Refunds
Refund errors and top-ups
Why a refund won't go through, what each message means, and how to top up your Stripe balance so a refund can complete.
Most refunds go through in one click. When one doesn't, Soul tells you why. Find the message below.
Messages and fixes
| You see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Refund greyed out, "Refund unavailable while settlement is pending" | Stripe hasn't finished settling the payment, so the fee and net amount aren't final. | Try again in a few days, once the payment's Net amount no longer says "Pending Settlement". |
| "A refund request is pending for this transaction" | The member has already asked for a refund. | Click the request in the dialog and approve or reject it there. See Answer a refund request. |
| "Refunds are off for this product." | Your refund policy doesn't allow refunds for this offering. | Turn on refunds in your global refund policy, or open the product refund policy from the link and create an override. See Set your refund policy. |
| "Refunds above the net amount ($X) require internal approval or creator-funded full refunds to be enabled." | You entered more than you received after Stripe's fee, and your policy doesn't allow full refunds. | Lower the amount to the net amount, or turn on Practitioner-funded full refunds. |
| "Refund amount exceeds the amount allowed by policy ($X)." | The amount is above your direct refund limit. | Lower it to the limit shown. |
| "Refund amount exceeds the remaining refundable balance" | Part of this payment was already refunded. | Check the payment's Details for the earlier refund, and refund only what's left. |
| "Enter a valid refund amount" | The amount is empty or zero. | Enter an amount above $0. |
| Insufficient Stripe account balance | The money has already gone to your Stripe account and your balance there can't cover the refund. | Top up and retry. See below. |
| "Cannot refund a disputed charge" | The member has opened a dispute (chargeback) with their bank. | Respond to the dispute in your Stripe dashboard instead. |
| No Refund button at all | The whole payment has already been refunded, or it was free. | Nothing to refund. Check the status: Refunded, or an amount of Free. |
Top up and retry a refund
A refund on a payment that's already reached your Stripe account is paid from your Stripe balance. If you've recently been paid out to your bank, that balance can be lower than the refund.
See the shortfall
When you click Continue (or Approve & refund on a request) and your balance is too low, the dialog changes to Insufficient Stripe account balance, showing Your Stripe balance and the Amount needed to top up.
Top up
Click Top up and retry refund. Enter your card and click Pay and retry refund. The card form shows the exact amount you'll be charged.
Let it retry
Once the top-up goes through, Soul retries the refund for you. If the top-up is still processing, you'll see "Top-up is processing. Retry the refund once the balance has settled." Come back and click Refund (or Approve) again later.
A refund request stays open if a top-up is needed. It isn't marked failed, so you can approve it again after topping up.
Avoid refund problems
- Write a clear refund policy so members know what to expect before they buy.
- Refund early. Refunding while money is still a pending payout simply lowers that payout, with no top-up needed.
- Decide on full refunds once. If you want to always cover Stripe's fee for members, turn on Practitioner-funded full refunds instead of fighting the net-amount limit each time.
Still stuck?
Email support@bringsoul.life with the Transaction ID from the top of the payment page.