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What should I do if my refund fails to send?

What should I do if my refund fails to send?

If you tried to issue a refund through Clientbook Payments and received a Refund Failed message, this is usually easy to resolve. This guide explains the most common reasons refunds fail and what to do next so you can get your customer refunded as quickly as possible.

 

Why did my refund fail?

The most common reason a refund fails is insufficient funds.

 

To process a refund through Clientbook Payments, you must have enough money available in your BlueSnap account. Your available funds come from two sources:

  1. Account Balance: Recent payments that have been processed but have not yet been paid out to your bank. 
  2. Refund Reserve: An amount withheld from payouts specifically for refunds (default is $35, and this can be customized)

 

Important: A refund must be covered in full by either your Account Balance or your Refund Reserve. These amounts cannot be combined to cover a single refund.

If the refund amount is higher than the available balance in both places, the refund will fail.

 

Example: If you're trying to refund $200, but you only have $190 in your Account Balance and $35 in your Refund Reserve, the refund will still fail. Even though the total across both is $225, $190 and $35 cannot be combined. You need $200 available in one place (either Account Balance or Refund Reserve).

To view your current balances in BlueSnap, see Checking Your Clientbook Payments Account Balance & Refund Reserve. 

 

How do I fix a failed refund?

You have four options to resolve a failed refund, listed from fastest to slowest:

 

Option 1: Refund Through Your Point Of Sale (POS) or Issue a Check 

The quickest way to get your customer their money back is to:

  • Issue a refund directly through your POS system, OR
  • Write the customer a check

 

This avoids waiting for funds to become available in Clientbook and ensures your customer receives their refund immediately.

 

This is the recommended option for time-sensitive refunds.

 

Option 2: Wait for New Sales to Generate Funds

If you prefer to process the refund through Clientbook Payments:

  1. Wait until you receive new payments through Clientbook
  2. Once enough new sales have been processed, retry the refund

 

Important: 

  1. Withhold Funds: You must contact Clientbook Support before your next payout runs. Once a payout is sent to your bank, those funds are no longer available to use for refunds.
  2. Processing Fees: If you are expecting a specific payment to “top up” your available balance, keep in mind that card processing fees (2.65% + $0.30 per transaction) are deducted from each payment. This means a payment for the exact difference may not increase your available balance enough to cover the refund.

 

To hold funds for a pending refund, email support@clientbook.com with:

  • The customer name
  • The refund amount needed
  • The original transaction date

 

Option 3: Add funds to your Refund Reserve via wire transfer

For time-sensitive refunds, you can initiate a wire transfer to load your refund reserve with the necessary funds.

 

How it works:

  1. Contact Clientbook Customer Support to request the required forms and instructions.
  2. Once the forms are completed, you will receive an order number. (Make sure you save this number and send it to support!)
  3. Once we receive your order number, our team will work with BlueSnap to load your refund reserve with the specified amount.
  4. We will finalize the refund process on your behalf.


Cost: $16 wire transfer fee + any bank fees with your bank

This option provides additional control and ensures your refund is processed without further delay.

 

Option 4: Process a Transaction Using Your Company or Store Card

Best for: Faster turnaround than wire transfer, cost comparison may favor this method for larger refunds

You can load funds into your Clientbook Payments account by processing a transaction using your company credit card or store card. Once the funds are available in your account, you can immediately issue the refund.

How it works:

  1. Create a payment link in Clientbook for the amount you need to load (plus a small buffer for processing fees).
  2. Complete the payment using your company or store credit card.
  3. Once the transaction is processed and funds are available, issue the refund to your customer.

Cost: Standard processing fee of 2.65% + $0.30 per transaction

Important: Make sure to process slightly more than you need to refund in order to cover the processing fees. For example, if you need to refund $500, consider processing around $520 to ensure you have enough to cover both the refund and the fees.

Which Option Should I Choose? Cost Comparison

When deciding between Option 3 (Wire Transfer) and Option 4 (Store Card), consider the refund amount:

Refund Amount Wire Transfer Cost Store Card Cost (2.65% + $0.30) Better Option
$100 $16.00 $2.95 Store Card
$250 $16.00 $6.93 Store Card
$500 $16.00 $13.55 Store Card
$650 $16.00 $17.53 Wire Transfer
$660+ $16.00 $17.79+ Wire Transfer

General rule: For refunds under $600, using your store card is typically more cost-effective. For refunds above $600, the wire transfer may be the better choice.

Note: If speed is your top priority and you have a company card available, Option 4 (Store Card) is often faster since you can complete the transaction immediately without waiting for wire transfer processing.

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