How do I issue a refund on an invoice?

Applies to: Owner / Manager / Staff
PLUS Feature: No
Plan: All
Last updated: October 22, 2026

Overview
Choose what happens to the balance
Refund and close the invoice in one step
Refund and leave the invoice open
After you leave the invoice open
Partial refunds
Refunding an invoice that was only partly paid
How each payment method refunds
When Refund and Close does not close the invoice
Troubleshooting
FAQ
Related Articles

Overview

A refund in Opus1 returns money on a payment that already went through: a lesson that was canceled, a family that overpaid, a charge that should not have happened. The refund itself is the easy part. The decision that matters is what happens to the invoice afterwards.

Once money goes back, the invoice owes that amount again. If nothing else changes, autopay (the automatic charge to the card or bank account the family has saved) can collect it the next time it runs, and the family is charged twice for the same thing. Opus1 asks you to decide this at the moment you refund, so a refund meant to settle things does not quietly turn into a second charge.

Why: Getting this right is the difference between a family who feels looked after and one who calls the front desk about a charge they were told was refunded.

Choose what happens to the balance

Open the payer's profile, scroll to Invoices, and select See all invoices so closed invoices are included. Find the invoice and select Update. Under Payment Transactions, select Refund on the payment you are returning. A cash payment shows Refund (cash) instead.

The Refund Payment window in Opus1 gives you two buttons. Choose based on whether the family should ever pay this amount again.

Button	What Opus1 does	Use it when
Refund and Close Invoice	Refunds the payment, adds a discount for whatever is still due after the refund, and closes the invoice	The family should not be charged this balance again, and you want the entire remaining balance written off
Refund and Leave Invoice Open	Refunds the payment and leaves the balance due. Nothing else changes	You still plan to collect some or all of the balance, you want to set the discount amount yourself, or you want to review the invoice before it closes

Refund and close the invoice in one step

This is the right choice for most refunds: a canceled lesson, a family leaving, a charge made in error. Opus1 returns the money and settles the invoice in a single action.

On the payment, select Refund or Refund (cash).
In Reason, enter why you are refunding, such as Lesson canceled by studio. A reason is required for this button. If the field is blank, the window stays open with A reason is required to refund and close the invoice. Nothing is refunded until you enter one.
Leave Refund Partially off to return the full payment. Turn it on only when you are returning part of a card payment. See Partial refunds below.
Check the line at the bottom of the window. It shows exactly what goes back, for example $109.00 will be refunded or $27.25 will be refunded (tax included).
Select Refund and Close Invoice.

Opus1 then sends the money back through the original payment method, adds a discount line labeled Discount - followed by your reason, and closes the invoice once the balance is $0.00. The refund line reads Refund: followed by the same reason.

You will see Payment has been successfully reverted. For a card, cash, or check refund, the invoice shows Closed right away, the Pay button is gone, and Reopen Invoice is available. Autopay will not collect a closed invoice. A bank account refund takes longer to settle.

If your school has changed payment processors since the family paid, the window names the processor and the account that took the original payment. The refund always goes back through that original account, not your current one.

Refund and leave the invoice open

Use this button when returning the money and deciding about the balance are two separate decisions. Typical cases:

The family should pay the refunded amount again, by autopay, at the front desk, or from the family portal. For example, a card was charged by mistake and the family wants to pay with a different card.
You refunded part of a payment and want to discount that amount yourself before closing.
The invoice was only partly paid, and you still need to collect what was never paid. Refund and Close Invoice would write off that unpaid amount too.
You want to see the refund on the invoice before you add a discount or close it.

Reason is optional for this button, but worth filling in, because Opus1 stores it on the refund line for anyone who opens the invoice later.

On the payment, select Refund or Refund (cash).
Enter a Reason, or leave it blank.
For a card payment, turn on Refund Partially and enter an amount if you are returning only part of it. Cash, check, and bank account refunds are always for the full payment.
Check the amount at the bottom of the window.
Select Refund and Leave Invoice Open.

Opus1 refunds the payment and does not add a discount. The invoice is Open, and Remaining due now includes the amount you refunded. You will see two messages: Payment has been successfully reverted, and The invoice is still open with a remaining balance due, with a note that autopay may collect the remaining amount automatically.

That warning is expected. The invoice is open on purpose. If the invoice is already due and the family has a saved card or bank account, choose your next step before autopay runs.

The refund line shows Refund: plus your reason. A cash refund reads Refund for Cash, and a check refund reads Refund for Check.

After you leave the invoice open

Stay on the invoice, or come back to it later with Update. Remaining due is the amount Opus1 can still collect. Pick the outcome you want.

Collect the balance

Leave the invoice Open and do not add a discount. Opus1 can collect the balance three ways: autopay charges the saved payment method when the invoice is due, staff select Pay and take a card, cash, check, or other method, or the family pays from their portal. The invoice closes when a payment covers Remaining due. A bank account payment shows Processing first and closes when the bank settles it.

Discount the refund, then close

Use this when the family keeps the money you returned and the invoice should not be charged again. The result is the same as Refund and Close Invoice, done in separate steps so you can check each amount.

Example: a $250.00 Monthly Tuition invoice was paid in full, and you refunded $100.00 and left the invoice open. Remaining due is $100.00.

On the invoice, select ADD DISCOUNT.
In Add a discount, enter a Reason, such as Refund discount. Opus1 requires a reason for every discount.
Set Discount amount to the amount you refunded, $100.00 in the example. If the invoice has sales tax, enter the pre-tax amount and Opus1 adds the tax.
Confirm Remaining due is $0.00. If it is still above zero, the discount was smaller than the refund. Add another discount for the difference, or remove the discount and enter the correct amount.
The action button now reads Close. Select Close.
On the pay screen, confirm Remaining due is $0.00 and the refund and discount amounts are right, then select Close at the bottom right.

The invoice is Closed and autopay will not collect it. A discount alone does not close an invoice, even at $0.00. You still need to select Close and confirm it on the pay screen.

Discount part of the balance and keep the rest open

Use this when you are forgiving only some of what is now due. Select ADD DISCOUNT, enter a Reason and a Discount amount smaller than Remaining due, then select Add discount.

Remaining due drops by the discount, the invoice stays Open, and the button stays Pay. Opus1 can collect what is left by autopay, Pay, or the family portal. When a later payment or discount brings Remaining due to $0.00, select Close and confirm it on the pay screen.

Partial refunds

Opus1 offers Refund Partially for card payments, including payments taken on the card reader at your front desk. Cash, check, and bank account payments are refunded in full, and the switch does not appear for them.

When sales tax applies, you enter the pre-tax amount. The field reads Refund amount (pre-tax), Opus1 adds the tax, and the line at the bottom shows the total going back, tax included.

The amount has to be more than zero and no more than what is left to refund on that payment. The buttons stay disabled until the amount is valid. If you enter too much, the window says You cannot refund more than followed by the maximum, with (pre-tax) when tax applies.

On an invoice that was paid in full, Refund and Close Invoice discounts only the refunded portion, tax included. The rest of the payment stays on the invoice and the invoice closes. For example, a $100.00 lesson plus tax was paid by card and you refund $25.00 pre-tax: the family keeps the rest of that payment, the discount covers the refunded $25.00 plus its tax, and the invoice closes.

To check those amounts yourself, select Refund and Leave Invoice Open instead, then follow Discount the refund, then close.

A payment marked Partially Refunded can be refunded again for whatever is still refundable. A payment marked Refunded no longer shows a Refund button.

Refunding an invoice that was only partly paid

Refund and Close Invoice discounts everything still due after the refund, and that includes any amount the family never paid. This is the one case where it can write off more than you meant to.

Example: a $100.00 invoice had a $40.00 cash payment, so $60.00 was still due. Refunding the $40.00 with Refund and Close Invoice returns the $40.00 and discounts the full $100.00, including the $60.00 the family never paid.

If any of that unpaid amount should stay due, select Refund and Leave Invoice Open. Remaining due is then $100.00: the $60.00 never paid plus the $40.00 refunded. Choose what to do next in Opus1:

What you want	What to do
Collect the full $100.00	Leave the invoice open. Autopay or Pay can collect it.
Forgive the $40.00 refund and still collect the $60.00	ADD DISCOUNT for $40.00 and leave the invoice open. Remaining due is $60.00.
Forgive the entire bill	ADD DISCOUNT for the full Remaining due, select Close, and confirm Close on the pay screen.

How each payment method refunds

Opus1 completes a card refund as soon as the card processor accepts it. Cash and check refunds are recorded in Opus1, but the money changes hands at your studio. Bank account payments, also called ACH, where money comes straight out of a checking account, take a few business days because the bank has to settle the refund.

Payment	Partial refund	After Refund and Close Invoice	After Refund and Leave Invoice Open
Card or card reader	Yes	Refunded, discounted, and Closed once the refund succeeds	Open right away, with the refunded amount due
Cash	No. The button reads Refund (cash)	Discounted and Closed right away. Hand the cash back at the studio; Opus1 records the refund	Open right away. Hand the cash back at the studio
Check	No	Discounted and Closed right away. Return the money outside Opus1	Open right away. Return the money outside Opus1
Bank account (ACH)	No	Discount applied right away. The invoice shows Processing until the bank settles the refund, usually 3–5 business days, then closes on its own	The refund shows Processing until the bank settles it. The invoice is then Open with the refunded amount due

While a bank account refund is processing, the payment line shows (Processing - this could take 3-5 days). Leave that refund alone until it settles.

When Refund and Close does not close the invoice

The refund went through, but the discount or close did not. After Refund and Close Invoice, you may see The invoice is still open with a remaining balance due, with the detail: The refund went through, but the invoice could not be discounted and closed. The invoice may need to be discounted & closed manually. If still open the amount remaining due may be processed by Auto-pay automatically.

The money has already gone back to the family, and Opus1 cannot undo the refund. Finish the job with the steps in Discount the refund, then close so autopay does not charge the family again.

The bank rejected a bank account refund. If the bank does not accept a refund you made with Refund and Close Invoice, the discount stays on the invoice and Opus1 does not remove it for you. The original bank payment is still on the invoice, and the invoice stays Open. Review the invoice and remove the discount if that amount should be collected again. The discount steps are in How do I add a discount to an invoice?, linked under Related Articles.

Troubleshooting

I don't see Refund. The payment may still be Processing, may already be fully Refunded, or may have been paid with account credit. Opus1 does not show Refund on account-credit payments. A grayed-out Refund button means that payment cannot be refunded right now.

I selected Refund and Close and the window stayed open. Enter a reason. Refund and Close Invoice requires one; Refund and Leave Invoice Open does not.

The buttons are disabled and the window asks for an amount greater than zero. Refund Partially is on and the amount is blank or zero. Enter an amount, or turn the switch off to refund the full payment.

The family was charged again after a refund. The invoice was left Open with a balance due, and autopay collected it. If that charge was a mistake, refund it too, then discount Remaining due to $0.00 and close the invoice in Opus1. Next time you do not plan to collect the refunded amount, use Refund and Close Invoice.

Remaining due, or the Refund and Close discount, is bigger than the refund. The invoice still had an unpaid balance, and that amount is counted along with the refund. See Refunding an invoice that was only partly paid.

A bank account refund has been Processing for more than a week. Bank refunds usually settle in 3–5 business days. If it is still Processing after that, contact support@opus1.io with the invoice link and the date of the refund, and wait to hear whether the refund failed before you charge the invoice again.

FAQ

Can I refund to a different card than the one the family paid with? No. Opus1 always sends a refund back through the original payment method, and through the payment processor account that took the original charge. If the family wants to pay with a different card, refund with Refund and Leave Invoice Open and then take the new payment with Pay.

Can I undo a refund? No. Once Opus1 sends a refund, it cannot be reversed. If the money should not have gone back, leave the invoice open, or select Reopen Invoice on a closed invoice, and collect the amount again with Pay or autopay.

Should I void the invoice instead of refunding it? Void is for an open invoice that should never have existed. Opus1 marks a voided invoice Voided and refunds any payments still on it. Invoices on an active subscription cannot be voided, so discount them to $0.00 and close them instead.

What does each invoice status mean? — what Open, Closed, Processing, and Voided mean, and what you can do in each
How do I add a discount to an invoice? — the full discount steps used after a refund
How do I void an invoice? — when to cancel an invoice instead of refunding it
What does the 'comp invoice' button do? — a one-click 100% discount for forgiving a whole invoice
How automatic payments work — when autopay runs, so you know how long you have to act on an open invoice
ACH Enablement — how bank account payments work and why they take days to settle