--- title: Refund a member sidebarTitle: Introduction description: >- How refunds work on Soul: refund a payment yourself, answer a member's refund request, and what fees, payouts and members see. audience: luminary feature: refunds type: introduction availability: live last_verified: '2026-10-14' keywords: - refund - partial refund - refund request - money back - refund error - stripe fees on refunds url: 'https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/business/refunds' --- # Refund a member > How refunds work on Soul: refund a payment yourself, answer a member's refund request, and what fees, payouts and members see. Refunds come out of your earnings and go back to the member's original card. You can refund all or part of a payment, either on your own initiative from the payment, or in answer to a request a member sends. ## Two ways a refund starts | Starts with | Where you act | Guide | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | You decide to refund | The payment, in [Business → Payouts & Transactions](https://portal.bringsoul.life/payouts) | [Refund a payment](#refund-a-payment) below | | A member requests a refund | [Business → Refund Requests](https://portal.bringsoul.life/refund-requests) | [Answer a refund request](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/business/refunds/answer-a-refund-request) | Members can request a refund after they cancel a paid session booking, event registration or course enrollment, if your refund policy allows refunds for it. For membership payments, you refund from the payment. ## Before you refund Your [refund policy](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/settings/refund-policy) decides what's possible: | Setting | Effect on refunds | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Refunds allowed (portal default) | Members see refund information and can request refunds. You can refund payments. | | Refunds off for an offering | The refund dialog shows _"Refunds are off for this product."_ with links to your global refund policy or that product's refund policy to create an override. | | Practitioner-funded full refunds on | You can refund the whole amount the member paid, including Stripe's fee, which comes out of your earnings. | | Practitioner-funded full refunds off | You can refund up to the net amount: what you received after Stripe's fee. | Your membership has its own Refund policy card on [Business → Pricing](https://portal.bringsoul.life/settings/pricing), which overrides your portal default for subscriptions only. ## Refund a payment **Step 1: Find the payment** Go to [Business → Payouts & Transactions](https://portal.bringsoul.life/payouts) → Transactions. Search by the member's name or filter by offering, then click the payment. **Step 2: Click Refund** Click Refund at the top of the payment. The Refund transaction dialog opens. If a member has already asked for a refund on this payment, the dialog sends you to that request instead. **Step 3: Choose the reason** Pick a Refund reason category: Customer request, Practitioner request or Other. **Step 4: Check the limits** The dialog shows the *Customer's refundable amount* (what's left of their payment) and your *Direct refund limit* (what your policy lets you refund). **Step 5: Set the amount** The Refund amount (USD) starts at your direct refund limit. Lower it for a partial refund. Optionally add a Reason (*"Optional note for this refund"*). **Step 6: Confirm** Click Continue. You'll see *"Transaction refunded"* (full) or *"Refund processed"* (partial). The payment's status becomes Refunded or Partially refunded. **Warning:** The member is emailed *"Your refund has been processed"* with the amount, and whatever you typed in Reason is included as a note. Write it as if you're writing to them. You can refund the same payment more than once, as long as something is left to refund. The Refund button disappears once the whole payment has been refunded. ## Full refunds and fees Stripe keeps its processing fee when you refund. By default you can refund up to the net amount, so you're not out of pocket for the fee. To refund everything the member paid, turn on Practitioner-funded full refunds in [Settings → Refund Policy](https://portal.bringsoul.life/settings/refund-policy), or allow full refunds on that offering's override. The fee then comes out of your earnings. If your policy keeps you to the net amount, the dialog says _"Your policy limits direct refunds to the net amount. To refund the full customer payment (including fees), enable creator-funded full refunds."_ ## What happens after a refund | Who | What happens | | ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | The member | Money back on their original payment method. Banks can take several days to show it. They get a _"Your refund has been processed"_ email. | | The payment | Status Refunded or Partially refunded. Its page shows, for example, _"Refunded $20.00 on Oct 2, 2026 • Couldn't attend"_. | | Your payouts | If the money was still a pending payout, that payout goes down. If it had already reached your Stripe account, the refund comes out of your Stripe balance. | | Your numbers | Total Revenue and Net Earnings in [Analytics](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/business/analytics) go down by the refund. Refund & Success counts it. | **Warning:** A refund can't be undone. It returns the money to the member and reverses the related payout. ## Guides - [Answer a refund request](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/business/refunds/answer-a-refund-request): What members do, what you see, approve or reject. - [Refund errors and top-ups](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/business/refunds/refund-errors-and-top-ups): Every refund message and how to get past it. - [Set your refund policy](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/settings/refund-policy): Your portal default and per-offering overrides. - [Read a transaction](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/business/payouts/read-a-transaction): Check fees and net amount before you refund.