Refunds and customer credit
When to give money back and when to keep it as the customer's credit, how credit is spent and when it expires.
When a customer is owed money, you either give it back (a refund) or keep it for them as credit they spend on a later booking. Both are recorded on the booking, so the paid amount and the balance stay correct.
Refund or credit?
- Refund to the card: the customer paid online and wants the money back on the same card. The gateway returns it.
- Refund by hand: you return cash, write a cheque or transfer the money, then record it as a manual refund.
- To customer credit: the customer will travel with you again. The amount stays with the agency as their credit.
All three are in the Refund this payment window. See Give a refund.
How customer credit works
- It is switched on in Settings → Customer portal and loyalty → Customer credit → Use customer credit. When it is off, To customer credit does not appear.
- Credit lasts sets how many months credit lasts from the refund; 0 means it never expires.
- The customer sees their credit in their account under points and credit, and spends it on a booking in the same currency when they pay from their account. Staff do not record credit as a payment by hand.
- Staff who may adjust points and credit can add or take away credit in the customer's file.
- Each movement is listed: Added, Used, Refund kept as credit, Adjusted and Expired.
When the customer paid too much
If a customer pays a payment link after the booking was already paid another way, the system records only up to the balance. A high-priority task appears for the booking's owner: refund the extra to the card, or keep it as credit.
After a cancellation
When you cancel a booking, the money paid stays on it: the cancelled booking shows how much was paid and that it can be refunded or kept as credit, with Give a refund. You can also refund in the cancel window with Refund the customer now.
Example
A customer paid BHD 500 by card and cancels. You keep BHD 100 as a cancellation fee agreed with the customer, and they plan another trip in winter. Open the card payment, choose To customer credit, type 400 and press Refund to customer credit. The booking shows a refund of BHD 400; the customer's credit grows by BHD 400 and they can use it on the winter trip.
Related articles
- Give a refundReturn money to the customer: back to their card through the gateway, by hand in cash or by transfer, or as credit for a later trip.
- Ways to get paid: cash, transfer, card and onlineHow each way of paying reaches the books, from cash at the desk to online card payments, transfers customers report and customer credit.
- Payments: common questionsShort answers about deleting payments, the cash drawer, currencies, receipts, part payments and who can do what with money.
- Payment statusesEvery status the money screens show: booking payment states, payments and refunds, payment links, reported transfers, gateway calls, reconciliation and credit.