How do I issue a refund to a customer?
Refunds can be created quickly and easily once you have set up our automated refund workflow. After it is set up, you can create a refund by following the steps depending on whether the payment is applied to an invoice or is a refund on an unapplied payment.
Can I issue a refund on one invoice and apply it to another?
Yes, although a refund isn't necessary in this case because the payment is not being returned to the customer. Instead, if the invoice is still in a Pending status, you can Unapply the Payment and then apply the credit to a different invoice.
If the invoice is in a Posted status, you need to Unpost the Batch before you unapply the payment.
If the invoice is in an Exported status, you can still unapply the payment but you must have the Unapply exported transactions (Payment Collections) permission turned on by your company's ServiceTitan administrator. You must also update the transaction in your accounting software to match your ServiceTitan account.
Alternatively, you can issue a refund using our automated refund workflow.
When is the best time to use the refund button, and when would it be better to go for an adjustment invoice instead?
If you have the Automated Refund workflow enabled, we recommend using it. The workflow built into the feature is designed to recognize when an adjustment invoice is required in addition to a negative payment.
If you are not currently using the Automated Refund workflow, we encourage you to set it up and use it to apply refunds. If the manual process is required, use the steps outlined in Create a refund adjustment invoice and issue a refund.
What do I do if I can't find the right general ledger (GL) account (QBD, QuickBooks Desktop, or QBO, QuickBooks Office) or GL item group (Intacct) when trying to map the GL account to the refund task or payment type?
You may not have imported all of your GL accounts from your accounting software. Follow the required steps to sync those over to ServiceTitan. If the GL account is still not available, you may have to go directly into your accounting software, create the GL account you want to map to the task(s) or payment type(s) and sync again. See Set up your ServiceTitan Web Connector.
Can I set my payment type mapped to Assign Payment Types to Export As a Credit Card Refund or Check Refund?
For the automated refund workflow, you can set your Export As to any option available within Settings > Payment Types. However, you don't want to set your payment type for your refunds to Export as Payment. This is true for QuickBooks Desktop (QBD), QuickBooks Online (QBO), and Intacct integrations.
For QuickBooks: If you choose the Export as Credit Card Refund option, you'll need to manually create the payment method in QBD or QBO to match the name of the payment type in ServiceTitan.
If the refund is for a payment on an invoice that is taxable, will the automated refund calculate and allocate taxes to the refund invoice?
Yes. If the refund task mapped in the Assign Tasks section of the Automated Refunds Workflow screen is marked taxable and tax zones are set up and/or the tax rate assigned on the invoice from which you are refunding, taxes are calculated and allocated to the refund invoice.
If you use the "use ServiceTitan's default" option to auto-create the Refund task, it's automatically created with the taxable flag selected. To change this, go to Pricebook > View/Edit, and change the taxable status of the task.
What happens when I partially refund a payment that is applied to more than one invoice?
Generally, this is where you initiated the refund. The portion of the payment where you initiate the refund is refunded first. These examples highlight the expected behavior in each scenario:
Example 1
A $500 payment is applied to Invoice A by $400 and to Invoice B by $100.
$300 of the $500 payment is being refunded.
If the $500 payment was applied to more than two invoices, the refund is applied first to the invoice where the refund was initiated, then to the remaining invoices in order of oldest to newest. Using the above example, if the same $500 payment is applied first to Invoice A (where the refund was initiated) by $150, Invoice B by $20, and Invoice C by $330.
If $300 of the $500 payment is being refunded:
In the case where part of a payment is unapplied, the location that the refund is initiated from also matters, as shown here:
Example 2
A $600 payment is applied to Invoice C by $200 and the remaining $400 is an available credit.
$300 of the $600 is being refunded.
When I partially refund payments applied to multiple invoices, is the payment refunded as a single refund to the customer?
Yes. The refund will be processed as a single refund each time you click Process Refund, regardless of the number of invoices the payment was applied to originally.
When I refund an available credit (unapplied payment), does the credit still appear in the Collect and Apply Payment as an available credit to be applied to other invoices?
No. When refunded, the available credit is no longer available to be applied to other invoices. This is intended behavior.
For instances that a refund invoice is created, where can I access this invoice?
There are multiple places where you can find the refund invoice. Notice that the refund invoice will have an R behind the original invoice number:
Immediately after you click Process Refund, the Confirmation toast message will contain a link to the refund invoice(s). Click the text in the confirmation message to open the refund invoice.
From the original invoice where you refunded the payment, click Job #. Find the audit trail in the job screen. An Automated Action record is created under the job audit trail. There, click the invoice text and find the refund invoice.
From the original invoice where you refunded the payment, click the Job Costing pop-up. The refund invoice will be listed in the job costing pop-up.
In the Customer screen, from the Invoice section, find the invoice listed.
What do I do if I need to edit the refund amount?
Refund amounts cannot currently be edited. We recommend that you delete the record if the amount is mistaken and re-process the refund. If the refund was processed through ServiceTitan already, delete the record, and then create a new record and select Process credit card refund outside of ServiceTitan to ensure the accounting record is created. For more, see Edit or delete a refund.
If this step doesn't work for you, please contact Customer Support to edit the refund amount.
I tried to delete or deleted my refund, but the refund was processed through ServiceTitan. Does deleting the refund reverse the refund processed?
No. Only the refund record will be deleted. To undo the refund, you may have to cancel the refund through your transaction portal. Contact Technical Support if you need help.
Deleting a refund moves the payment back to an unrefunded state. Attempting to process the refund using the same method again will result in an error because the refund is considered to be processed but the refund record is missing.
If you need to have the refund record created again:
Click Refund again on the original payment.
Select Other as the Refund Reason. Enter comments that would be helpful as you review the refund later, for example: "Adding back the deleted refund."
Enter Refund Amount. This should match the refund amount that was already processed.
Select Process credit card refund outside ServiceTitan, as the Refund Method so the refund is not attempted to be reprocessed through the integration with QuickBooks.
Click Process Refund.
Can I use this workflow for Non Sufficient Funds (NSF), Chargebacks, or Bank Adjustment workflows?
The automated refund workflow can't be used with any workflow other than refunds.
Can I customize my refund reasons?
The only way to customize a refund reason is to select Other and enter text in the field provided. Additionally, if you are attempting to customize this in an attempt to separate your refund reasons by business unit, note that the refund payments will be recorded with the business unit tied to the original payment that is being refunded.
You can find reporting of your refund payments by business unit in the All Payments report. There are also Invoice Datasets available in Reports 2.0 that enable you to report on revenue (or contra-revenue for refunds) by business unit.
I have an unbatched payment that needs to be refunded and I'm unsure what to do. Do I need to refund it through QuickBooks or can I do it through ServiceTitan and record the refund in QuickBooks?
If you have an unbatched payment that needs be refunded:
Make sure there is an adjustment invoice that has a negative task to account for the refund.
Make sure the refund to the payment is accounted for in the Payments section of the invoice.
Confirm the customer received the refund by checking the payment gateway or the payment portal.
Since the payment is unbatched, you can do one of the following:
You can manually enter the refund in QuickBooks and bypass the refund.
Batch and export the refund in ServiceTitan.
How do I fix an overpayment on an invoice?
Overpayments can be managed using the Automated Refund workflow. If you have auto refunds already turned on, a refund icon appears next to the payment on the invoice.
Otherwise, set up the Automated Refund feature first. Once set up, you can apply a refund, selecting Overpayment as your refund reason.
I need to apply a payment, but the invoice has a negative balance, and I cannot get it to balance at zero after creating a refund adjustment invoice. What can I do?
As a best practice recommendation, we suggest setting up the Automated Refund feature to apply refunds and avoid manually creating adjustment invoices in the future. For reference, the manual refund process is outlined in Create a refund adjustment invoice and issue a refund.
In this scenario, create an adjustment invoice to adjust the invoice balance so you can apply your payment.
How can I confirm the status of a refund?
Once you've confirmed your refund was processed in ServiceTitan, you can look at the print view of the customer invoice and see the refund reflected there. You can also go to your merchant's portal and check the refund status there.
How can I correct a refund that was issued for less than the total due?
You can perform another refund on the same invoice and enter the remaining amount as the refund amount.
Note: You must have the Automated Refund Workflow enabled to do this.
Why isn't the automated refund process creating an offset invoice in ServiceTitan? The refund invoice is created but not attached to the original invoice.
This happens because the refund task was removed. You can initiate the refund process again to correct this issue.
How do I clear a pending refund in ServiceTitan's Accounting tab?
To clear a pending refund in the Accounting tab, make sure you apply the payment to the correct invoice first. Then export that payment to clear the Pending status.
Why does my adjustment invoice still show a balance after adding a negative payment?
Adding a negative payment alone won't fully clear the balance on an adjustment invoice. ServiceTitan requires both:
A negative, non-taxable task to reflect the refund on the invoice, and
A negative payment to record the refund transaction.
Without the negative task, the invoice will continue to show a balance even after the payment is applied.
If I delete a refund record in ServiceTitan, does it cancel the actual refund?
No. Deleting a refund record in ServiceTitan only removes the record from the system. It does not stop or reverse the actual refund processing with your payment processor or bank.
Why am I seeing the error Refund amount may not exceed the transaction balance?
This error often occurs when a refund is tied to a taxable refund task in Pricebook. Because tax is included, the refund amount can exceed the remaining transaction balance, which triggers the error. Make sure the Taxable option is clear for the refund task in Pricebook.
Why do I see the message Payment application is posted and cannot be deleted?
This happens because the payment is in a closed accounting period. To delete or adjust the payment, you need to reopen the corresponding accounting period in ServiceTitan.
Why is the Unapply button missing for refunds?
This happens because the payment is in a closed accounting period. To delete or adjust the payment, you need to reopen the corresponding accounting period in ServiceTitan.
How do different refund reasons determine whether an Adjustment Invoice is created or just a Negative Payment?
When issuing a refund in ServiceTitan, the refund reason you select determines whether the system creates both a Negative Payment and an Adjustment Invoice, or a Negative Payment only.
This distinction is important because it affects how revenue, taxes, and payments are recorded in your accounting system.
Refund reason | Creates adjustment invoice? | Creates negative payment? | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
Customer Complaint | Yes | Yes | Use when refunding due to service quality, warranty, or customer dissatisfaction. Since the refund reverses part of the original sale, ServiceTitan issues both a negative payment and an adjustment invoice to restate revenue. |
Billing Error | Yes | Yes | Use when an incorrect charge, tax, or amount was billed. The system creates an adjustment invoice to correct the original invoice total and a negative payment to reverse the overcharge. |
Overpayment | No | Yes | Use when the customer paid more than owed. This affects only the payment balance—no change to revenue—so only a negative payment is created. |
Duplicate Payment | No | Yes | Use when the same payment was entered twice. ServiceTitan reverses the duplicate entry with a negative payment only. |
Other | No | Yes | Use for miscellaneous refunds that don't impact the job's billed amount. Only a negative payment is needed. |
Are partial refunds supported for all payment types?
Partial refunds depend on the payment type.
ACH payments: Only full refunds are supported. If you try to issue a partial refund, you'll see an error such as Partial refunds are not supported for ACH payments.
Credit card payments: Partial refunds are supported. You can refund any amount up to the full payment. If there's an issue, you may see an error like Unable to process refund. Please verify the refund amount and try again.
Tip: If a refund fails, check the payment type to confirm whether partial refunds are allowed.
When is the automated refund workflow available?
The automated refund workflow is available when your business has integrated payment processing enabled in ServiceTitan. This allows refunds to be issued directly to the customer's original payment method.
If payment processing isn't enabled, refunds must be handled manually by creating a negative payment and an adjustment invoice to reflect the refund in accounting records.
To enable automated refunds, go to Settings > Integrations > Payment Processing and ensure your processor is connected and refund permissions are active.
What permissions are required to create or delete refunds?
To create or delete refunds, you need the Create refund permission enabled. If you don't see refund options or receive a permissions error, contact your account administrator to request access. Administrators can adjust user permissions in Settings > Permissions.