund Method". Here, choose the card that the donor paid with, or if the gift was refunded outside of Kindful, choose "I've already issued a refund outside of Kindful."
Refund is being processed in Kindful
After this step, you will confirm the refund.
Donor was refunded outside of Kindful
After this step, you will confirm the refund.
Of Note: With Authorize.net, only transactions settled within the past 120 days are eligible for refund.
Of Note: PayPal transactions that sync in via the IPN will only be able to be Marked as Refunded Outside of Kindful.
Some transactions may not be eligible for a refund. You will see this message when attempting to refund a transaction like this:
For any transaction where you receive an error when attempting to click the Void or Refund button in Kindful, it's almost always for one of two reasons:
- It was already refunded outside of Kindful (in your Authorize.net or PayPal accounts, for example)
- The transaction has been disputed, which locks the transaction, as you don't actually have the funds anymore to refund
To confirm either one of these scenarios, we recommend checking the transactions in your connected payment gateway.
Performing a Partial Refund
Kindful cannot perform a partial refund in app. When using the steps outlined above, it will be a full (100%) refund of the donation amount.
When a donor needs to get a portion of their donation refunded (not the entire amount), this must be performed directly from the payment gateway.
Use your Payment Gateway to locate the gift and issue a partial refund of your choosing based on the needs of the customer. Once this is done, return to Kindful to update the gift.
Of Note: This cannot be performed in Bloomerang Payments. If using Bloomerang Payments, we recommend a full refund and re-charge.
To best handle this process in Kindful, follow these steps:
- Perform the partial refund in your payment gateway
- Find the corresponding transaction in Kindful, and Delete the donation from your Kindful account. Make note of the campaign and transaction date here
- Use the + Add New > Transaction flow to re-add the donation from the donor on the same date and to the same Campaign and choose "Credit" as the transaction type
- Enter the new amount that the donor should receive credit for (original gift less the refund)
Difference between Void and Refund
A Void can occur if a transaction was made that day, and if it has been cancelled before the day's batch closes. A Refund occurs after that day's batch closes. A refund takes 2-3 days to process depending on the donor's bank.
A Donation Was Successful, but Then Was Refunded Two Days Later
When this happens, it is most likely that this transaction was not actually refunded at all, even by your someone on your team. You will want to see if the transaction was made via ACH (checking account).
ACH transactions take longer to process, but will post an initial "soft" success message. Due to the amount of time it takes to fully process, when the donation comes back from the bank as a decline, it will appear in Kindful as a refund.
Still have questions?
Feel free to send our support team an email, or you can chat with a representative from the lower left hand corner of your Kindful Admin account.
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