Payments made via bank transfer are refunded using the same process as credit card payments. However, because bank transfers take multiple days to process, you'll need to wait until the payment has settled in order to issue a refund. This usually takes about 4 business days, even though you'll see the funds paid out to you in 2 business days.
If you need to issue a full refund to a client, you can do so in just a few steps. In this section, we'll show you how to issue a full refund to your client.
Click on the inspection to open the Inspection Details page
Click the 3 dots in the Fees & Payments box
Click "Edit Fees & Payments"
Click "Refund"
Verify the refund amount
Click "Issue Refund"
When waiting for a bank transfer to process so you can refund it, you have the option to be notified when the payment is successful. In the Internal box of the Inspection Details page, you can check the box to receive a reminder when the bank transfer is in your account:
Frequently Asked Questions
I don't see a refund button when trying to refund a customer. Why not?
If the refund button is not showing, it is most likely because the client paid via bank transfer (ACH) and these take longer to process. You'll need to wait until the payment has settled before you can issue the refund.
I need to cancel an inspection but the payment was sent via bank transfer and has not been received yet. Can I cancel the inspection in Spectora and still refund the client when the payment clears?
Absolutely! It is a bit easier to issue the refund first, and then cancel the inspection, while it is still showing on your dashboard calendar. Once the inspection is canceled, you will need to go into your inspection list to open it and issue a refund. But you can definitely cancel the inspection first, then issue the refund once the payment clears.
I tried to issue a refund for a bank transfer/ACH payment but I'm getting an error message showing "This payment is too old to be refunded. It has passed its 90-day refund window." What does this mean?
Stripe is confident that for up to 90 days, any refund that is issued will behave as expected and funds will reach the customer. However, as more time goes on, it becomes harder to predict how the bank will handle the refund on its end.
The most common reason for issues with refunds past 90 days is that the customer has closed or changed their account, or the account that funds have been sent back to no longer exists. Often in these cases, the bank will be able to sort this out with their customer by sending a paper check to the former cardholder. But unfortunately, some banks do not know how to proceed in these cases which can cause complications with funds reaching the customer.
In cases like this where payment needs to be refunded after that 90 day period has passed, it is recommended that you settle up with the customer directly - possibly by cutting a check for the refund amount you are hoping to return.