In this video, you'll learn how to refund a credit card surcharge after it has already been charged on an order. We'll walk through creating a surcharge refund as a miscellaneous item, applying it as a negative amount to generate the refund, and then processing the credit back to the customer's card using the Take Payment workflow. By the end, you'll know how to complete the refund and return the order balance to zero.
SOP: Refund a Charged Credit Card Surcharge
Objective
This SOP explains how to refund a credit card surcharge after it has already been charged to an order. It uses a miscellaneous item to create a negative balance and then returns the surcharge amount to the customer’s credit card.
Key Steps
1. Identify whether the surcharge has already been charged 0:00
Confirm the order includes a credit card surcharge that has already been processed.
If the surcharge has not been charged yet, use Remove Credit Card Fee instead of following this SOP.
If the surcharge has already been charged, continue with the refund process.
2. Create a miscellaneous item for the surcharge refund 0:50
Go to Miscellaneous Items.
Click + Miscellaneous Item.
Enter the following details:
Brand:
surcharge refundClassification:
credit card surcharge feeModel Number:
surcharge refundCost:
0Sales Price:
0
Uncheck Taxable so the refund amount stays exact.
Click Add to save the miscellaneous item.
3. Add the surcharge refund item to the order 1:35
Select the newly created surcharge refund miscellaneous item.
Click Done to add it to the order.
Update the item’s unit price to match the surcharge amount being refunded (for example,
$13.33).Click Save Order.
4. Convert the item quantity to a negative amount 2:10
Check the order balance after saving.
If the balance shows a positive amount, the refund has not been set up correctly.
Change the item quantity from
1to-1.Click Save Order again.
Verify the balance now shows a negative amount, which indicates money is owed back to the customer.
5. Return the surcharge to the customer’s credit card 2:39
Click Take Payment.
Choose Credit Card.
If using a terminal, select the terminal and enter the refund amount.
If processing offline, enter the following:
Balance Owed amount
Customer’s full name
Last 4 digits of the credit card
Credit card type
Optional note such as surcharge refund
Process the payment to apply the refund to the card.
6. Confirm the refund is complete 3:14
After processing, confirm the surcharge amount has been removed from the balance.
Click Done.
Verify the order shows a zero balance to confirm the refund was completed successfully.
Cautionary Notes
Do not use this process if the surcharge has not yet been charged; remove the fee instead.
Make sure the miscellaneous item is not taxable so the refund amount stays exact.
If the order does not show a negative balance after saving the negative quantity, stop and correct the setup before taking payment.
Double-check the refund amount matches the original surcharge exactly.
Tips for Efficiency
Create the surcharge refund miscellaneous item once and reuse it for future refunds.
Keep a standard note format such as surcharge refund for easier tracking.
Verify the surcharge amount before editing the unit price to avoid refunding the wrong value.
Use the offline payment fields consistently when a terminal is unavailable.