The short answer is yes, you can issue a refund. But there are some important details you need to be aware of.
Know where the refund is coming from
When you issue a refund to your client through Joist Payments, the funds are paid out to the client the same way transactions are paid out to you, through your payments account with PayPal.
If you don't have enough funds in your PayPal account to cover the refund total, PayPal will debit your connected bank account to acquire the funds before issuing the refund to the client. This process can take 1-3 days depending on your bank.
Remember to account for the processing fee
When your client pays you, you receive the balance of the total payment minus the processing fee. So on a $100 payment, for example, you would take in $96.80. If you later decide to issue a refund to the client, the full $100 will be returned to them, so you will be putting up the $3.20 to make up the difference.
The larger the refund, the more of your own money you'll need to spend to make up the balance. With that in mind, it's a good idea to explore all your options with the client before hitting the refund button.
Issuing the refund
Once you've determined refunding the client is the right option for you and your client, you can do so directly from the Joist app:
- Open the invoice the payment was made on
- On iOS and Web use the Payments button at the top of the screen.
- For Android, tap the Green Circle in the bottom right, then choose Payments
- Tap the button to the right of the payment you wish to refund and the option to issue a refund will be revealed
Remember that if the funds are not currently available in your PayPal account, there will be a 1-3 day delay while PayPal debits your bank account to cover the refund. Once the refund has been issued, your client's credit card can take 3-7 business days for it to be reflected on their end.
NOTE: Payments received more than 60 days ago cannot be refunded from the Joist app. After 60 days, you can only refund a payment by going to your PayPal account.
If you need assistance with issuing a refund from your PayPal account, please contact our direct line of support at PayPal: https://support.joistapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059883554-I-have-a-payment-issue-how-do-I-contact-PayPal-