If an item which has been paid online requires a refund due to the payer requesting it, a remaining meal balance on a leaver’s account, or any other reason, it is possible to 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 the account/card it was paid from.
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 the View receipt/refund icon
10. At the bottom of the receipt, select Go to refund page
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
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 if using a PC.
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 their payment card/account.
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 (cash or cheque) 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 schools to process 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.