Refunds and voids

A gift is never edited after it's recorded. When something is wrong (a duplicate, the wrong amount, a bounced check, a donor who asks for their money back) you record a refund or a void. The original gift stays, and the correction sits beside it with a reason, so anyone can see what happened and why.

When to use this

• A donor gave twice by mistake, or asks for a gift back.
• A gift was keyed with the wrong amount or under the wrong donor.
• The bank returned a check (NSF).

Void or refund?

The screen decides for you, from where the gift is:

The gift is…	You'll see	What it means
A cash or check line in a batch that isn't deposited yet	Void	The line is dropped from the batch and its deposit. It was never posted, so nothing needs reversing.
A cash or check gift that has been deposited	Refund	Money goes back by refund check (or the bank's returned item). A reversing entry is recorded.
A card or bank (ACH) gift	Refund	Money goes back through Stripe. Partial refunds are allowed.

Void a gift before it is deposited

1. Open the closed batch (or find the gift in Gifts) and select Void beside the line. In a batch that is still open, use Remove instead.
2. Choose a reason, and add a note if it helps.
3. Select Void gift.

The line stays visible, struck through and marked Voided, and drops out of the batch total. To key the right amount, add a new line.

Refund a gift

1. Find the gift in Gifts (or in its deposited batch) and select Refund.
2. Check the refund amount. For card and bank gifts you can refund part of the gift; for cash and checks, a refund returns the whole gift.
3. Choose the reason. For "Other", say what happened in the note.
4. Look at What the books see: the original entry and the reversing entry, side by side.
5. Select Refund.

The refund is its own record. The donor's statement shows the gift at what the church kept.

Choosing a reason

Reason	Use it when
Duplicate gift	The same gift was recorded or charged twice.
Donor asked for a refund	The donor changed their mind or gave in error.
Entered with the wrong amount	The amount keyed doesn't match the check or envelope. Record the right amount as a new gift.
Entered under the wrong donor	It belongs to someone else. Record it again under the right donor.
Check returned by the bank (NSF)	The bank sent the check back unpaid. Only offered for checks.
Other	Anything else. A note is required.

The note is for what happened and who approved it. Keep it factual: no pastoral details.

What the books see

• A void needs no entry: the gift was never posted to QuickBooks.
• A card or bank refund reverses the gift by fund. Stripe keeps its original processing fee, so there is no fee line; the refund comes out of the next Stripe payout.
• A check refund (or a returned check) leaves the operating bank account, and the reversing entry says so.

The next QuickBooks sync posts the reversing entry. You never need to change anything in QuickBooks by hand.

Good to know

• A gift that has already been fully refunded, voided or charged back can't be refunded again; the dialog says "Nothing left to refund".
• A chargeback (a card dispute the donor raised with their bank) is handled by Stripe and appears on its own; don't refund it as well.
• In the sandbox no money moves; the refund and its entry are recorded in this browser only.

Top tips

• Before you refund a "duplicate", search the donor's gifts for that week: make sure both really are the same gift.
• Write the note as if the auditor will read it, because one day they will: what happened, and who approved it.
• To fix a wrong amount in an open batch, it's quicker to Remove the line and key it again than to void it.

Troubleshooting

There's no Refund or Void button. The gift is already fully refunded or voided, or the batch is still open (use Remove on an open batch).

I can't change the refund amount. Cash and check refunds return the whole gift, and a void always covers the whole line. Only card and bank gifts can be partly refunded.