Refunds and disputes are handled from the same two places you see payments: the Payments page and a client's Payments tab.
Refund a payment
- Find the payment and click Refund.
- Choose full or enter a partial amount.
- Pick a reason (client asked for a refund, charged twice, fraudulent, or other) and add a note. Both are stored on the payment and visible to staff.
- Confirm. The dialog says whether the money goes back to the card or is only being recorded.
| Payment | What happens |
|---|---|
| Card taken through FrontDesk (in the app, a pay link, the portal, autopay, a plan) | Refunded through Stripe. The transfer to your account is reversed and FrontDesk's fee is returned, so nobody is out of pocket. |
| Cash or check | Recorded as refunded. Give the money back yourself. |
| Card run on an outside terminal | Recorded as refunded, with a reminder to refund it on the terminal or in Stripe. |
After any refund the client's balance goes back up by the refunded amount, the charge that payment had settled is open again, and the payment shows as Refunded or Partial refund.
Refunds made directly in the Stripe dashboard sync back to FrontDesk and are booked the same way.
Disputes and chargebacks
When a client's bank opens a dispute on a card payment:
- The payment gets a Disputed badge and the office gets a Payment disputed notification with the reason and the date to respond by.
- Respond in Stripe with your evidence (appointment records, consent, the cancellation policy). Open it from Settings → Billing → Payments → Open Stripe dashboard.
- When the bank decides, you get Dispute won or Dispute lost. A lost dispute is booked like a refund: the payment shows Chargeback, the balance reopens, and the charge is unpaid again.
Payment plan installments
A full refund or a lost chargeback on an installment payment reopens the installment on hold: due again, but never charged by the scheduler until you charge it or record a payment. A partial refund leaves the installment paid. See Set up a payment plan.
Good to know
- Refunds show as their own line in the financial reports and in the daily close, dated when they were made.
- A payment can only be refunded up to what is left after earlier refunds.
- Refund reasons and notes are visible to staff, never to the client.