Refunds & Credits
Sometimes plans change. A session gets canceled, a print order arrives damaged, or a client overpays an invoice. creavio gives you clean tools for issuing refunds and credits so you can handle these situations professionally.
Issuing a Refund
Navigate to Money → Payments and find the transaction you need to refund. Click the payment and select Refund. You can choose:
- Full refund — returns the entire payment amount
- Partial refund — enter a specific dollar amount to return
Refunds are processed through your payment provider (Stripe) and typically take 5–10 business days to appear on the client's statement. creavio marks the original invoice as "Refunded" or "Partially Refunded" automatically.
Refund Fees
Important: Stripe does not return their processing fee when you issue a refund. If you collected a $1,000 payment and Stripe charged $29.30 in fees, you'll refund the client $1,000 but you won't get the $29.30 back. Factor this into your cancellation policies.
Account Credits
Credits are different from refunds. Instead of sending money back to the client's card, a credit sits on their account and applies to their next invoice. This is useful for:
- Session rescheduling — credit the deposit toward the rescheduled date
- Service recovery — offer a credit toward a future session after a problem
- Loyalty rewards — give returning clients a discount via credit
To add a credit, go to the client's profile, click Add Credit, and enter the amount and a note explaining the reason.
Credits on Invoices
When a client with an account credit receives a new invoice, the credit is applied automatically. The invoice shows the original total, the credit applied, and the remaining balance due. If the credit exceeds the invoice total, the remaining credit stays on the account for next time.
Tracking Refunds and Credits
All refunds and credits appear in your Money → Activity log with clear labels. Your financial reports deduct refunds from revenue so your profit numbers are accurate.