Refunding 3rd Party Payments After Switching to Stripe Custom

After switching to Stripe Custom from Stripe Standard or OpenEdge, you may encounter situations where you need to refund payments originally processed through your previous payment gateway. This guide explains how to handle these refunds during the transition period.

Example scenarios:

• Monthly Dues Refund:
  A customer was charged dues via OpenEdge, but your facility now uses Stripe Custom for billing.
  
  

• POS Transaction Refund:
  A customer was charged for a POS transaction via OpenEdge, but your facility now uses Stripe Custom for POS.
  
  

• Calendar Booking Refund:
  A customer booked and paid for a calendar offering via Stripe Standard, but your facility now processes online payments through Stripe Custom.
  
  

Important Notes:

• API Errors for Stripe Standard Transactions:
  Attempting to refund a Stripe Standard transaction in Rock Gym Pro (RGP) will result in an error (see below).  This indicates RGP cannot connect to your old Stripe Standard account to process the refund.

  "STRIPE: RGP Payment API Error 500 Internal Server Error."

• Refunds Must Be Tied to Invoices:
  Stripe Custom does not allow “blind refunds” (refunds not connected to a specific invoice). Refunds must be issued for specific invoices in your Stripe Custom account that occur after the switchover.
• New Payments:
  Payments processed through Stripe Custom after the switchover can be refunded directly in RGP as usual. You can read more about that here: 
  • Stripe Custom Refunds
  • Stripe Custom Anonymous POS Refunds
  • Stripe Custom Partial Refunds with Integrated Stripe Terminals
    
    

Refunding Options

Since your RGP database is no longer tied to your old OpenEdge or Stripe Standard account, you'll be unable to refund those transactions through Stripe Custom, you have a few other options to refund customers:

Refunding in Rock Gym Pro

You can issue refunds and record them in RGP using the following methods:

• • Cash
  • Check
  • On-Account Credit

Refunding Externally

If a refund cannot be processed through RGP, you can issue it externally:

• Through the previous payment processors portal:
  • Log into your old Stripe Standard account or through the OpenEdge online portal (if available)
  • Find the transaction and refund it
• Using an alternative payment method:
  • Venmo, CashApp, or other payment platforms.
    
    

Recording External Refunds

If you issue the refund outside of RGP you will want to record it in RGP POS for accounting purposes.

1. Set up the refund in RGP POS:

   • Navigate to RGP POS and begin the refund process as usual.
   • Click Tender
     
     

2. Add a Transaction Memo:

   • On the Tender Screen, enter a note (e.g., “Refunded externally via Venmo” or “Refunded via Stripe Standard portal”).
     
     

3. Select External/Manual Credit Card Mode:

   • Check the box for External/Manual Credit Card Mode.
     
     

4. Choose the Payment Method:

   • Select the card type used for the original transaction (e.g., Visa or MasterCard).
     
     

5. Complete the Refund:

   • Click OK to record the refund in RGP for accounting purposes.

Related Articles:

Stripe Custom Refunds

Stripe Custom & Stripe Terminal Anonymous Refunds

Stripe Custom & Stripe Terminal Partial Refunds

Partial Refunds for Multigym Remote Customer