In This Article:

• Overview
• Refunding and Removing the Learner's Balance
  • Full Refund
  • Partial Refund
• Refunding and Maintaining the Learner's Balance
• Refund Parameters
• Refunding a Payment that Shows as Cancelled
• Resolving a Balance When the Amount Charged Is Higher Than the Amount Paid

Overview

When a purchase is made, the ledger records a transaction for both the purchase (e.g., Enrollment Fee) and payment (e.g., online credit card payment). In order to process a refund, action may need to be taken on both the purchase and payment record depending on the desired outcome. 

It's important to note that the refund of a payment alone does not automatically imply that a learner is no longer responsible for charges. There may be cases where a learner should continue to carry a balance, and other cases where they should not have a balance.

Scenario 1) A learner's payment is refunded and they should continue to carry a balance

• Example use case: An extension has been granted on the payment due date. A learner's payment is returned with an agreement that they will submit payment at a future date.

Scenario 2) A learner's payment is refunded and they do not owe further payment

• Example use case: A learner dropped a course, or a course was cancelled, so their payment is refunded. They should not carry a balance / owe money because they are not taking the course. 

   

Refunding and Removing the Learner's Balance

To process a full refund and remove the learner's balance:

1. Locate the purchase record, click on the vertical ellipses under Actions, then click Make Adjustment. Update the purchase amount to $0, then click Submit Adjustment. 

2. Locate the payment record, click on the vertical ellipses under Actions, then click Refund.

3. Enter the full payment amount to be refunded and click Submit Refund. 

To process a partial refund and remove the learner's balance:

1. Locate the purchase record, click on the vertical ellipses under Actions, then click Make Adjustment. Update the purchase amount to reflect what the learner will actually pay (e.g., the amount that will be withheld to cover any fees), then click Submit Adjustment.

   

2. Locate the payment record, click on the vertical ellipses under Actions, then click Refund.

   

3. Input the amount to be refunded, minus the amount withheld for any late fees, processing fees, etc., and click Submit Refund.

   

    

Refunding and Maintaining the Learner's Balance

To process a refund and maintain the learner's balance:

1. Locate the payment record, click on the vertical ellipses under Actions, then click Refund. 

   

2. Enter the payment amount to be refunded and click Submit Refund. 
3. The "Balance" column will now reflect the amount owed, as the payment was returned but the original purchase remains.

Refund Parameters

• REFUND_FEE: A fixed amount deducted from all refunds (e.g., a $1 fee on a $100 course results in a $99 refund).
• REFUND_PERCENTAGE: A partial refund percentage (e.g., 75% of the course cost).

Refunding a Payment That Shows as Cancelled

In some cases, a learner's ledger may show a transaction status of Cancelled while the payment gateway (e.g., Authorize.Net ) shows the same transaction as successfully settled. This is not the same as a standard cancelled payment, and it requires different handling.

How this Happens

This situation can occur when a learner clicks Cancel on the payment processor's page, returns to the payment form, and completes the payment on a second attempt. Because Genius recorded the cancellation before the second payment was confirmed, the ledger may show Cancelled while the payment gateway shows the same transaction as settled.

What Genius Does Automatically

As of the May 2026 release, Genius now detects when a successful payment confirmation arrives for a transaction that was previously marked Cancelled. When this happens, Genius automatically updates the transaction status to Completed and records the corrected payment information. An internal alert is generated for the Genius team. No action is required from administrators or CX agents for the status correction itself.

Processing a refund for a corrected transaction

To issue a refund for a transaction that was corrected from Cancelled to Completed, follow the standard refund process described in the Refunding and Removing the Learner's Balance section above. The corrected Completed row is eligible for refund in the same way as any other completed payment.

Resolving a Balance When the Amount Charged Is Higher Than the Amount Paid

• Collect the remaining balance — Request the outstanding amount from the learner and record the additional payment so the ledger balances.
• Waive the balance — Locate the purchase record for the unpaid course, click the vertical ellipses under Actions, then click Make Adjustment. Lower the purchase amount so the total matches what was actually paid, then click Submit Adjustment. The Balance will clear and the learner keeps the course.
• Remove the unpaid course — If the learner should not keep the course that wasn't paid for, unenroll them from that course and adjust the related purchase record so no balance remains.