How do I refund to a Gift Certificate?

Return value to your Customers easily and securely, helping you handle refunds flexibly while preserving revenue and maintaining customer satisfaction.

Learn how to apply a refund to a Gift Certificate.

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

• Reports > Booking Index
   

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Plan that includes Gift Certificates.
• The Gift Certificates feature is activated and configured within your account.
• Admin permissions or restricted permissions to Process Refunds.
   

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic items, classic products, or both?

• This feature is available in both our classic version using classic items (Inventory > Items) and our classic version using classic products (Inventory > Products).  → Learn more about products 

What is a gift certificate? A gift certificate is a prepaid balance that Customers can buy and redeem for bookings within your account.

Follow these steps to refund an amount to a gift certificate. This is a great way to retain revenue in the case of cancellation!

1. Click on an active invoice ID link anywhere in the system. This example uses the Booking Index (Reports > Booking Index).
2. Find and click on the booking that you want to refund.
3. Next, select the Transactions tab from the Booking Invoice to access associated payments.
4. For each transaction you need to refund, click on the Refund button at the far right of the record. This opens the Refund modal.
5. From the refund modal, specify the Refund Amount. You can enter a partial amount here to process a partial refund.
6. Select Gift Certificate as the Payment Type.
7. Enter the gift certificate code, then click the Search button to automatically find an existing gift certificate. Leave the GCN Code field blank to generate a new gift certificate. The Balance, New Balance (including the refund amount), Recipient Email, Valid From date, and Expiry Date (where applicable) are populated once the gift certificate is loaded.
8. Any text you enter in the Gift Certificate Message displays within the actual PDF gift certificate.
9. Enter any Refund Notes you need to associate with the transaction. These are displayed to Customers only if you choose to Show note on customer invoice.
10. Finally, select Send e-mail notifications to notify the Customer by email of the refund. The notification includes an updated PDF of the gift certificate. Note that the booking status changes when the refund is processed: to Cancelled if the booking is 100% refunded, or to Deposit if the booking is partially refunded. Email notifications reflect this status change.
11. Click Refund to begin the refund process.
12. A PDF of the gift certificate is sent to the Customer within minutes!
13. Finally, the Transactions log updates to reflect the refund to the gift certificate.

Learn more about refunding and gift certificates For a detailed look at the refund process and gift certificates, check out the following articles: Viewing transactions and refunding payments from the booking invoice Introduction to gift certificates Also, see: How do I refund a booking?