Refund or void is the most common how-to call, and the timing decides both the customer’s experience and whether the mistake costs you money. Void before the batch and it is as if the sale never happened. Refund after and you are waiting on the bank and possibly paying a fee. Here are the steps and the rules.
Void vs refund
| Void | Refund | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before the batch closes (same day) | After the batch has settled |
| Customer’s statement | Never appears | Original charge, then a credit |
| Time to customer | Immediate | 3 to 7 business days |
| Processing fee | None | Processor-dependent; per-item fee often kept |
| Partial | No; void the whole sale and re-ring | Yes, by item or amount |
| Needs connection | Yes | Yes |
The batch closes automatically at the time set on your account, usually nightly. Before that, void. After, refund.
How to void on the device
- Open Transactions.
- Find the payment by time, amount or last four digits.
- Tap it, then tap Void.
- Confirm. Enter a manager PIN if your permissions require one.
- Re-ring the sale correctly if needed.
How to refund on the device
- Open Transactions.
- Find the payment.
- Tap Refund.
- Choose Full Refund, or select items or enter a custom amount for a partial refund.
- Confirm. The refund goes to the original card. Print or email the refund receipt.
From the web dashboard
Dashboard, Transactions, find the payment, then Void or Refund with the same options. Useful for owners who are off site and for refunds on online orders.
Rules worth knowing
- Same card. Card sales refund to the card that paid. That is the network rule and it is your evidence if the customer later disputes.
- Permissions. Set who can void and refund in Employees, roles. Voids and refunds by the same cashier who rang the sale, without a manager, is how internal theft happens.
- Tips. Voiding a sale voids its tip. A refund of a sale with a tip refunds the sale amount; adjust the tip separately if needed before batch.
- Online orders. Refund from the dashboard; the order status updates for the customer.
- Gift cards. Refund to the gift card or as store credit; check your gift card program’s rules.
- Disputes. A refund issued promptly usually stops a chargeback; a chargeback filed after a refund is won with the refund receipt.
Fees on refunds
Processors differ. Common patterns: the percentage is returned and the per-item fee is kept; or neither is returned. Interchange itself is partially refunded by the networks on most refunds, and whether the processor passes that through depends on your pricing. Under dual pricing, the sale was paid at the card price and the merchant’s processing on it was zero, so a refund of the card price makes the customer whole with nothing lost on the merchant side. Ask your dealer how your account handles refunds; it is on the fee schedule if the dealer is transparent.
When a refund fails
Refunds need a live connection; offline mode does not process them. A refund that errors with the device online is usually a processor-side hold on the funds or a card that has been closed; the processor can issue a manual credit. Call your dealer or processor, not Clover.