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Void or refund customer payments

by Intuit •

954 •

Updated 9/23/2026 09:52

Learn how to void or refund payments processed in QuickBooks Online.

If you have QuickBooks Payments, you can take and process your customer's credit card payments in QuickBooks Online. But sometimes, you might need to void or refund payments so your accounting stays accurate.

Understanding whether to void or refund a transaction depends on whether the transaction batch has closed.

Voiding cancels the payment before it processes. This also prevents transaction fees.
Refunding returns settled funds to your customer after the batch has closed.

Batch cutoff times for voiding transactions

Void a transaction before it goes into a batch so you aren't charged a processing fee. A transaction is only voidable until the first cutoff time after it's created. Once that cutoff passes, the transaction enters processing and can't be voided. You'll need to issue a refund instead.

Credit card payments: Batches close at 3:00 PM PT each business day. A charge made before 3:00 PM PT may be voided that same day before 3:00 PM PT. After that, it's been processed and can't be voided.
ACH and bank transfers: Batches close five times a day: 9:30 AM PT, 11:15 AM PT, 3:00 PM PT, 6:00 PM PT, and 8:15 PM PT. A transaction can only be voided before the very next cutoff after it was made. For example, an ACH transfer made at 8:00 AM PT must be voided before the 9:30 AM PT cutoff time.

Note: If you already set up instant deposits, the payments are batched automatically.

This video will go over how to issue a refund if you used QuickBooks Payments to charge your customer, and then go over how to issue a refund for any other kind of payment.

Get personalized help categorizing transactions with Full-Service Bookkeeping.

Video transcript

[0:00] When you need to refund a customer, there are two ways to record it in QuickBooks. Let's go over how to issue a refund if you used QuickBooks Payments to charge your customer, and then go over how to issue a refund for any other kind of payment. Note that this is for refunds only.

[0:16] If you want to give someone credit that they can use on a future purchase, you would use a credit memo, and there's a link to that video over here. If you used QuickBooks Payments to process a payment from your customer, go to the sale you recorded. If it is an invoice, select the link to the payment. Then select More…Refund.

[0:37] Note if it is a sales receipt, just select more and refund right from the sales receipt. Select Yes, refund payment. QuickBooks fills out a refund receipt for you based on the original sale. Confirm the information.

[0:55] Select save and send if you want to email it to your customer or choose another save option if you don't. Once you are done, select save and send if you want to email it to your customer or choose another save option if you don't. If you received a payment in any other way, select New…Refund Receipt. Note that these steps record the refund in QuickBooks.

[1:19] If you use an outside payments processor like Stripe or Paypal, you'll still need to process the refund with them to get the money back to your customer. If you know the customer's name, enter it here. But you can also leave this blank. Enter when you refunded your customer. Then enter the payment method, which is how you paid the customer back.

[1:41] If you don't see the correct payment method, select Add new. Note that this only records the refund. To pay the customer back, you'll still need to write them a check or process the return with your payment processor. In the Refund From field, enter the account you used to refund them. This will usually be a bank account.

[2:02] If you wrote them a check, you can enter a handwritten check number or print it later if you want QuickBooks to print it for you. If you need help with that, see the link at the end of this video. Next, enter the product or service you refunded them for. Then the dollar amount. If this is a taxable product, QuickBooks will also include sales tax.

[2:24] This refunds the customer for the sales tax you collected, and it also reduces your sales tax liability. Once you are done, select save and send if you want to email it to your customer or choose another save option if you don't. Later, when the refund clears your bank or credit card, you'll see it in the Transactions screen.

[2:44] QuickBooks will match what you've downloaded to the refund receipt you entered earlier. Select Confirm to connect what you recorded to what you downloaded to make sure QuickBooks doesn't count it twice. Now you're ready to record refunds to customers in QuickBooks.

Void a credit card or ACH payment

If your payment hasn't reached its batch cutoff time, you can void it.

Go to All Apps, then Sales & Get Paid, then select Sales transactions or Invoices.
Locate and select the sales receipt or paid invoice you want to void.
Select More actions, then select Void.
Select Void again to confirm.

You can also void customer payments in the QuickBooks GoPayment mobile app.

Refund a customer payment

Once a batch has closed, the transaction has processed and must be refunded instead.

Refund a credit card payment

Credit card refunds must be returned to the original card used for the payment.
You can issue full or partial refunds up to the original sale amount within 90 days of the transaction.

Issue a credit card refund:

Go to All Apps, then Sales & Get Paid, then select Sales transactions.
Find and open the sales receipt or paid invoice you want to refund.
Select More in the footer, then select Refund.
Review the details and adjust the amount if you're issuing a partial refund, then select Save and close.

Refund an ACH or bank transfer payment

To protect your business from fraud, exercise extra caution when processing ACH refunds outside QuickBooks. Always pause and verify the request if you notice any of these red flags:

Large orders or partial refund requests.
Sudden changes to payment details or order items after invoicing.
Pressure or urgency pushing you to act fast.

If a request feels suspicious, don't process the refund. Advise the customer to dispute the transaction through their bank instead, then issue a new invoice for the updated amount.

Payments without a convenience fee

Direct electronic refunds back to a customer's bank account aren't supported for standard ACH or bank transfers.

Payments with a convenience fee

If the original ACH payment included a convenience fee, you can process an electronic refund through the Merchant Service Center after 5 business days have passed.

Sign in to the Merchant Service Center.
Go to Processing Tools, then select Refund an eCheck.
Set the date range to locate the transaction, then select Search.
Select the transaction you want to refund and select Submit.
Record a refund receipt in QuickBooks to keep your books accurate.
1. Select +Create, then select Refund receipt.
2. Select the customer name and fill out the line items matching the original sale.
3. From the Payment method dropdown, select Check or Cash.
4. From the Refund from dropdown, select the bank account used to issue the payment.
5. Select Save and close.