How to refund a payment
Owners can send money back on any payment that came in online through Pillar, in full or in part, from the invoice it landed on. Here is where the button lives, what each field in the refund dialog does, and what the invoice looks like afterward.
Open the invoice and find the payment
Where to clickInvoicesopen the paid invoicePayment History
Press Invoices in the left sidebar and open the invoice the payment landed on. Scroll to Payment History at the bottom of the invoice, where every payment is listed with its amount, method, and date.
A payment taken online through Pillar carries an Issue Refund button on its line. It shows for owners only, on payments badged Completed that have not been refunded yet.
Fill in the refund
Where to clickIssue RefundRefund TypeProcess Refund
Press Issue Refund on the payment line and the Process Refund dialog opens. Pick Full Refund, which shows the whole payment amount next to it, or Partial Refund and type an amount in Refund Amount.
Reason is sent to Stripe and is one of Duplicate Payment, Fraudulent Payment, or Requested by Customer. Pick fraudulent only when the payment genuinely was, because Stripe counts it in your dispute statistics.
Internal Note (optional) is for your own record and never reaches Stripe or the customer. Press Process Refund at the bottom to send it.
Check the payment line afterward
Where to clickInvoicesopen the invoicePayment History
Back on the invoice, the payment line now reads Refunded with the amount and the date under the payment. The Issue Refund button is gone from that line, so send back everything you intend to return in one pass.
The invoice recalculates itself in the same moment. A full refund puts the balance back on the invoice and returns it to unpaid, and a partial refund leaves it partially paid.
Cash and checks work differently
Where to clickInvoicesopen the invoiceMoreVoid invoice
Money that arrived as cash, a check, or a card you ran on your own terminal never passed through Stripe, so there is nothing for Pillar to send back. Hand it back the way it came in, and the payment stays on the invoice as the record of what happened.
If the invoice itself was raised in error, press More at the top of the invoice and choose Void invoice. That option is available on every invoice except one that is already paid or already voided, and it cannot be undone either.
Common questions
Why is there no refund button on this payment?
Three things put it there: you are signed in as the owner, the payment came in online through Pillar, and it has not been refunded already. A cash payment, a check, or a card you ran on your own terminal never went through Stripe, so those lines have no button.
Can I refund part of a payment now and the rest later?
Refund the whole amount you mean to return in one pass. Partial Refund lets you send back any amount up to the payment, but once a payment carries a refund the Issue Refund button leaves that line.
What happens to the invoice after a refund?
Pillar recalculates it. A full refund puts the balance back on the invoice and returns it to unpaid, a partial refund leaves it partially paid, and an invoice you already voided stays voided.
Does the customer find out about the refund?
The money goes back to the card or bank account that paid, and customers with a portal login also get a refund notice from Pillar. Bank refunds take 5 to 10 business days to land, and nothing shows at their bank until the money arrives.