These three ways of handling a transaction are very similar but have several distinctions. It is important to understand the differences between cancelling, refunding, and voiding a transaction to ensure your donors and registrants stay happy.

A refund is a reversal of charges and can only be performed after the charges have settled. It can take several days for the funds to be returned to the original account because it will go through the regular settlement process.

A void deletes a transaction and removes it from the batch before the batch has settled. Voids can only be performed before a transaction has settled. Voids are better than refunds because the money never actually moves. However, it may take a couple of days for the authorization hold to disappear from the customer's statement. The amount of time you have to perform a void will depend on your settlement time frame with your gateway/processor.

Void/Refund Processing in GiveGab Enterprise

During high volume campaigns, you will often receive urgent requests for refunds because someone made a mistake on their donation amount or accidentally submitted the registration twice. However, refunds cannot be issued until the transaction has settled with the gateway. This doesn't help when you have an angry donor on the phone demanding their money back. To resolve this, GiveGab will first attempt to void the transaction before attempting a refund. If the transaction has not settled and your gateway provider allows it, then the transaction will be voided. If the transaction has already settled, then a refund will be issued.

The process for processing a refund/void request in the GiveGab Enterprise platform is the same regardless of whether it results in a refund or a void:

 When you request a full refund, GiveGab Enterprise will first attempt to void the transaction.
If the transaction has not settled yet, then the transaction will be voided and removed from your batch settlement. If the transaction has settled, then a refund will be attempted. l When you attempt a partial refund, Kimbia can only attempt to refund the amount.

l If the transaction has not settled, you will receive an error message. You will either have to attempt a full refund/void and resubmit the transaction for the correct amount or wait for the transaction to settle.

Is there a deadline for requesting refunds?

Most gateways and processors have a deadline for requesting refunds that vary from 10 days to 120 days, depending on the gate- way/processor. Verify your refund deadline with your gateway/processor.

Refunds in a multi-give campaign

Refunds in a multi-give campaign are handled differently than in a regular campaign. When a person donates to multiple categories in a single transaction, you must refund each donation separately. If you included calculated fees, they also must be refunded separately.

Because each of these is a partial refund, the transaction cannot be voided.