Payments & refunds

Keep funds with the right purchase

Collections received before invoicing remain unapplied. Applying them to an eligible posted invoice clears the existing customer liability and receivable without receiving the money again. The receipt and invoice may use different currencies, so each allocation retains the amount consumed in its own currency and the reviewed conversion basis.

Every application stays within its purchase context, customer and entity. A replacement-context transfer needs the exact independently approved ExchangeLinks authority. Walk-in sales use a reviewed counterparty and a specific purchase context. That context preserves the original purchase and refund entitlement; a shared walk-in account cannot become a pool that unrelated customers can spend.

Active application and refund reservations reduce the same available source balance. Partial use leaves the remainder visible. A failed or uncertain instruction cannot quietly free funds while an external refund might still complete.

Explain the difference between capture and payout

A processor capture records the customer’s gross collection against processor clearing and unapplied funds. It does not establish that the bank received that amount. A later payout identifies the exact clearing entries it settles, the net bank amount and separately evidenced fees or adjustments.

The Accountant prepares the reconciliation from those sources. The independent Finance Manager reviews the exact reconciliation and posting packet. That decision does not initiate the provider payout; its actual external evidence is already retained. The payout clears existing signed processor value; fees and debits already recorded in that balance are not posted again. It creates neither another sale nor another customer collection. Partial payouts leave their remaining clearing balance available for reconciliation, with the original capture history intact.

Account, collection and settlement currencies remain explicit. Current carrying values and earlier currency revaluation follow the consumed source, with final rounding assigned to the remaining allocation. An unexplained difference stays open for review rather than being absorbed into the customer’s agreed price.

Resolve refunds without losing payment history

A credit, physical return and refund have separate evidence and decisions. A credit against a paid invoice preserves its historical cash application and creates credit available for an authorized use. A refund consumes one eligible source: the available credit or unapplied collection. It cannot spend both or reduce the original receipt again when funded by a credit.

The Accountant prepares the exact source, recipient, amount and settlement path. An independent Finance Manager authorizes the refund. Actual confirmed settlement consumes the reserved source once. A processor refund creates a new negative clearing obligation even after the original capture was paid out; it does not depend on unspent capture clearing. Authoritative rejection before execution can release a claim; an uncertain outcome keeps it committed until reconciliation establishes what happened.

An exchange links the original return to a separately approved replacement order. Its new price and any collection, credit or refund difference remain traceable. Reusing the original order number is not permission to supply or refund the same quantity twice.

Keep real adjustments visible

Processor reversals and dispute debits retain their actual external evidence even when the original collection was already applied or paid out. Known fees follow the approved finite mapping policy. An unexpected debit uses configured suspense under that policy when mapping and valuation are known. Otherwise its actual evidence stays unresolved and unreconciled, without invented zero values. Independent Finance Manager review is required for reclassification, cash or application reversal, or write-off. Affected receipt, credit and refund claims stay held until reconciliation; an unavailable credit balance cannot make the debit disappear.

Corrections preserve the original transaction and add the authorized compensating effect. A later recovery has its own identity. This supports financial reconciliation without promising a complete chargeback case-management service, installed payment provider or point-of-sale terminal.

Find the next action

Start with collections needing attribution or application, clearing awaiting settlement and refunds whose outcome remains open. Follow the original purchase into its evidence, reserved balance and financial effects. Bank destinations and sensitive payment details remain restricted to the authorized financial role and purpose.

See payment performance

Review gross collections alongside applied and unapplied balances, remaining processor clearing, fees, confirmed payouts and refunds. Reconcile those sources to the entity’s receivables and ledger at the same cutoff. A net payout total alone cannot explain sales or margin.