Refunds and credits

Refunds and Credits

When a client overpays, cancels, or needs money back, CaterCloud lets you issue a refund through the original payment processor or mark an invoice as refunded manually. This guide is for anyone managing payments on behalf of a catering business.

Where to Find It

Go to Money → Invoices and open the invoice you want to refund. You'll land on the invoice detail page, which shows the current status and all available actions.

Invoice Statuses to Know

Before issuing a refund, check the invoice status badge:

• Paid — eligible for a full or partial refund
• Partial — some payment received; refund applies to the amount paid
• Refunded — a refund has already been processed on this invoice

How to Issue a Refund

1. Open the invoice from Money → Invoices.
2. In the actions panel on the right, locate the refund section — this appears only when a payment has been captured through Stripe or Square.
3. Enter the refund amount in the amount field. By default it pre-fills to the full refundable balance.
4. Add an optional refund reason in the text field provided.
5. Confirm the action when prompted.

CaterCloud calculates the refundable ceiling automatically based on what was paid minus any prior refunds already issued, so you can't accidentally over-refund.

Partial Refunds

To issue a partial refund, simply change the pre-filled amount to a lower figure before confirming. You can return to the invoice later and issue additional refunds up to the remaining refundable balance.

What the Client Sees

• The refund is processed back to the client's original payment method via Stripe or Square — timing depends on the client's bank (typically 5–10 business days).
• The invoice status updates to Refunded once processed.
• If you have sent the client a copy of the invoice, they will see the updated status on any payment link they still have access to.

Manually Recorded Payments

If the original payment was recorded manually (not through Stripe or Square), the refund section will not appear. In that case, update the invoice notes to record the refund offline and adjust the invoice status as needed.

> Tip: If a refund is linked to a cancelled event, check Money → Invoices for any related balance invoices that may also need to be voided.