Refunds, Chargebacks and Stripe Disputes

A refund reverses an earlier transaction. Categorize it with the same category as the original transaction, so your revenue or expense goes down by the right amount.

You refunded a client

1. When the refund appears in Transactions (money out), open it.
2. Set the Category to the same revenue category as the original sale, for example Sales Revenue. This reduces your revenue instead of creating an expense.
3. Set the Contact to the client and add a Description, such as "Refund of invoice INV-2026-0012".
4. Click Confirm.

A vendor refunded you

1. When the refund appears (money in), open it.
2. Set the Category to the same expense category as the original purchase, for example Software & Subscriptions. This reduces the expense instead of counting as revenue.
3. Click Confirm.

A client opened a dispute (chargeback) on Stripe

When a client disputes a card payment, Stripe takes the payment amount back and usually charges a dispute fee.

1. The amount taken back: categorize it as Sales Revenue (it reduces revenue), with the client as contact.
2. The dispute fee: categorize it as Payment processing fees.
3. If you win the dispute and Stripe returns the money, categorize the amount returned as Sales Revenue.

Check the original invoice on Invoices and update its status if the client was refunded.