A refund in Rebill is a record that you have paid credit back to a client. Rebill does not move any money: you pay the client yourself, for example by EFT, and then record it so the client's credit balance no longer includes that money.
When you will use it
A client has credit when they have paid more than they owed, you added a positive adjustment, or a credit note was bigger than what the invoice still owed (typically because the invoice was already paid). That credit is held on their account and applied to their next invoice. If the client would rather have the money back, pay them and record a refund.
Recording a refund
- 1
Open the client
Go to Clients and open the client. The Credit Balance card on the Details tab shows how much credit they hold in each currency. You can also reach the refund dialog from the screen that appears after you issue a credit note that leaves credit behind. - 2
Click "Record refund"
Click "Record refund" on the Credit Balance card. The button only appears when the client has credit. - 3
Fill in the refund details
Enter:- Date: the day you paid the money back
- Amount: how much you paid back, up to the credit the client holds
- Currency: if the client holds credit in more than one currency, choose which one
- Paid back by: EFT, Cash, Card or Other
- Reference: optional, for example your bank reference
- 4
Click "Record refund"
Rebill saves the refund and takes the amount off the client's credit balance. It shows in their payment ledger as a refund.
Pay the client first
Recording a refund does not send any money. Make the payment from your bank first, then record it here. A refund can only be for as much credit as the client actually holds in that currency.Why recording it matters
Once a refund is recorded, that credit is gone: Rebill will not apply it to the client's next invoice, and the client's statement shows the refund as money paid out. If you pay a client back but do not record it, Rebill still thinks they hold the credit and may apply it to a later invoice.
Undoing a refund
A refund is a record of something that happened outside Rebill, so you can delete it if you recorded it by mistake. Open the client's Payments tab, click the refund row and choose Delete payment. The credit goes back onto the client's account. Credit notes themselves cannot be deleted.
In your reports
On a cash basis, a refund takes its amount off your income on the date you paid it back. A credit note by itself moves no money, so it does not reduce cash income. See the Revenue report and the profit and loss report for the cash and accrual views.