Refunds, voids and disputes
How money goes back, and who has to say yes. Anyone on shift can start a refund; nothing moves until someone allowed to approve it does. Refunds, voids and overrides are kept on the shop's audit trail, with who asked and who approved; the owner can read it.
On this page
Who approves what
The refund limit starts at $500.00 and is set by the owner in Staff (see Staff and shifts). The shop's approval cap, and who sets it, is in Governance.
Voiding a sale
A void undoes a sale as if it never happened. Open the sale in Charges and choose Void.
- It always needs a manager's or owner's PIN.
- Only today's sales can be voided. An earlier sale is refunded instead.
- Card holds are released (the card was never captured), cash goes back out of the drawer, and a Clear charge still waiting is withdrawn. If the customer approved the Clear charge a moment ago, the void stops and tells you to refund it through the Clear refund instead.
A sale with nothing paid on it yet can be dropped without a PIN.
Refunding card and cash
Open the sale in Charges and choose Start a refund (or Refund part on a sale taken today).
- 1.Tick what's coming back. For a line of several, say how many ("one of two tires"). Returned items go back into stock. Labour can't come back, so a sale that was only labour can't be refunded here.
- 2.The refund goes back the way the money came: to the card first, then cash from the drawer, one refund per payment.
- 3.If you're a manager or owner, it's approved as you make it. On a counter shift, a sheet asks a manager or owner to type their PIN; nothing goes back until they do.
A card refund goes back to the card through Stripe. A cash refund comes out of the drawer, so the drawer has to be open. A card not yet captured is voided, not refunded.
Refunding a Clear charge
A Clear refund unwinds the customer's plan. Open the charge in Charges and choose Start a refund.
- The customer gets back what they paid, less carry they've already paid on a plan over time. A refund unwinds the purchase, not the time they had the money.
- The shop gives back what it received for the charge: the amount less the fee Clear took. It comes off your next payout, and the sheet shows the payout after it.
- Partial Clear refunds aren't offered. A Clear refund is for the whole charge.
Who approves depends on the amount and the refund limit (table above). An owner at the counter types their PIN; anything at or over the limit needs the owner signed in on their own device, where the refund waits under the charge. Cancel the request withdraws it. A declined refund leaves the charge as it was, and nobody has told the customer anything.
If the refund can't be settled on Clear's side, nothing is refunded and the request goes back to waiting, so try again.
Disputes
A card dispute is between the customer, their bank and Stripe. Clear records it when Stripe reports it, and you answer it in your Stripe Dashboard. The money it moves shows in that card deposit's breakdown on Payouts.
A Clear dispute is raised by the member in their Clear app. Clear mediates disputes about a payment to a Clear Partner. While one is open the plan is unwound: the member isn't charged carry on it and the shop isn't paid for it. If the member loses or withdraws it, the charge stands as approved; if they win, it's treated as refunded. How Clear decides is in Governance.