If an item which has been paid online requires a refund (due to a trip cancellation, a remaining meal balance on a leaver’s account, or any other reason) you can refund the payment back to the payer’s Parent Account.
Refunding to the Parent Account enables the payer to re-use the payment for another item, another child linked with their ParentPay account, or choose to make a withdrawal to their payment.
Making a refund using the payment report
1. Navigate to Payment items Reports
2. Select Payment report
3. Select the payment item from the menu
4. Enter the date range
5. Select Advanced options
6. Change the Payment method to ParentPay online
7. Select Search
8. Locate the payment to be refunded
9. Select View receipt/make refund
10. At the bottom of the receipt, select Refund payment
11. Enter the amount to be refunded
12. Select Confirm refund
13. The payment will be credited to the payer’s Parent Account immediately, and a refund notification email will be sent to the payer.
Making a refund using the pupil statement
1. Navigate to People Pupils and staff
2. Select the appropriate groups from the drop-down menus
3. Select Search
4. Locate the pupil and Select the Pupil statement icon
5. Select the corresponding payment item from the drop-down menu
6. Select Search
7. Locate the payment to be refunded
8. Select the ParentPay link
9. At the bottom of the receipt, select Refund payment
10. Enter the amount to be refunded
11. Select Confirm refund
12. The payment will be credited to the payer’s Parent Account immediately, and a refund
notification email will be sent to the payer.
How a payer sees a refund in their account
As well as receiving an email notification, a payer will get a notification when they log into
the ParentPay system for the first time after a refund has been processed to their Parent
Account.
This notification will explain to payers the amount, the pupil, and the payment item
associated with the refund. The payer will then be able to use the refunded amount to pay
for another item, or can choose to withdraw the amount back to the account/card the
original payment was made from.
Troubleshooting
A payment needs to be refunded, but the following error message is being displayed.
Payments over 24 months old cannot be refunded. A more recent payment will need to be
used to process a refund, or a manual adjustment will need to be made to the payment
item balance in Finance Record adjustments and a manual payment can be made to the
payer.
The amount which needs to be refunded is higher than the last transaction made.
Refund amounts cannot exceed the value of the original transaction. If a higher amount
needs to be refunded, multiple transactions can be used to total the full value of the refund.
A payment was made for school meals and the refund option is not available.
Some caterers and local authorities do allow refunds on their behalf. If a refund is required
on a payment to a caterer or local authority, and the refund option is not available, it would
be necessary to contact the bank account owner to request a refund.
Refund policy
This guidance can be forwarded to all schools, if they do not have sufficient funds to process.
https://www.parentpay.com/refunding-parents-new-process/