Managing Refunds, Duplicate Charges, and Memberships in Arketa
Arketa provides tools to handle common payment and membership issues, such as refunds, duplicate charges, and overlapping memberships. Below is a comprehensive guide to address these scenarios effectively.
Refund Processing
Issuing Refunds for Duplicate Payments
If a client has duplicate memberships or charges, you can:
Refund the extra charge manually to the original payment card.
Apply an account credit if the client agrees.
Handling Refunds Already Issued as Account Credit
If a refund has already been processed as account credit, it cannot be reversed directly in Arketa. Instead, you can process the refund through your payment processor (e.g., Stripe) by logging into the payment processor, locating the original transaction, and issuing the refund to the customer’s original payment method. Afterward, adjust the account credit balance in Arketa to reflect the correction.
If you do not have access to process the refund directly from Stripe, reach out to Arketa support and provide the customer, amount and date of the original transaction for assistance.
Steps to Correct Refunds Mistakenly Issued as Account Credit
Process the Refund to the Original Payment Method:
Log in to your payment processor (e.g., Stripe).
Locate the original transaction using the client’s email or the charged amount.
Issue a refund to the customer’s original payment method.
Add a note explaining the reason for the refund.
Adjust the Account Credit in Arketa:
Go to Customers → Clients and open the client’s profile.
Click Adjust Balance and select the option to decrease the balance (formerly labeled as "Debit").
Enter the credited amount and add a note explaining the adjustment.
Save the changes.
Verify the Adjustment:
Ensure the client’s account credit balance is set to $0 to prevent double-refunding or unintended use of the credit. Important Notes:
Adjusting the account credit balance in Arketa does not trigger a refund. It only clears the in-platform credit.
Once a refund is processed to the original payment method, it cannot be reversed. Similarly, refunds issued as account credit cannot be directly converted to payment-method refunds within Arketa.
Refunds to the original payment method may take 5–10 business days to appear on the client’s statement.
Correcting Duplicate Cash Sales
To resolve duplicate cash sales without refunding to a card:
Refund the duplicate sale as account credit.
Neutralize the credit by adding a matching debit to the client’s account.
Managing Duplicate Charges and Memberships
Verifying and Fixing Duplicate Charges
Open the client’s profile and review charges in the Payments tab.
Refund the duplicate charge by selecting the most recent duplicate entry.
Cancel the extra membership to prevent future issues.
Preventing Repeated Charges
Cancel all active or reactivated memberships tied to the client to stop further automatic charge attempts. Ensure the system generates the next invoice on the regular billing date.
Handling Overlapping Memberships
To avoid booking issues when one membership ends and another begins:
Set the end date of the current membership to the start date of the new membership.
If the cancel date was set incorrectly, remove it and reset it to align with the new membership’s start date.
Invoice and Billing Adjustments
Canceling Failed Invoices
To cancel a failed or open invoice and prevent duplicate charges:
Open the client’s profile and go to Payments.
Select the open invoice and click Actions > Cancel Invoice.
Adjusting Billing Dates
If a duplicate charge occurs, refund the charge and adjust the subscription’s next billing date to align with your schedule.
Client Account Management
Merging Duplicate Accounts
If a client has multiple accounts, merge or remove the duplicate to avoid confusion with check-ins and billing.
Removing Duplicate Credits
To offset a duplicate credit:
Add a manual debit to the client’s account for the exact amount of the duplicate credit.
Include a note explaining the adjustment.
Preventive Measures for Payment Issues
Understanding Duplicate Charges
Duplicate charges are not indicative of a security breach. They may occur due to user actions (e.g., clicking the payment button twice) or rare technical issues. Arketa has implemented fixes to minimize such occurrences.
Reporting Issues
FAQs
Can I cancel a refund issued by mistake?
Refunds processed through Stripe can be canceled from the Stripe Dashboard before they are finalized. However, refunds issued in Arketa cannot be canceled once completed.
Will adjusting account credit trigger a second refund?
No. Adjusting the account credit balance only updates the client’s profile and does not issue a refund.
What if the refund was for a purchase on a previous platform?
Refunds for purchases made on a previous platform cannot be processed in Arketa. The recommended solution is to issue account credit to the client’s balance.
Clients should contact the studio or business directly for cancellations or refunds. Arketa support assists businesses with platform-related issues but does not manage customer refunds. By following these steps, you can effectively manage refunds, resolve duplicate charges, and ensure smooth membership transitions in Arketa.