Order Refunds and Credits

After editing or canceling an order, the customer account or guest invoice balance may become negative. You may issue a refund for the customer account credit balance, and you should issue a refund for a guest invoice credit balance.

Issuing an Account Credit Refund

Modifying orders on a customer account will always adjust the payment applied to the invoice so the invoice balance will never become negative (too much payment). Therefore the invoice will have a $0.00 balance after editing, but the customer's account will have a credit balance which may be used with future orders, applied other invoices, or refunded. Follow these steps to refund a customer account balance.

1. Navigate to the Customers area using the main navigation menu. Pull up the customer's account, and navigate to the Transactions tab.
2. Click New above the list of transactions.
3. Select Refund as the transaction type.
4. Select the Method according to how the funds will be returned to the customer.
   Note: You normally should choose the same method as the original transaction. For example, if the customer paid by credit card, then select Credit Card to submit the refund back to the original card.
5. Enter the amount you want to refund.
6. Specify the amount of the refund against the original transaction.
   Note: If there are multiple transactions, some payment gateways will require you to submit the refunds separately. Others will allow you refund multiple transactions with one refund. If a multi-transaction refund attempt fails, try submitting them individually.
7. Submit the transaction.
   Note: Credit card refunds will submit live through the configured payment gateway. Check and Cash refunds will be recorded, but you must handle those refunds offline.

Issuing a Guest Invoice Refund

Modifying guest orders will allow the invoice balance to become negative (too much payment). Because there is no account to track the payment separate from the invoice, you must refund the balance. Note: Mealsite does not issue the refund automatically, because you may not be done editing the order and it is only temporarily overpaid. Follow these steps to refund a guest invoice that is overpaid.

1. Navigate to the Orders area using the main navigation menu.
2. Find the order in the list of orders.
3. Click or tap on the order number. The order record will load along with the invoice receipt.
4. When the invoice balance is negative (too much payment), an Issue Refund button appears. Use this action issue a complete refund for the balance due back to the customer.

Adding Credit to a Customer Account

Modifying existing orders may result in a customer account credit. A customer may also call in or mail in a payment (to your business), which you should post as an account credit for future orders. This allows for online orders without having a credit card present during checkout, including orders submitted directly by students (without storing a card on file) and orders from customers that prefer checks or cash. With this payment flow, Mealsite can function like a student wallet. Follow these steps to add credit to a customer account.

1. Navigate to the Customers area using the main navigation menu. Pull up the customer's account, and navigate to the Transactions tab.
2. Click New above the list of transactions.
3. Select Payment as the transaction type.
4. Select the Method according to how the funds will be received from the customer.
5. Enter the amount you want to record.
6. If there are unpaid invoices, you should specify the amount of the transaction to apply per invoice. Any amount left over is the effective customer account credit.
7. Submit the transaction.
   Note: Credit card payments will submit live through the configured payment gateway. Check and Cash payments will be recorded, but you must handle those payments offline.

Notes on Transaction Processing

Every transaction has a Status. The transaction only influences accounting balances when the Status is APPROVED. For example, if you post a Check payment but leave the status as PENDING until the check clears your bank, the customer will not be able to use those funds with orders until the status is changed to APPROVED.

Live credit card processing handles the transaction Status automatically.