Refund Fees
When a refund is issued in Spectora, the client receives the full amount they originally paid, including any technology or processing fees that were passed on to the client. The total refund amount is deducted from the merchant's bank account.
For ACH (bank transfer) payments, refunds can only be issued after the payment has fully cleared. The refund option will not be available while the transfer is still processing. Once the payment shows as completed in the system, you can proceed with a partial or full refund.
Additionally, when refunding payments that included a tech fee, the inspector forfeits the refunded tech fee and incurs a refund fee of 0.9% of the refunded base amount.
When you request a refund through Spectora, we apply a small fee to help cover the costs of processing the refund. This fee is assessed by banks and payment networks (like Visa and Mastercard) for handling payments. These networks have specific rules on fees for refunded payments, and often, banks and card networks keep the entire initial cost of a refunded transaction. In some regions and for certain payment types, there may be additional fees for refunded payments.
Additionally, credit card processing fees are non-refundable, regardless of the payment method or whether the card is tied to a savings account.
As per industry standards, merchants (such as inspectors) initiating the refund generally bear these costs, regardless of whether processing fees were originally surcharged to clients.
For full refunds: The refund fee equals the original transaction fee plus an additional 0.9% of the original transaction fee.
For partial refunds: The refund fee equals the proportional amount of the original transaction fee plus an additional 0.9% of this proportional fee.
Example: For a $100 purchase with a $3.65 transaction fee:Full refund: $3.65 + (0.9% of $3.65) = $3.65 + $0.03 = $3.68
50% refund: $1.83 + (0.9% of $1.83) = $1.83 + $0.02 = $1.85
Refunds for credit card payments incur processing fees. For ACH (bank transfer) refunds, the original ACH processing fee is not refunded, and Stripe charges an account-debit fee to recover and move the refunded funds. This distinction is important for merchants managing different payment methods.
Refund timelines vary by payment method:
Credit Card Payments: Refunds typically appear in the client’s account within 3–5 business days, though some banks may take up to 7 business days.
ACH (Bank Transfer) Payments: Refunds generally take 5–7 business days to reach the client’s account, depending on the client’s bank.
Lost Dispute and Failed ACH Payment Fees
There are also specific fees for Lost Disputes and Failed ACH payments.
Lost Disputes incur a $15.14 fee
Failed ACH payments incur a $4.04 fee
How will the fee be processed?
For refunds, lost disputes, or failed ACH payments Spectora will debit your Stripe account for the appropriate fee after the transaction.
When a refund is processed, multiple negative entries may appear in your Spectora account. These entries represent different components of the refund, such as the reversal of the original payment, refund processing fees, and dispute or chargeback fees (if applicable). To view the grouped transactions and confirm how they relate to a single refund, use the “View Included Payments” link on the payout entry.
To monitor and manage these fees effectively, use Spectora’s Data Exports > “Payments and Fees.” Note that these fees are not included in revenue metrics and are not taxable.
To offset ACH refund costs, you can charge a cancellation fee and refund the client the remaining amount. For example, if you need to refund a $400 invoice, you could refund $375 and add a manual invoice line item labeled Cancellation Fee for $25. This ensures the invoice remains marked as paid.
🔴 Important Note: 🔴
Even if a payout has not reached your bank account and you process a refund, you will still be charged a fee for refunding.
To clarify, the processing fee is not linked to payouts; rather, it is a charge for utilizing the online payment processor. Therefore, it does not affect whether the payment hits your account. The fee was applied for processing the payment online, and unfortunately, issuing a refund does not reverse that action.
Additionally, please note that payouts are not processed on weekends, which may result in delays for those received during that time.
Spectora does not retain these fees, as they are charged directly by the banks.
If you have any questions or feedback, write into our chat bubble or email support@spectora.com
To ensure you receive refund availability notifications, verify that the "Payment Received" notification setting is enabled in your user options. Navigate to Settings > User Options > Edit Notifications and enable "Payment Received" for your preferred channels (in-app and/or email).
